Athletica Vaticana is the Holy See’s official sports club. Its members comprise Vatican residents and citizens who are employees – together with their immediate family members – of bodies directly linked to the Holy See.
Established in accordance with the Code of Canon Law, the Secretariat of State has entrusted Athletica Vaticana – registered on 8 November 2018 in the Register of Canonical Legal Entities of the Vatican City State (number 56) – to the Dicastery for Culture and Education (Apostolic Constitution "Praedicate Evangelium", 154).
There are, therefore, two Vatican sports legal entities operating in close collaboration with one another: the Dicastery for Culture and Education and Athletica Vaticana, which coordinates and regulates the sporting activities themselves.
The Holy See’s official sports club comprises various federations (the first to be established was for athletics), some of which are members of their respective international federations, whilst others are currently undergoing the recognition process: athletics, cycling, padel, tennis, taekwondo, cricket, fencing, rowing, basketball, swimming and others.
Particularly active are the Paralympic team and the Inclusive and solidarity section, which organises practical projects and initiatives for the most vulnerable members of society through sport.
Athletica Vaticana began its activities on 1 January 2019, following the Bilateral Agreement signed on 11 September 2018 by the Holy See and CONI.
Through a philosophy of fraternity and witness, Athletica Vaticana embraces the world of sport alongside both professionals and amateurs. It promotes paths of dialogue and peace. This is evident at the World and European Cycling Championships, the Athletics Championships of the Small States of Europe, the Mediterranean Games, during the historic passage of the Giro d’Italia through the Vatican, and in inclusive initiatives such as the "We Run Together" athletics meeting and the "Padel Autistic Tour", and through outreach – alongside athletes from all backgrounds – to communities affected by poverty, such as the Vatican’s Santa Marta Paediatric Clinic, the Palazzo Migliori community (entrusted by the Office of the Papal Almoner to the Community of Sant’Egidio), the Caritas Rome soup kitchen at Termini station, and the paediatric palliative care centre at the Bambino Gesù Hospital.
The spiritual experience of Athletica Vaticana is expressed through the “Marathon Runner’s Prayer” and the celebration of the “Marathon Runner’s Mass” – with the marathon seen as a metaphor for life – on the eve of sporting events both large and small.
The activities are also shared through the weekly programme “Storie di sport. Athletica Vaticana racconta” on Radio Vaticana – Vatican News (every Thursday, live, from 11.00 to 12.00) and the weekly sports page (every Monday) in L’Osservatore Romano. Athletica Vaticana has also overseen the publication of the book "Giochi di pace. L'anima delle Olimpiadi e delle Paralimpiadi" (“Games of peace. The Soul of the Olympics and Paralympics"), with a preface by Pope Francis, published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana on the occasion of the Paris 2024 Games.
