The Pope has expressed sport as a sign of peace and human dignity as sport can break the logic of violence and promote encounter as he hosted over 300 athletes including Paralympic who are gold and bronze medalists after competing in 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympic games.
He said the athletes made “the possibility of peace visible at a time marked by polarization, rivalry, and conflict.”
He highlighted Paralympic competitions saying “we have seen how limitation can become source of revelation’’- not something that holds a person back, but something transformed into new reality and qualities.
The Pope highlighted that no victory is for one person. He reminded them that for every victory are family, teams,, training, pressure and solitude.
He encouraged them to focus on the mission to keep the mission that “the human person remains at the centre of sport in all its expressions.”
The athletes who came with their medals to show the Pope expressed great joy to meet the Pope and described the moment as a “dream” and really nice.
Paralympian Giovanni Landeros, who lost his legs at 17, said faith is “number one” for him and called the meeting “a super cool experience.”
It is not the first time the Pope has met the Paralympics. Pope Francis met them in 2014 for the” Believe to be Alive” events. In 1908, Vatican hosted an international sports event for athletes with disabilities, over 50 years before the first official Paralympic in 1960.
Source: Vatican News
