Passage of the last stage of the Giro d'Italia in the Vatican Gardens
"Cycling is as important a sport as any. So thank you for everything you do - you are truly exemplary! And I hope, as you well train your body, your spirit too will also be blessed and that you will be attentive always to the whole human being: body, mind, heart and spirit.
May God bless you!" Thus Pope Leo XIV, in early afternoon of Sunday June 1, personally greeted the cyclists of the Giro d'Italia, who covered the last stage, about 3 kilometers, inside the Vatican the first time in history. The passage was taken in a non-competitive mode and will certainly be remembered by the cyclists of the 108th Giro d'Italia. It was the twenty-first 143 kilometers long tour and ended in the splendid setting of the Circus Maximus.
The cyclists entered Vatican City from Via Paolo VI through the Petriano entrance. They passed by St. Peter's Basilica, then cycled the perimeter of the Vatican Gardens and the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, taking the "Marian path" then on the Santa Marta square where they stopped for Pope Leo’s greeting. The Pope received a Pink jersey as a gift from the president of RCS MediaGroup, Urbano Cairo and then greeted the winners of the classifications: Simon Yates, Pink jersey, Mads Perdersen, Ciclamino jersey, Lorenzo Fortunato, Blue jersey and Isaac Del Toro, White jersey. The event also honored the memory of Pope Francis who had enthusiastically approved this event back in 2021 in anticipation of the Jubilee of Sport on June 14 and 15.
The Pope blessed the cyclists who took part in the passage before they proceeded to exit the Vatican from the Perugino gate. Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate, was also present at the Piazza Santa Marta with the Pope and other Vatican officials.
