Online Reporter
DETERMINED to end his term on a high note and within the framework of the Jubilee of Sport held over the weekend in Rome, the outgoing International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach took the opportunity to visit the city and head to the Vatican, where he held a private meeting with His Holiness Leo XIV.
After the Pope concluded the jubilee with a mass at St Peter’s, during which he affirmed that sport “is a reflection of the beauty of God,” both figures spoke informally and behind closed doors about the transformative power of sport to improve society.
Both s Bach and Leo agreed on the importance of Olympic values such as peace and solidarity, and discussed how to strengthen them over time. During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a message of hope and peace was transmitted from Paris to the entire world, emphasising the unifying character of sport. In this context, the IOC president informed His Holiness about the message of peace issued by athletes just before the start of the Games.
The message came from athletes representing the territories of all national Olympic committees and the Refugee Olympic Team, particularly from countries at war, including Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, Iran and Yemen.
The two also discussed the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and the work of the Refuge Foundation, which brings sport and its benefits to camps and migration centres across the entire world. Finally, they discussed artificial intelligence and the Olympic AI agenda.
President Bach described the IOC’s approach: harnessing the benefits of AI whilst preserving human dignity, and at the same time emphasising the value of solidarity, so that all can benefit, not just a privileged few.
After a special mass celebrating the link between sport and faith, Pope Leo delivered his Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square, in which he said that sport is a way to “create peace, because it is a school of respect and fairness”.
He encouraged those present for his address to consciously practise this style and to oppose all forms of violence and oppression.
“Sport is not only physical performance, but also a path to humanity,” he added.
“In a competitive society where it seems that only the strong and the winners deserve to live, sport also teaches us how to lose,” said the Pope, and he emphasised the importance of sport for society. “Sport is more than just performance; it can bring people together, overcome loneliness and give hope.”
President Bach was in Rome for the Jubilee of Sport, a Vatican event celebrating the connection between sport and faith, as part of the wider Jubilee celebrations.
Earlier, speaking at a conference entitled “Momentum for Hope”, the IOC president outlined the power of the Olympic Games to unite the entire world in peaceful competition.
“The athletes showed us how the world would be if we all lived in this Olympic spirit of peaceful co-existence. These athletes created a culture of peace,” he said.
“These Olympic Games captured the hearts and minds of the five billion people who followed them around the globe. Three-quarters of these people considered the Olympic Games to be more important than ever be-fore in this divided world. And they said the IOC was successful in uniting the entire world in peaceful competition, and in this way making the world a better place through sport.” — insidethegames.com
