Sports fans across the world will be getting excited with the imminent opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. However, unbeknown to many, the Olympics really kicks off July 19 thanks to the Olympic Truce.
The Olympic Truce dates back to 9th-century BC Ancient Greece when three kings – Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa and Lycurgus of Sparta -- signed a treaty. Also known as the "Ekecheiria," the treaty ensured that those athletes participating in the games, and those going to watch, would be guaranteed safety in the cities holding the games.
This was a welcome breather for these Greek city-states that were ordinarily pretty much in a permanent state of conflict. This moment of sporting harmony brings to mind a much more modern version: the Christmas Day football game that took place between the Allies and the Germans during World War I.
Although the truce is millennia old, the International Olympic Committee decided to bring it back in the 1990s in light of the global political situation. The idea was in "the interests of the athletes and sport in general, and to harness the power of sport to promote peace, dialogue, and reconciliation more broadly," according to the official IOC website.
Since then the message has been consistent, and backed by the United Nations, with the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Dennis Francis, appealing for the truce to be held seven days before the Games begin until seven days after the Paralympic Games have finished on September 8, according to CSR Wire:
“I solemnly appeal to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and to undertake concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Truce. “I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully.”
A Catholic response
You might be wondering how this has anything to do with the Catholic Church.
Well, not only does the Vatican back the truce, it sees it as a "symbol that can inspire reality," explains Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça in La Croix.
The prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education also shared how “the Olympic truce is a concrete example of the Olympic spirit and one of its most beautiful expressions."
In light of this there will be an Olympic truce opening Mass held at the beautiful Madeleine Church in Paris this Friday. It will be presided over by Mgr. Laurent Ulrich, archbishop of Paris, and in the presence of Mgr. Celestino Migliore, the Apostolic Nuncio to France, and Mgr. Emmanuel Gobilliard, bishop of Digne, bishop delegate of the Holy See for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The president of the IOC, M. Thomas Bach, will also be present.
The truce highlights fundamental values of the Catholic Church and of the Olympics. Therefore, it is with this hope for global harmony that the true spirit of the Olympics kicks off this Friday, and who knows what can be achieved.
