Hours before the official opening of the Winter Olympics in northern Italy on Friday, Pope Leo XIV issued a papal letter on the value of sports, calling for nations to pause military conflict during the Games as “a symbol and promise of a reconciled world.”

Leo, who recently condemned what he described as a “zeal for war,” contrasted “the common good” represented by sports with the “refusal to cooperate with each other” that resulted in war.

The opening ceremonies of the Milan-Cortina Games are overlapping with one of the greatest moments of geopolitical turbulence since the last world war, as conflicts rage around the globe, national leaders threaten violence and alliances are sharply strained.

In recent weeks, President Trump ordered a military intervention against Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, and warned he would use force to take Greenland, a threat he subsequently dropped. At the same time, efforts to end almost four years of war after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have shown little public progress.

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Milan on Thursday. Mr. Vance met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy early Friday afternoon.