At 12:00 noon today, in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Special Olympics Athletes who participated in the Torneo Unified Football (Rome, 13-15 October 2017) as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of that International Sporting Association.
Dear friends,
I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of this football tournament and the forum organized by Special Olympics. I greet all of you with affection and thank the President for the words that have been offered to me, as well as the young people who have spoken. You are symbols of a sport that opens the eyes and the hearts of others to the value and the dignity of individuals and of persons who otherwise would be objects of prejudice and exclusion.
In these days you will have the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of “unified” sport, through which athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities will play together. This beautiful activity, which you carry ahead with commitment and conviction, nourishes hope in a positive and fruitful future for sport, because it ensures that it becomes a true occasion for inclusion and involvement. Never tire of showing the world of sport your shared commitment to constructing more fraternal societies, in which people can grow and develop, and fully realize their own capacities. In this sense, sport is one of those universal languages that overcomes cultural, social, religious and physical differences, and succeeds in uniting people, making them participants in the same game and protagonists together in victories and defeats.
The Church, for her part, never fails to support and encourage these initiatives, linked to the world of sport, which favor the good of people and of communities. In effect, sport always has great stories to tell of people whom it has helped emerge from conditions of marginalization and poverty, wounds and misfortunes. These stories show us how the determination and character of some can be a reason for inspiration and encouragement for many people, in all aspects of their life.
I hope you will spend these days in joy and serenity. Along with enjoyment, cultivate friendship and solidarity. As I ask you to pray for me, I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon you, your families and those who support you in your sporting activities.
May God bless you all.
Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the meeting with Special Olympics Athletes
Dear friends,
I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of this football tournament and the forum organized by Special Olympics. I greet all of you with affection and thank the President for the words that have been offered to me, as well as the young people who have spoken. You are symbols of a sport that opens the eyes and the hearts of others to the value and the dignity of individuals and of persons who otherwise would be objects of prejudice and exclusion.
In these days you will have the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of “unified” sport, through which athletes both with and without intellectual disabilities will play together. This beautiful activity, which you carry ahead with commitment and conviction, nourishes hope in a positive and fruitful future for sport, because it ensures that it becomes a true occasion for inclusion and involvement. Never tire of showing the world of sport your shared commitment to constructing more fraternal societies, in which people can grow and develop, and fully realize their own capacities. In this sense, sport is one of those universal languages that overcomes cultural, social, religious and physical differences, and succeeds in uniting people, making them participants in the same game and protagonists together in victories and defeats.
The Church, for her part, never fails to support and encourage these initiatives, linked to the world of sport, which favor the good of people and of communities. In effect, sport always has great stories to tell of people whom it has helped emerge from conditions of marginalization and poverty, wounds and misfortunes. These stories show us how the determination and character of some can be a reason for inspiration and encouragement for many people, in all aspects of their life.
I hope you will spend these days in joy and serenity. Along with enjoyment, cultivate friendship and solidarity. As I ask you to pray for me, I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon you, your families and those who support you in your sporting activities.
May God bless you all.
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