Pope Leo's ex-gym trainer reveals he was shocked on learning his client was a cardinal

What would your reaction be if someone you’d been casually coaching at the gym suddenly appeared on TV as the new leader of the Catholic Church? For Valerio Masella, a 26-year-old personal trainer in Rome, the surprise was almost too surreal to believe.In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Masella recounted the moment he realized that the man he’d trained for two years—known simply as “Robert” at the gym—had just become Pope Leo XIV.“Here in the gym, no one knew that Robert, now Leo XIV, was a cardinal, least of all me who trained him,” he said.Robert Prevost, now the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, had been working out regularly at a gym near the Vatican. According to Il Messaggero, the cardinal kept a low profile, often visiting several times a week dressed in informal clothes.Masella admitted he had assumed his quiet, respectful client might be a professor. “He came in informal clothes. However, he was always kind, never nervous or irritated. A truly serene and balanced person,” he said.Then came the moment everything clicked.“Seeing him on TV, I recognized him immediately. I couldn’t believe it,” Masella said. “Basically, I trained the future pontiff: it’s incredible, but for me, he was a client like any other, and he behaved like all the clients of this gym.”Masella even vouched for the Pope’s fitness credentials. “For a man of his age… exceptional,” he said. “Typical of someone who has never stopped playing sports, with an excellent ratio of muscle mass, bone mass, and fat mass.”In a separate interview with the Catholic News Agency, the president and founder of the Omega Fitness Club, Alessandro Tamburlani, expressed his joy at the news.“My joy was doubled or tripled. Joy to finally have a new Holy Father after the obligatory period of mourning we went through. And joy also to know that he’s a good person and, moreover, someone we all already knew here at the gym,” Tamburlani said.He added that Pope Leo’s lifestyle sends a powerful message.“He’s a good example of someone who manages to combine spirituality and sports training.”Pope Leo XIV, as per reports, is a known tennis enthusiast. Earlier this week he even met with world No. 1 tennis player Jannik Sinner, who gifted him a racket—perhaps one destined for the Vatican’s own tennis court.Robert Francis Prevost, 69, has officially become the 267th pope, taking the name Leo XIV. His election marks a historic moment: he is the first American-born pontiff to ascend to the throne of St. Peter.Though born in Chicago in 1955 to a family of Spanish and Franco-Italian heritage, Pope Leo XIV is deeply connected to Latin America. After being ordained in 1982, he moved to Peru just three years later, beginning a decades-long mission that would define much of his pastoral legacy. While technically the first pope from the United States, many within the Church see him equally as a cardinal shaped by Latin America.Leo XIV holds Peruvian citizenship and is remembered with affection for his grassroots work in the country’s underserved communities. In Trujillo, a coastal city in northwestern Peru, he spent ten years both as a parish priest and a seminary professor, forging close ties with locals and championing the marginalized.Despite his long service abroad, he regularly returned to his hometown to continue his ministry in Chicago, where he served as a prior and maintained deep connections with the community that first formed his faith.Now, as Pope, he brings a unique blend of American roots, Latin American missionary spirit, and global pastoral experience to the Vatican.