GREETINGS
Dear friends,
It is with joy that we welcome you to the Vatican, and to this International Summit “Sport for All. Cohesive, Accessible and Tailored to each person”. Since the birth of modern sports in the 19th century, the Church has willingly accompanied and promoted the practice of sports. Using the words of His Holiness Pius XII, sport is not “a vain agitation of limbs,” but an “activity with high educational and social potential, capable of promoting the person.”
Along with support and continuous encouragement, the Church also assumes the responsibility of elucidating the challenges to the honest practice of sport. The Church always maintains, with full awareness, that sport is a precious good that must be nurtured.
Pope Francis continually reminds us that we are called to live in a complex age of transition, and asked to build ever- stronger educational and social alliances. The occasion of this International Summit, and the Declaration that accompanies it, is a further sign of friendship between faith and sport. It is a sign of friendship capable of delivering gestures of hope and visionary planning – to give continued momentum, to the potential for inclusion and social cohesion in sport.
HIS EMINENCE
CARDINAL KEVIN JOSEPH FARRELL
Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
Sport is a living and dynamic expression of a fundamental dimension of the human person; in play, we have a gratuitous manifestation of our creativity and potential, both physical and spiritual. True sport weaves together in harmony the body and the spirit, force and beauty, physical exercise and intelligence, passion and will, quick intuition and long-acquired habit.
We can consider sport — like art and music — as a universal language shared by peoples, which unites diversities in harmony, that passes over ethnic and national identities, and generates a true culture of encounter and dialogue.
Such a precious good for humanity must be made accessible to each person, no matter the age, sex, physical or mental condition. Every girl and boy, every woman and man should have the opportunity to experience at least once in life the pure joy of play, the reward of physical effort, the pleasure of victory and the humility of defeat.
In pure and creative sport we can see a reflection of God whose creative cosmic wisdom is portrayed in the Bible (Proverbs 8:30-31) as a young woman playing, dancing and exercising on the face of the earth. God loves to play, and so do we.
HIS EMINENCE
CARDINAL GIANFRANCO RAVASI
GREETINGS
Dear friends,
It is with joy that we welcome you to the Vatican, and to this International Summit “Sport for All. Cohesive, Accessible and Tailored to each person”. Since the birth of modern sports in the 19th century, the Church has willingly accompanied and promoted the practice of sports. Using the words of His Holiness Pius XII, sport is not “a vain agitation of limbs,” but an “activity with high educational and social potential, capable of promoting the person.”
Along with support and continuous encouragement, the Church also assumes the responsibility of elucidating the challenges to the honest practice of sport. The Church always maintains, with full awareness, that sport is a precious good that must be nurtured.
Pope Francis continually reminds us that we are called to live in a complex age of transition, and asked to build ever- stronger educational and social alliances. The occasion of this International Summit, and the Declaration that accompanies it, is a further sign of friendship between faith and sport. It is a sign of friendship capable of delivering gestures of hope and visionary planning – to give continued momentum, to the potential for inclusion and social cohesion in sport.
HIS EMINENCE
CARDINAL KEVIN JOSEPH FARRELL
Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
Sport is a living and dynamic expression of a fundamental dimension of the human person; in play, we have a gratuitous manifestation of our creativity and potential, both physical and spiritual. True sport weaves together in harmony the body and the spirit, force and beauty, physical exercise and intelligence, passion and will, quick intuition and long-acquired habit.
We can consider sport — like art and music — as a universal language shared by peoples, which unites diversities in harmony, that passes over ethnic and national identities, and generates a true culture of encounter and dialogue.
Such a precious good for humanity must be made accessible to each person, no matter the age, sex, physical or mental condition. Every girl and boy, every woman and man should have the opportunity to experience at least once in life the pure joy of play, the reward of physical effort, the pleasure of victory and the humility of defeat.
In pure and creative sport we can see a reflection of God whose creative cosmic wisdom is portrayed in the Bible (Proverbs 8:30-31) as a young woman playing, dancing and exercising on the face of the earth. God loves to play, and so do we.
HIS EMINENCE
CARDINAL GIANFRANCO RAVASI
INTRO
The world of sport today, like the societies in which we live, is experiencing an economic and identity crisis of systemic proportions. The pandemic has allowed us to see more clearly problems that until now were hidden or at least not visible to all, including the distance between amateur and professional sport. To overcome this situation requires that we all work together.
As Pope Francis said during the historic vigil on the deserted square of St. Peter’s Basilica on March 27, 2020, “we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other.” It is with this spirit of fraternity that we look ahead, for turning back is not possible. There is a temptation to limit ourselves to resilience, that is, to ride out the storm and go back to the way things were before. However, such a strategy would only lead to outdated cultural models. Instead, we need the courage to adapt, accept change and seize new opportunities.
For this reason, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Culture and Education, is organizing an International Summit in the Vatican on September 29 and 30, 2022, under the title Sport for All: Cohesive, accessible and tailored to each person. It will involve the major sports and intergovernmental institutions and organizations and build on the October 2016 event Sport at the Service of Humanity and the June 2018 document Giving the Best of Yourself. The aim is to promote the social and inclusive dimension of sport in society, especially when it encapsulates an authentically Christian spirit. It is a response to the Holy Father’s encouragement of a sport that is socially responsible and his appeals to foster sport as a means of human, educational and spiritual growth.
The main purpose of the Summit is to urge sports and politics, international, regional and local, to embrace the Declaration by committing to work for the integration of people in society through sports, especially people with physical, intellectual and relational disabilities, migrants and refugees, prisoners, youth and the elderly, women, etc. It also seeks to motivate sports bodies to reduce the division that exists between professional and amateur sports so that the sense of play, camaraderie, and gratuitousness is not lost.
SPORT FOR ALL PROGRAM
SPORT FOR ALL PROGRAM
The Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life is competent in matters that pertain to the Apostolic See regarding the promotion of life, the apostolate of the lay faithful, the pastoral care of the family and its mission according to God’s plan and for the safeguard and support of human life.
BIOGRAPHIES / SPEAKERS
THOMAS BACH
President of the International Olympic Committee
Thomas Bach won an Olympic gold medal with the West German foil team at the 1976 Montréal Games. In 1973, he was runner-up with the foil team at the World Championships and earned a team gold medal in 1976, which he defended with his team one year later at Buenos Aires. In 1979 the team won the bronze medal. Nationally, Bach became German Champion in the 1978 individual foil, and won the European Cup of national champions of foil teams the…
VERENA BENTELE
Paralympic champion, Vicepresident of the German Olympic Committee
Verena Bentele, is a blind German Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind and partially sighted in Marburg, Germany. She won her first Paralympic medals (one gold, two silver, one bronze) at the 1998 Winter Paralympics, followed by four gold medals at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, as well as two gold and one bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Paralympics She was also winner of the Combined World…
CLAUDIO DE VIVO
Italian Paralympic Champion
Claudio de Vivo is a paralympic athlete, born in Somma Vesuviana, Naples in 1980. He was 29 years old when he was hit by a truck at the construction site where he used to work. The injury caused him to have his left leg amputated. From that moment the road was uphill, because after the accident Claudio had come to weigh 130 kg. Then, in 2012, after many sacrifices and a proper diet, he got his first running prosthesis. He began competing in 2015 and is now the…
LINDA DEL RIO
Sport Consultant. Vice-president of the Jack del Rio Foundation
Linda has been involved in sports all her life − as an athlete herself, a professional dancer, owner and manager of her own dance studio, she has always understood the female heart, its vulnerability and the power a woman brings to sport. With over 35 years in professional sports, first as the wife of a National Football League (NFL) player and now coach for nine different teams, she has been a tireless advocate for addressing the needs of the wives, significant others…
EMMANUEL GOBILLARD
Bishop Delegate for Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Between 1994 and 1998 he was part of the chaplaincy team at the Spallazani Hospital, which specializes in the terminal stages of infectious diseases. In 1996 he completed his postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Pontifical Lateran University. He was ordained a priest on June 28, 1997 for the diocese of Puy-en-Velay. He completed his studies in Rome the following year, obtaining a canonical license in moral theology…
CATERINA GOZZOLI
Catholic University of the Sacred Heart
Professor of Psychology of Work and Organizations at the Faculty of Psychology, Caterina Gozzoli is Scientific Coordinator of Cattolica per lo Sport, Director of ASAG (Alta Scuola di Psicologia Agostino Gemelli), Scientific Director of the Psychology, Sport and Society Unit, of the Second Level Master’s Degree in Sport and Psychosocial Intervention, and Scientific Responsible for several projects on Sport. Vice President of AIPAF Association (International Association of Applied…
FILIPPO GRANDI
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Filippo Grandi became the 11th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 1 January 2016. As High Commissioner, he heads one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations. UNHCR has twice won the Nobel Peace Prize. Its 18,000-strong workforce spans 135 countries providing protection and assistance to over 100 million refugees, returnees, internally displaced people as well as stateless people. Some 90 per cent of UNHCR staff work in the field, often in…
ALOYSIUS JOHN
Secretary General of Caritas International
Aloysius John currently works for Caritas Internationalis in Rome. He teaches at various universities (Paris XII, Andrews University, ESIEE Paris, Faculty of Theology in Olomouc, Czech Republic, and Oxford) on issues of Humanitarianism, Organizational Development, Risk Analysis and Management, Quality Management, Interculturality, Emergency Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. After studying mathematics, education and psychology at the University…
TEGLA LOROUPE
World Half-Marathon Champion
Tegla Chepkite Loroupe, born in Kutomwony, Kenya is a world champion long-distance runner and global spokeswoman for peace, women’s rights and education. Ms Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometres, and previously held the world marathon record. She was the first African woman to hold the marathon world record, which she held from April 19th, 1998 until September 30th, 2001. She is a three-time World Half-Marathon champion…
ÂNGELA MELO
Director of Policies and Programmes, SHS Sector of UNESCO
Ms Angela Melo is currently the Director of Policies and Programmes of the Social and Human Sciences Sector at UNESCO. She holds an LL.M. (Université des Sciences Sociales de Toulouse, France), as well as a B.A. and M.A. in Law (Universidade Eduardo Mondane, Maputo, Mozambique). Ms Melo has held a number of different positions in the Mozambican Ministry of Justice since 1980, including as Criminal Prosecutor and representative of the Attorney General for…
STANLEY MUTOYA
CEO of the African Union Sport Council Region V
Mr. Stanley Mutoya joined Region 5 (then SCSA Zone VI) in November 2011 and served as the general manager on a five-year contract after replacing Charles Dzimba who had retired. As a former chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC), Mr. Stanley Mutoya has developed into a seasoned sports administrator with 16 years experience in sports administration. He was involved in sports administration and management within the then Ministry of..
ANDREW PARSONS
President of the International Paralympic Committee
Andrew Parsons is a server of the Paralympic Movement and the athletes. He has been working in the Movement since 1997, starting as an intern at the Brazil Paralympic Committee and subsequently rising through the ranks to serve as President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee from 2009-2017 as well as President of the Americas Paralympic Committee from 2005-2009. He was elected the IPC President in 2017 and was re-elected for a second-term end of last…
STEFANIE REID
World Champion Paralympic Athlete
Stef Reid is a British Paralympic long jumper and sprinter. She is a World Champion, four-time Paralympian, triple Paralympic medallist, and five-time world record holder. Stef has a degree in biochemistry, and her adventures off the track include acting, modelling, and serving as Vice President for The Leprosy Mission UK and British Athletics. Recently, Stef competed in the Tokyo 2021 Paralympics and starred in the British reality TV show Dancing On Ice 2022…
TIM SHRIVER
Chairman of Special Olympics
Timothy Shriver leads the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, and together with 6 million Special Olympics athletes in more than 200 countries, promotes health, education, and a more unified world through the joy of sport. Shriver joined Special Olympics in 1996. He has been a leading educator who focuses on the social and emotional factors in learning. He co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning…
DANIELE PASQUINI
President of the John Paul II Foundation for Sport
Daniele Pasquini was born in Crema (CR) in 1976. He graduated in Mathematics at the State University of Milan in 2000, then moved to Rome to serve during the Jubilee, starting a collaboration with the Centro Sportivo Italiano (Italian Sports Centre), holding positions and becoming in 2011 its local president of Rome. He has matured his skills as a sports manager working for the Forum of Italian Oratories, the Sports Office of the CEI, and the Holy See. Since 2019 he is…
SANTIAGO PÉREZ DE CAMINO GAISSE
Head of the Church & Sport Office
Santiago Pérez de Camino is the Head of the Church and Sport Office of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life since March 2013. Born in Spain in 1986, he holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid, specializing in International Relations. Before working for the Holy See, he worked as head of the Visa Office for World Youth Day Madrid 2011 and for more than 10 years has collaborated in many projects in youth ministry in the Archdiocese of Madrid…
MELCHOR SÁNCHEZ DE TOCA
Dicastery for Culture and Education
Monsignor Melchor Sanchez de Toca is under-secretary a.i. of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and board director of the Sport at the Service of Humanity Foundation. Born in Jaca, Spain, Msgr. Melchor is a priest of the archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, from 1993. He studied philosophy at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, then theology in Toledo and at the Gregorian University in Rome. In 2006, he completed his PhD in Theology at the Gregorian…
BIOGRAPHIES / SPEAKERS
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wishes to thank the following organizations and individuals for their valuable contribution in making this INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT SPORT FOR ALL possible.
And a special thank you to all our staff and volunteers!