On the occasion of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Archdiocese of Milan, with the patronage of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, will promote a varied programme of pastoral sports activities.

The project, entitled “For Each Other”, includes a wide range of initiatives and events spread across the city of Milan, which will begin in the coming days and continue until mid-March. The aim is to offer a programme of events and activities that encourage people to experience sport as a journey that involves them in all aspects of their lives. Special attention will also be focused on inclusivity, inviting everyone to participate and valuing fragility and disability.

The first major event on the programme is scheduled for Thursday, January 29 at 6.30 p.m. in the Basilica of San Babila (Corso Monforte 1), with a Mass to welcome the “Cross of Sports”, presided over by the Archbishop of Milan, Monsignor Mario Delpini, and concelebrated by Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education. The ‘Cross of Athletes’ will be delivered by Athletica Vaticana, the official sports association of the Holy See, which has kept the Cross in Rome since last June, on the occasion of the celebration of the Jubilee of Sport.

For the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Basilica of San Babila will become the ‘church of Athletes’, hosting other celebrations related to the event.

Caritas Ambrosiana, the Diocesan Youth Ministry, CSI Milano (Italian Sports Centre) and the Diocesan Council ‘Christian Community and Disability’ are collaborating on the project, which is also sponsored by the Italian Episcopal Conference.

In his message for this sports ministry project, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça thanked the Archdiocese of Milan for welcoming the ‘Cross of Athletes’, emphasising that this Cross ‘is not intended to be a gesture of a confessional or proselytising nature, but rather a sign that recalls the value of human dignity in its entirety.’ The Cross, the core of the Christian message, bears witness to God's solidarity with the human condition, sharing its struggles, limitations and suffering, to open them up to a hope of meaning and transfiguration.

Message from Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça on the occasion of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games:

"As part of its mission to promote and accompany the Church's dialogue with the fundamental expressions of contemporary culture, the Dicastery for Culture and Education expresses its heartfelt gratitude to the Archdiocese of Milan, in the person of its Archbishop, His Excellency Mario Delpini, for welcoming the Cross of Athletes and for the pastoral initiatives promoted to prepare for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Church has always acknowledged sport as a human and social reality of great importance, which can have a profound impact on educational and cultural processes. Today, in the context of sport being one of the most widespread and shared phenomena globally, this relationship requires renewed and conscious attention. As Saint Paul VI, former Archbishop of Milan, recalled, “the person to be evangelised is not an abstract being” (Evangelii nuntiandi, 31), but a person embedded in a concrete historical and cultural reality.

The presence of the Cross of Athletes fits into this perspective. It is not intended to be a gesture of a confessional or proselytising nature, but a sign that recalls the value of human dignity in its entirety. The Cross, the heart of the Christian message, bears witness to God’s solidarity with the human condition, sharing its struggles, limitations and suffering, in order to open it up to a hope of meaning and transfiguration. In this way, it becomes a sign that challenges every conscience, regardless of religious affiliation.

In light of this vision, sporting experience cannot be evaluated solely on the basis of results or performance, but also in relation to the human and relational growth that it is capable of generating. Practising sport teaches respect for others, fair competition, the ability to experience victory with sobriety and defeat with responsibility, transforming competition into an opportunity for encounter and personal and community growth.

This is the contribution that the Church aims to offer to the world of sport: not denying the value of competition, but rather guiding it so that it is not dominated by an individualistic logic, but open to the dimension of the common good. To this end, as Pope Leo XIV recalled, ‘in a society marked by loneliness and growing individualism, sport, especially when experienced in a community setting, teaches collaboration and walking together, becoming an important tool for encounter and reconciliation between peoples’ (Homily at the Jubilee of Sport, 15 June 2025).

Sport, therefore, also has a social responsibility: it can help to forge bonds, overcome divisions and promote a culture of peace.

Finally, the Dicastery for Culture and Education wishes to express its appreciation to all the pastoral workers of the Archdiocese of Milan and the dioceses involved, who will offer their services during this important sporting event.

The hope is that the athletes, organisers and all participants in the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be able to experience this event as an opportunity for encounter, fraternity and shared hope."