« Leo XIV is in top form » – Diepresse.com
Robert Prevost went to a fitness center in Rome two to three times a week. His trainer didn’t know that he was a cardinal – until he saw him on the balcony in the Pope robe.
The new Pope is sporty and in the best form. This reported Valerio Masella, the personal fitness trainer of Leo XIV., In an interview with the Roman daily « IL Messaggero » (Saturday edition). Masella didn’t know that Robert Francis Prevost was a high -ranking cardinal when he trained with him in a fitness center in Rome. « I only recognized him when he showed himself from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, » said the coach.
« The Pope is in top shape. He trained with me for two years, but I didn’t know who he was, » said Masella. « Here in our sports center, nobody knew that Robert, now Leo XIV, was cardinal, the least I who trained him, » said Masella. Prevost regularly came to training for two years. « I worked with him right from the start, two, sometimes even three times a week, which of course depended on his schedule, » said the coach.
Pope is considered a big tennis fan
« When he was elected to the Pope and I saw him on TV, I recognized him immediately. I couldn’t believe it. I trained the future Pontifex. This is incredible, but for me he was a customer like any other and, like all customers, he behaved in this gym, » said Masella.
The 69-year-old Pope is also a big tennis fan. On Wednesday he received the South Tyrolean tennis star Jannick Sinner and his parents in the Vatican. The Pope received a tennis racket as a gift from Sinner. (APA/dpa)
« /> Pope Leo with Jannik Sinner (left) APA / AFP / Handout
