This initiative aims to assist those coping with the pressures and challenges of the Games, particularly those facing disappointment.

Jason Nioka, a former judo champion and deacon, leads some 40 Catholic chaplains. He emphasised the importance of grounding athletes.

Nioka stressed "We'll need to bring them back to earth because it can feel like the end of the world after working on this goal for four or five years".

Chaplains from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism have collaborated for months to establish a shared hall in the Paris Olympics village.

This space will offer worship services, prayers and a supportive, non-judgmental environment for athletes and staff, regardless of their faith.

Several complex challenges

Anne Schweitzer, who is coordinating Protestant chaplains, highlighted the group's mission. "My goal is to have a Christian witness there, people who embody the love and care of Jesus, for the athletes who are under so much pressure."

The demand for chaplaincy services is historically high, with over 8,000 requests during pre-pandemic Games.

This year chaplains are preparing for several complex challenges. These include adherence to France's secularism laws and addressing potential impacts from global conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars.

The Greek-Orthodox Metropolis of France, led by Rev. Anton Gelyasov, contributes over two dozen chaplains.

Gelyasov stated their mission is twofold: to protect athletes in their vulnerability and to demonstrate the unity of different religions.

Each faith has been allocated 50 square meters in the Olympic Village's multi-faith centre.

Jewish and Muslim leaders have positioned their spaces adjacent to each other, symbolising coexistence amidst geopolitical tensions. Buddhists and Hindus have donated part of their space to accommodate more Christian chaplains.

A welcoming place

Though discreetly located and signposted, the multi-faith centre aims to be a welcoming place for athletes seeking spiritual support.

Jeanne Le Comte du Colombier, the Paris Olympics committee's project manager, noted that the visibility of religious symbols would be minimal - in line with French secular principles.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of France has initiated the "Holy Games" project. They set up the "Our Lady of Athletes" chapel in La Madeleine church, Paris. This initiative encourages the faithful to light candles with sports-related quotes and submit prayer requests online.

Rabbi Moshe Lewin, a Jewish chaplain, highlighted the spiritual dimension of their mission: "The geopolitical situation will impact athletes but the Olympic Games provide the incredible opportunity of meeting the other [dimension]."

Najat Benali from the Muslim chaplaincy echoed this sentiment. "We do worship, not politics. We will listen and explain we're there to accompany the athletes. We're not good resources to address geopolitics."

Sources

AP News

CathNews New Zealand

It is listed as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" and has become one of Brazil's most famous landmarks. Measuring 124 feet tall with an arm span of 92 feet wide, it is almost as big as the Statue of Liberty.

According to the BBC, in the early 20th century a local group in Rio called the Catholic Circle saw a need to reclaim the city for Christ.

"In the wake of World War One, [Catholic Circle] feared an advancing tide of godlessness. Church and state had been separated when Brazil became a republic at the end of the previous century, and they saw the statue as a way of reclaiming Rio - then Brazil's capital city - for Christianity."

The project was then taken up by the Archdiocese of Rio, which proposed it, and a petition was created to convince the president to allow it to take shape.

After it was approved, the group brainstormed various ideas and locations, finally deciding on the summit of Corcovado. Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa had a grandiose plan for the statue and wanted it to be a worthy monument to Jesus Christ.

"The statue of the divine savior shall be the first image to emerge from the obscurity in which the earth is plunged and to receive the salute of the star of the day which, after surrounding it with its radiant luminosity, shall build at sunset around its head a halo fit for the Man-God."

In order for the statue to be visible, da Silva Costa knew it had to be big and he needed help to realize his idea. He teamed up with Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski, who created a clay statue that was shipped and reproduced in Rio using concrete.

At first da Silva Costa did not like the use of concrete to create the Art Deco statue, but eventually agreed to it, using soapstone for the exterior layers. Continue reading

Sources

• Article by Philip Kosloski, staff writer at Aleteia.
• Image: The Guardian

"We hope that the center will encourage harmony and unity among different countries and among different religions," the coordinator Father Leandro Lenin Tavares says.

"We are a symbol of peace, brotherhood and the unity of peoples."

It's no secret that the Olympic Games bring together a diverse pool of people from different ethnicities and cultures.

Competitors have divergent beliefs and lifestyles, particularly when it comes to the practice of faith and religion.

Tavares says the center will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, from July 24-Aug. 24 for Olympic athletes and their delegations and September 1-21 for Paralympic athletes and delegations.

The inter-religious center has five meeting rooms, each occupied by one of the five faiths chosen by the International Olympic Committee: Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.

The Catholic Church will represent the Christian faith.

These religions were chosen based on the faith composition of the athletes slated to compete in the Olympic Games.

The center will host not only group meetings and Masses but also will offer individual guidance to those who seek religious support.

But this won't only be limited to the aforementioned religious traditions, as people who subscribe to other faiths will also be able to ask for support.

"Our job is to provide athletes with a place where they can find comfort and spiritual peace, whatever their religion," Tavares says.

Source

• America
• Deseret News
• Image: Pixabay

Johan Huibers' Biblical boat complete with wooden animals, was constructed four years ago at the cost of nearly $1.6million (over £1million), and is currently a popular attraction in Dordrecht, south of Amsterdam.

It is estimated that the cost of sailing the vessel 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean in time for the sporting event would be around $1.97million (£1.36million), according to a California non-profit organisation set up to help the determined Huibers realise his latest goal. Read More

Speaking to Vatican Radio, James Parker, Catholic executive co-ordinator for the Olympic Games, reported that not only is daily Mass celebrated within the Olympic Village, it also has the "highest attendance at any of the religious services".

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But as soon as the Games end, the Spanish Olympian will head to a Belgium seminary to begin the process of becoming a priest.
According to the Spanish daily El Pais, even though he always considered himself a believer, it was only in 2005 that he became aware of the importance of God in his life.

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The cross will stand at the Joshua Camp, an international Catholic Olympic gathering in East London, until August 13.

The camp provides hospitality and creates a Catholic presence to foster spiritual growth and evangelisation. Organisers have described it as "Olympic World Youth Day".

The Olympic Cross was specially commissioned for the Games. Artist Jon Cornwall used 12 different types of wood from around the world to represent the 12 disciples.

"We wanted to create a keepsake that symbolises everything the Games truly represent, something we could then pass on to future Olympic host nations," explained James Parker, Catholic executive co-ordinator for the Games.

"As Christians our lives mean nothing without the cross and so this seemed to be the most suitable object to commission for ourselves and as a future gift to others."

After the Games, the Olympic Cross could head to Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games or it could head to Brazil for the 2013 World Youth Day, the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Twenty-four hour exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is being held in St Francis of Assisi's Church, at Stratford in east London, throughout the Games.

A special Mass for the 30th Olympiad was held in London's Westminster Cathedral.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster reminded attending Olympians that their bodies "are temples of the Holy Spirit".

"This does not detract from that physical achievement of sport, with its beauty, symmetry, harnessing of speed, finesse and power," he said. "Rather it enhances those achievements and gives them their deepest purpose — that of giving glory to their Maker."

Sources:

Catholic Herald

Catholic News Agency

Catholic News Agency

Image: The Catholic Church in England and Wales

In the same year Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, sought help from the Vatican to support the Games, and Pope Pius X in person offered him his support.

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Sister Mary-Joy Langdon, of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, will join the Olympic Torch Relay in the Kingston to Ealing leg. She is no stranger to flames, having been Britain's first female firefighter when she joined the East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service in 1976.

Past Olympians and sports professionals who are Catholic have been invited to the July 28 Mass at Westminster Cathedral to celebrate the start of the Games.

"They are being invited to join the rest of the Catholic community in giving thanks to God for the many opportunities that the Games present not only to our nation but to the whole world at this time," said James Parker, the Catholic executive co-ordinator for the Games.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has proposed seven different ways that Catholics — as individuals, groups or schools — can connect with the Games, whether within the Catholic community or jointly with other churches.

Prayer for a peaceful and trouble-free Games tops the list. Other ideas include:

• bringing an Olympic theme to both the inside and outside of church buildings;
• volunteering to serve the local authority or a local social project;
• putting on a simple big screen event to show live sporting events;
• planning an activity for Super Saturday, the second Saturday of the Games;
• organising an Olympic-related quiz night for family or members of the local community; and
• showing basic hospitality to others.

From Rome, Pope Benedict has sent greetings to the organisers, athletes and spectators, with his prayer that "in the spirit of the Olympic Truce, the good will generated by this international sporting event may bear fruit, promoting peace and reconciliation throughout the world".

Independent Catholic News

The Catholic Church in England and Wales

Vatican Insider

Image: The Catholic Church in England and Wales

One such person is Father Geoff Hilton, a priest from Salford diocese in the north of England, who will be serving as one of the Olympic chaplains to athletes competing in the 2012 Games in London, Catholic News Service reports.

It was because of his sporting prowess that the former police officer from Manchester was hand-picked to become one of 16 official Catholic chaplains appointed by the Olympics organising committee.

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