GODLY GAINS

Pope Leo Would Regularly Hit the Gym in Rome, Owner Says

A trainer says the pope had a favorite treadmill facing a mural of a famous landmark.

Before his papacy, Pope Leo XIV frequented a Rome gym for two years, said its owner. According to the Associated Press, the Omega gym is known to attract nuns and priests from Vatican City, with the new pope being no exception. His reported personal trainer, Valerio Masella, 26, revealed that Leo enjoyed running on his favorite treadmill in front of a mural of famous landmarks, including St. Peter’s Basilica, where the Chicago-born cardinal would later make his first appearance as pope. “He was always positive about everything—the weather, the city, the people, also for me, he said he liked the gym,” Masella said. According to him, the pope would train with him two or three times a week for up to an hour each time. “We would start off slow and then go pretty strong,” he said. Francesco Tamburlani, the owner of the Rome gym, recalls the moment he found out that one of his regulars had become the new pope. “When the name of the pope was announced, my phone rings and my son tells me, ‘Dad, it’s Robert! Robert, our member!’” Tamburlani said. “I heard the gym staff behind him cheering. ... This moved us, filled us with joy.”