Milanese children prepared for the Olympics for 3 years

When the next location for the Olympics was announced in 2022, the Archdiocese of Milan was uniquely poised to do something extraordinary to celebrate. The world will soon tune in to the 2026 Milan Olympics, but young Catholics across the archdiocese have been preparing for the last three years through the Ora Sport on Fire Tour.

Italian children often play sports through “oratories” or Church-sponsored sports centers. The Archdiocese of Milan has one of the densest concentrations of these sporting associations, hosting approximately a thousand different centers. In 2022, Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan announced an initiative wherein children could engage not only in sports, but also in the lessons that Olympic values had to teach them. 

The Ora Sport on Fire Tour has run for three years, with each year committing to a theme that is seen in the Olympic Charter.

One year, it focused on Excellence and the idea that each person can give the best of themselves. Another year, the central theme was Friendship or Solidarity; in an opening letter Archbishop Delpini explained this as a way that each person could see others not as “opponents or enemies, but as people worthy of being known.” For the third theme, the Tour explored respect and how that can be practiced with others.

The Tour sought to include both the oratories and Catholic schools by providing teachers with lots of materials to incorporate these themes and also by running a contest. Children in various age categories had the opportunities to compete by producing short videos about excellence, friendship and respect.

Archbishop Delpini wrote that he thought of the initiative as “Translating the Olympics of Milan into an educational experience.” Along with what students learned in the classroom, they also had their own version of an Olympic torch that traveled throughout the archdiocese.

Oratories and schools have celebrated with numerous events over the last couple of years, from parades to sporting events. In addition, the Tour has partnered with some professional athletes who have joined the initiative to help inspire and educate kids.

One such athlete is Simone Barlaam, an Italian swimmer who won a gold medal in the Paralympics. Due to congenital hypoplasia, one of his legs is shorter than the other. Barlaam’s experience with all that he has learned in sports led him to take part in passing on these lessons to the next generation. He explained in an archdiocesan video that in sports, he sees the beauty of life, as a believer, and has learned how to overcome challenges.

“Hardwork, determination, and will” are the three adjectives that national snowboarder Riccardo Cardani says describe his own path in sports that he wishes to pass on to others.

Professional volleyball player Paolo Porro said that for him, it's about the team, learning to work together to meet a common goal. Echoing the Archbishop, he said competing is not so much about beating your opponents, but for him it's about learning to overcome your own limits.

Don Gabio Lando, who works in ministry with schools, agrees that sports have a lot to teach children. In an initial press conference for the opening of the Ora Sport on Fire Tour, he explained that schools want to counteract the idea that sports don’t matter much for education and instead see athletics as a chance for personal growth, understanding one’s own values and identity. 

People around the world will gather together to watch the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 6. For thousands of Italian children, this Olympics will be unforgettable not only because it's in their home country, but because they’ve really entered into all that sports can teach us.