Scottish Catholic Observer

The Olympics are very nearly upon us and the Catholic Church is striving to ensure Faith is a part of these games. The month-long festival of sport that begins on July 27—and the Paralympics which follow from August 29-September 9—will see the greatest athletes in the world descend upon British shores, carrying the hopes of nations’ and dreaming of becoming champions in their chosen discipline.

The TV cameras will be focused on the drama and glory of sport but that is just the tip of the iceberg of the historic event. There will be tens of thousands of people attempting to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of competitors and spectators at the games have a successful and happy trip to the UK. To that end, every detail has been meticulously planned, not least the spiritual needs of those at London 2012. And from chaplains, to bell ringing to Masses to mark the games, the Catholic Church is playing an active role.

Faith in action

One of those charged with ensuring all who seek spiritual solace at the games find it, is Reverend Canon Duncan Green, an Anglican priest who has been seconded to London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) as its head of faith services.

His starting point was to form a faith reference group comprising representatives of the UK’s nine largest religions Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Jain and Bahai, to advise on issues around faith in order to cater to the observations of practising athletes, spectators and officials.

Such concerns have always been a part of the modern games. In 1935, the founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin said: “The first essential characteristic of the modern Olympics is that, like the Olympics of ancient Greece, they constitute a religion.”

The London 2012 organisers have gone to great lengths to ensure that the faith needs of all attendees can be meet. While there will be a prayer room at every venue, the Olympic Village will have a large multi-faith centre, with a common lounge and specific areas for the world’s five largest faith groups, managed by representatives of those faiths.

Chaplains will be based on site at the Olympic Village, as well as near the sailing venue at Weymouth and at Royal Holloway College in Egham to cater for rowers.

“It is a landmark chaplaincy,” Canon Green said. “It has been healthy because we haven’t sat round a table talking about what we do and don’t believe, we have been talking about how we serve the Olympics.”

Chaplaincy

One example of exactly how the Olympic chaplaincy has played a vital role was the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili during a training accident at Vancouver’s Winter Olympics in 2010.

“The chaplaincy played a big part in the response to that death,” Canon Green said. “Whenever you’ve got millions of people coming together as you have for the Games inevitably sad things happen and if there is an illness or somebody dies there is an aftermath.”

While the chaplaincy will again be part of any emergency response at London, Canon Green pointed to some more routine aspects of its role. He said that whenever young people travel away from home there may be the need for support, whether a dog dies or a grandparent is taken ill, and the chaplaincy aims to cater for those needs.

Catholic participation

Some 350 religious figures applied for 193 chaplaincy places, with their focus being serving those involved in the Games, and one of those 193 will be Fr Geoff Hilton, a priest from Salford Diocese who will be serving as a Catholic chaplain to athletes competing in the London Games.

No stranger to the world of sport, the former police officer from Manchester was hand-picked to become one of 16 official Catholic chaplains appointed by the Olympics organising committee.

Among his sporting achievements include representing England at badminton and refereeing at two rugby league World Cups. Now, at the age of 55, he takes time from his duties as parish priest of St Osmund Church, Bolton, to compete as a professional lawn green bowler.

For Fr Hilton, the chance to minister to athletes at the Olympic Village was something he could not let pass him by.

“It won’t happen again in my lifetime, the Olympics coming to England, and I am very much looking forward to it,” he said  “I might have to give up my bowling for two-and-a-half weeks, but I can manage that.”

Fr Hilton said he would have been following the games anyway as he was ‘interested in most sports’ and as a younger man played many of them.

He said that he would be available throughout the Olympics for ‘anyone who needs spiritual support,’ to celebrate Mass, hear Confessions and confer blessings. He added that the Church should separately also offer pastoral support to athletes who have ended their careers.

“I understand how a lot of athletes suffer from depression,” he added. “It is a worry. A lot of them seem to be discarded after they finish their professional careers. People need to know that they need support when they are no longer performing at the top level.”

Teamwork

Overall, there will be 190 chaplains to serve followers of the world’s religions at the Olympics. The number of Catholic chaplains is expected to increase to 24 when the teams of such countries as Italy and Poland bring their own chaplains with them.

The chaplains include Deacon Roger Stone, who will be chaplain to the sailing and water sports on the south coast, and Frankie Mulgrew, a former stand-up comedian who was recently ordained a deacon ahead of his priestly ordination next year. Mr Mulgrew, 34, said he volunteered to be a chaplain because, as the son of the comedian Jimmy Cricket, he had spent his life with people in the public eye and had an ‘affinity’ for them.

The chaplains also include Servite Sister Petronia Williams, a nun based near the Olympic Park who usually works with Gypsies and Irish Travellers.

Sr Petronia said she volunteered because she thought work as an Olympic chaplain would offer a ‘golden opportunity’ to fulfill St Paul’s injunction to ‘welcome the stranger.’

“I am very excited,” she said. “I presume I will be welcoming people, and I expect that some will want to pray with me before they race. I am looking forward to the business of meeting people from other countries and being able to welcome them and being friendly, that is an important part of our Christian tradition, to show hospitality and welcome.”

Fr Christopher Jamison, a Benedictine monk of Worth Abbey, is the only Catholic priest to serve as a chaplain to the 25,000 journalists who will converge on the Olympic media centre for the Games. He will be assisted by a Catholic lay woman.

“I am very pleased that the Church is involved,” Fr Jamison said. “It [the Olympics] is a vast migration into the heart of London, and it would be quite wrong if the Church did not reach out to support those who are coming here.”

Call to Catholics

But in addition to these dedicated chaplains, every Catholic in Britain has a chance to become involved in the Games. The London 2012 Organising Committee has asked every church with a bell to ring it to mark the opening of the games.

The extensive bell ringing on Friday July 27, the day of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, will begin at 8.12am and last for three minutes.

The Olympic charity, More Than Gold, in which the Catholic Church plays a major role, is calling on Christians and churches everywhere to join in and use this moment to stop and pray for this to be a turning point across the country

St Edward’s Bell at Westminster Cathedral will be among those bells ringing and Archbishop Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said it was an opportunity to bring a Christian element to the games and the initiative had his ‘best wishes.’

James Parker, Catholic executive coordinator for the 2012 games, said he believed it would be a great way to mark the start of the games.

“People will wake and travel on the morning of the day of the Olympic opening ceremony with an expectation in their hearts,” he said. “This is the day when our nation’s preparations to host a 27-day party for the entire world actually begins. Although few Catholic churches have bells, nevertheless this could be a unique, significant and yes, even a fun moment for us all to start the countdown to the celebrations and a great moment to stop and pray for God’s peace to fall upon our nation and on the world.”

Catholics who are in London for the Games are invited to attend two Masses organised around the events.

The first Mass will be held at Westminster Cathedral at 2:30pm on Saturday July 28 to celebrate the start of the 30th Olympic Games. A second Mass of thanksgiving in honour of the 14th Paralympic Games will take place at St George’s Cathedral in Southwark on Saturday September 8, 2012 at 12:30pm.

The Archbishops of Westminster and Southwark and the Bishop of Brentwood will be present at these unique celebrations and diocesan bishops from around the country have been invited to concelebrate and the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Mennini, and the Archbishop of Puerto Rico, the Most Reverend Roberto González Nieves, will also be in attendance at the Olympic Mass of Celebration in Westminster Cathedral.

Tickets are not needed to attend either Masses and seats will not be reserved and all are welcome as invitations can be downloaded from www.catholic2012.com.

Mr Parker, London 2012 Catholic executive coordinator, stated that the Mass will be a wonderful chance to celebrate the games in a spiritual way.

“There will be many past Olympians and professional sportspeople from across the globe who are Catholic and in the London area to take in the thrill of the games,” he said. “These men and women know better than most the importance of keeping God firmly positioned within their sporting journey .They are being invited to join the rest of the Catholic community in giving thanks to God for the many opportunities that the games present not only to our nation but to the whole world at this time.”

So when you are watching all the athletes striving for Gold this summer it is worth remembering not only the chaplains—Catholic and those of other faiths—ministering to thousands of visitors to these shores but also that we as Catholics can make these games a festival of religion as well as sport.