Pope Leo XIV blesses cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia as final stage enters Vatican gardens

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV blessed the 159 cyclists competing in the Giro d’Italia on Sunday as the three-week race’s final stage began with an unprecedented ride through the Vatican gardens behind St. Peter’s Basilica.

After entering the Vatican, overall race leader Simon Yates and leaders of the other classifications got off their bikes and walked forward to shake hands with the pope, who was presented with a replica of the leader’s pink jersey.

“You are role models for young people all over the world,” Leo told the peloton. “May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d’Italia. Congratulations to all of you. May you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican. You are always welcome by the church, which represents God’s love for all people.”

In an off-script moment, Colombia's Nairo Quintana, the 2014 Giro champion, stopped to greet the pope after all of the other riders had already moved on.

“For some reason I didn’t realize we were going to stop and really to meet him,” Yates said later after wrapping up the title. “I thought we would just pass through. So an unforgettable moment for me, for all the riders there as well, just to be there and have his blessings.”

While popes have blessed the Giro riders before and the race has previously passed through or next to St. Peter’s Square, this marked the first time that the route took the peloton on a three-kilometer (nearly two-mile) route inside the Vatican walls.

Bringing the race inside the Vatican was originally intended as an homage to Pope Francis during the 2025 Holy Year but after Francis died, Leo — the first American pope — decided to honor the event in Francis’ memory.

The cyclists entered the Vatican through the Petriano gate to the left of St. Peter’s, rode around the basilica and then climbed up toward the gardens before exiting near the Santa Marta hotel at the Perugino gate.

Santa Marta was where Francis lived.

The passage through the Vatican occurred during the non-competitive neutralized period before the stage. The official start was given after the riders exited the narrow Perugino gate.

The 143-kilometer (89-mile) final stage concluded with a circuit of eight laps through downtown Rome and finished next to the Circus Maximus.

It’s the third time since Leo was elected last month that he has met with the sports world.

Two weeks ago, Leo held a private audience with top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner. Then last week, he welcomed the players and staff of Italian soccer champion Napoli to the Vatican.

AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling

Britain's Simon Yates, center, in the pink jersey, leads the pack during a ceremonial lap inside the Vatican before the start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Flanked by race leaders, from left, Denmark's Mads Pedersen, Mexico's Isaac Del Toro, Britain's Simon Yates and Italy's Lorenzo Fortunato, Pope Leo XIV blesses the pack before the start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia, at the Vatican, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Flanked by race leaders, from left, Denmark's Mads Pedersen, Mexico's Isaac Del Toro, Britain's Simon Yates and Italy's Lorenzo Fortunato, Pope Leo XIV blesses the pack before the start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia inside the Vatican, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV receives a pink jersey from the hands of RCS president Urbano Cairo before the official start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, inside the Vatican, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV blesses the pack before the official start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race inside the Vatican City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV blesses the pack before the official start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race inside the Vatican City, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)