“The Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are about to open in Beijing, on 4 February and 4 March respectively,” Pope Francis said on February 2. “I warmly greet all participants. I wish the organizers every success and the athletes the very best.”
“Sport, with its universal language, can build bridges of friendship and solidarity between individuals and peoples of all cultures and religions,” he continued. “I therefore appreciate the fact that to the historic Olympic motto ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ — that is, ‘faster, higher, stronger’ — the International Olympic Committee has added the word ‘communiter,’ that is, ‘together’: so that the Olympic Games may bring about a more fraternal world. Together.”