(ANS – Vatican City) – As part of the celebrations for the 2025 Jubilee, dedicated to the theme of Hope, the Jubilee of Sport was held on June 14 and 15, an event attended by athletes, managers, young people, coaches, and leaders of sports associations from different countries around the world. Representatives from the world of sport enjoyed a rich program organized by the Jubilee Central Committee and the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See.

‘The momentum of hope: stories beyond the podium,’ conference, the Jubilee Audience with Pope Leo XIV, the pilgrimage to the Holy Door with the ‘Cross of the Athletes,’ brought from France where it had been since the Paris Olympic Games, and the celebration of Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity.

Salesian participation

On behalf of the Salesian Congregation, Diego Pérez, Sports Coordinator for SMX Salesians, participated from Spain as a member of the new working group for the Sports Ministry of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.

A working meeting was held on Friday afternoon, organized by the Department of Culture and Education of the CEE, for the Spanish delegation, led by Bishop Alfonso Carrasco Rouco, Bishop of Lugo and President of the Episcopal Commission for Education and Culture. They gathered at the Church of Montserrat.

Diego Pérez explained:

“To close the event on Sunday, we participated in the Eucharist in St. Peter’s Basilica, coinciding with the celebration of the Holy Trinity, where the Holy Father proposed the practice of sport as a means to “find” the Trinity in the world and pointed out that God is not “static” and is not “closed in on himself”; “sport can help us find God the Trinity.” He also left us with three very important messages for today’s society: In a society marked by loneliness, sport teaches the value of collaboration, of walking together, and of sharing. In an increasingly digital society, sport values the concreteness of being together, the sense of the body, of space, of effort, of real time, and in a competitive society, sport teaches us to lose, putting man to the test in the art of defeat and fragility.

In this Jubilee of Sport, we have been able to see, contemplate, and experience how the Church clearly understands that sport is an instrument and an element of evangelization, especially for children, young people, and adolescents. The Church has asked us and insisted that we continue to evangelize, that we continue to create links between sport and faith, and that we build bridges where there are walls, serving as instruments of peace through sport, being authentic symbols of hope in today’s society.

‘The impulse of hope, stories beyond the podium’

The event was opened on Saturday, June 14, by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, who pointed out that ‘one of the many characteristics of sport is that it is an important school for certain values that are not taught in traditional educational programs’ and that ‘are particularly relevant in the face of the risks of contemporary society.’

He also quoted the pastoral constitution of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, to recall how ‘sport can be at the service of faith and faith at the service of sport’ in a ‘profound collaboration.’

Working as a team through solidarity

The conference was also attended by Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who emphasized that ‘the connections between sport and faith emerge especially when we experience solidarity.’

He spoke of the ‘great human values of civilisation’, drawing attention to the extraordinary adventure of the modern Olympic Games, which since the 1960s have brought to the forefront of the world ‘the value of peace, the ability to be together while learning respect for others.’ He paused to reflect on ‘the beauty of learning to live together in diversity, of discovering that we are a community by being a team.’

The Jubilee Audience with Pope Leo XIV

That same morning, the athletes and pilgrims participated in the Jubilee Audience presided over by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Basilica. In his catechesis, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the pilgrims to keep hope alive and spoke to them about the ‘connection’ between heaven and earth and how Jesus unites these two realities. The Holy Father also presented the figure of one of the greatest Christian theologians, Irenaeus of Lyon, and emphasized that ‘Jesus is not a wall that separates, but a door that unites us. It is necessary to remain in him and distinguish reality from ideologies. Dear brothers and sisters, even today, ideas can drive us mad and words can kill.’

Diego explains that the Pope ‘emphasized that we are not simply organizers of activities, leagues, or sports tournaments, but rather generators of hope through sport.’

Source: Salesianos.info