President Petrucci: “the most beautiful medal is the one for the soul”
Pope Benedict XVI: “sport, field of humanity”
Rome 18th December – Sport and faith, an infinite emotion that crowns a year full of excitement and confirms the success of London 2012, with the 49 Italian Olympic and Paralympic medallists attending a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican last Monday.
The delegation of “Azzurri”, led by CONI president Giovanni Petrucci and secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi, who was also chef de mission for the Italian team at the London Games, also included the CONI vice-presidents, many heads of federations and members of the CONI Board, and was accompanied by the team chaplain Don Mario Lusek.
Pagnozzi presented the Pope the Olympic Torch and an Olympic Games uniform specially customised for the Holy Father.
Benedict XVI addressed the athletes who have made history at the London Games, underlining how “the Church has sport at heart as it is concerned with the whole of humanity. Sport and spirituality are part of our imprinting and therefore the concern of all humanity.”
As is traditional, in the afternoon the whole of the world of Italian sport was invited to a sports mass organised by CONI.
On a completely different theme, the following day the presentation of the second part of the White Paper on Italian sport, “Sport-Italia 2020”, took place at the CONI Hall of Honour, followed by a debate in which the CONI president and secretary general, and a number of university professors from Rome and Milan took part.
The White Paper illustrates the progress made by reforms and the strategies proposed by the Italian sports world, both in terms of sport for all and elite sport, in view of the 2020 Olympic Games.
The first part of the White Paper was presented last July, whilst the third and final part will be published in January 2013.