The next jubilee that hosts the city of Rome is that of sport, an event that will gather in the eternal city of professional and fans, coaches and leaders of sports associations.
On Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, all those who are part of the world of sport will pilgrimage to Rome to participate in the Jubileo de La Esperanza.
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It should be remembered that, in the first weeks of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has paid special attention to the social and educational value of sport, underlying in particular the need to guarantee the moral quality of sports experience.
“It is very important to lose”
In the presentation of this jubilee in Rome, which took place this Wednesday at the press office of the Holy See, the first Italian athlete to win an Olympic medal in swimming, Novella Calligaris, stressed that, for an athlete, “it is very important to lose.”
For Calligaris, it is on that occasion “when it really demonstrates who he is, how he can get up, how he can understand what he was wrong and what is his next goal.”
Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicasterio for Culture and Education, also stressed that “even when it looks like a lonely discipline, sport is always a community that moves.”
Giampaolo Mattei, president of Vatican Athletics and the Colombian Amelio Castro Thick, Paralympic fencing athlete with a great life and faith history.
In his speech before the media, he recalled his participation in the Paris Olympics last year, where he learned “to enjoy defeat as a fundamental moment of growth after having given everything.”
“Many just want to win; in reality, as my coach often says, the difficult thing is not to arrive, but to stay,” he said.
The Jubileo Program
The Dicasterio for the culture and education of the Holy See, competent in sports, and the Dicas supplies for evangelization, in charge of coordinating the jubilee, have prepared an extensive program of activities for this occasion.
As reported by the Vatican in a statement, on Saturday, June 14 will begin with the retirement hearing that Pope Leo XIV will preside in the Plaza de San Pedro at 9:45 (local time).
Subsequently, a congress will be held “The impulse of hope: stories beyond the podium”, conceived as an open reflection on the relationship between hope and sport.
This symposium will be divided into three blocks, introduced by the speeches of Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicasteria for culture and education, and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.
The first block will be dedicated to the testimonies of the athlete Letsile Tebogo, the fencer Valentina Siazali, the parlimpic wraquet Amelio Castro Grueso and the football player Sergio Conceição.
In the second part, the presence of the Church in the sports and educational field will be deepened, with interventions of Francesca Scibetta (Salesian youthful sports center), Giampaolo Mattei (Vatican Athletic), Litus Ballbe Sala (Sports Pastoral), and Paola Virginia Gigliotti (Caminos Frassati Association).
The event will conclude with the awards ceremony of the international photographic contest Sport in Motionpromoted with the aim of bringing young people to culture.
Moderation will be in charge of the journalists Novella Calligaris, of Rainews24, and Alessandro Gisotti, of the Dicastery for the Communication of the Holy See).
In the afternoon, in the Piazza del Popolo of Rome the “Pueblo del Deporte” event will be held, with demonstrations and sports activities open to all. The initiative is promoted by the CONI – I completed Italian National Olympic – within the framework of the National Sports Day, which adds to the jubilee of sport.
On the afternoon of Saturday, June 14, athletes, family and friends will be able to live the most significant rite of the jubilee: the passage through the holy door.
After a moment of prayer, the pilgrims will go in procession to the Basilica of San Pedro to take the passage through the Holy Gate.
The day will conclude at 21:30 with a legendary story of passion, faith and sport: in the Plaza San Cosimato, in Tretevere, the winning film of the Óscar Carros de Fuego, by Hugh Hudson will be screened.
On Sunday, June 15, at 10:30, Pope Leo XIV will preside in the Basilica of San Pedro the celebration of the Eucharist, open to all and in particular to the athletes and their families.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
Graduated in journalism and advertising from the CEU San Pablo University of Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. It has been a senior correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News at the Vatican for two years and is currently a correspondent for Europe based on Spain.