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In a letter written to the Archbishop of Paris, Pope Francis expresses the hope that the organization of the Olympic Games will “provide the people of France with a wonderful opportunity for fraternal harmony, enabling them to transcend differences and oppositions and strengthen the unity of the Nation.”
The Pope's letter was read by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris at a Mass celebrated in that city on July 19, 2024, in the presence of the President of the Olympic Committee, foreign diplomatic delegations, and French political figures.
The Olympic truce
A week before the opening of the Paris Olympic Games, Pope Francis once again shared his dream of an Olympic truce in "these troubled times, when world peace is under serious threat."
"[I]t is my fervent wish that everyone will take this truce to heart, in the hope of resolving conflicts and restoring harmony," said the Argentine pontiff through Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, who presided over a 10 a.m. Mass in the Church of the Madeleine.
IOC President Thomas Bach, Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Culture Minister Rachida Dati, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also attended the Mass, which symbolically marked the start of the "Olympic Truce," a tradition inherited from antiquity and revived by the United Nations.
An opportunity for greater unity in France
At a time when France is experiencing political instability following the results of the European elections in June and the dissolution of the National Assembly, Pope Francis also expressed the hope that this major sporting event would be an opportunity for the French "for fraternal harmony, enabling them to transcend differences and oppositions and strengthen the unity of the Nation."
The Argentine pope also recalls that "sport is a universal language that transcends frontiers, languages, races, nationalities and religions."
He emphasizes sport's “capacity to unite people” and "encourage dialogue." Thus, the head of the Catholic Church hopes that the Olympic Games will enable all those who come to Paris to "foster esteem where there is contempt and mistrust, and friendship where there is hatred."
And he insists that the Games are, "by their very nature, about peace, not war."
In his letter, Pope Francis welcomes the involvement of Christian communities in the Paris region, who are "preparing to open wide the doors of their churches, schools, and homes" for the Olympic Games.
"I greatly appreciate the fact that you have not forgotten the most vulnerable, especially those in very precarious situations, and that access to the celebration has been made easier for them," he added.
At the end of Mass, five white doves symbolizing peace were released from the forecourt of the Church of the Madeleine. "May they go without delay to those places of conflict that make our planet tremble. This is our Olympic prayer," said Bishop Philippe Marsset, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Paris, shortly before the release.
