Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday got a ping pong bat as a present and tried it out to the delight of the faithful attending his weekly general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Room.
    Leo, who is a keen tennis player, hit a ball into the air a few times with the bat, which bore his papal emblem.
    The initiative, reports Vatican Athletica, is by the American company Killerspin of Chicago, which, as part of a project called World UnPlugNPlay Day, "is relaunching the gaming experience as a moment of joy to be enjoyed together in the age of smartphones." Leo, in his previous incarnation as Archbishop Robert Prevost of Chicago and Peru, was a keen sports fan and rooted for his native White Sox baseball team.
    He also regularly played tennis.
    It is not known whether the 69-year-old is continuing those pursuits as Roman pontiff.

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