03 Feb 2022 – During his weekly general audience, His Holiness Pope Francis conveyed his best wishes for successful Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022: “I warmly greet all participants of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I wish the organisers every success and the athletes the very best,” he said.

His Holiness hailed the power of sport to bring the world together in peaceful competition and solidarity: “Sport, with its universal language, can build bridges of friendship and solidarity between individuals and peoples of all cultures and religions. I therefore appreciate the fact that, to the historic Olympic motto, ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ – that is, ‘faster, higher, stronger’ – the International Olympic Committee has added the word ‘communiter’, that is, ‘together’: so that the Olympic Games may bring about a more fraternal world. Together,” Francis stressed.

Referring to the role that the Olympic and Paralympic Games play in promoting inclusive societies, Pope Francis said: “I embrace with a special thought the whole Paralympic world: we will win the most important medal together, if the example of athletes with disabilities helps everyone to overcome prejudices and fears and to make our communities more welcoming and inclusive. This is the real gold medal. I also follow with attention and emotion the personal stories of refugee athletes. May their testimonies help to encourage civil societies to open up with ever greater confidence to all, leaving no one behind.”

He concluded: “I wish the great Olympic and Paralympic family a unique experience of human brotherhood and peace: blessed are the peacemakers!”https://www.youtube.com/embed/jsWbIsQBUIo?rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenewsmarket.com

IOC President Thomas Bach expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis: “We are very grateful for the very supportive message from Pope Francis. It is another strong sign that the international community supports the role of the IOC and the IPC and of the Olympic Games.”

The support of Pope Francis comes on top of the support expressed by the United Nations General Assembly, which adopted the Olympic Truce Resolution for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games by consensus of all 193 UN Member States. This is also expressed by the participation of the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly at the Opening Ceremony of the Games on Friday, following an invitation by the IOC. In addition, the G20 Leaders expressed their support for the Games after their recent meeting.

The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 are due to open on 4 February and 4 March respectively.