Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 5, 2016 / 02:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the shadows of the emblematic statue of Christ the Redeemer, the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal Orani Joao Tempesta, blessed the Olympic torch and wished for games of fraternity and peace.
The cardinal’s blessing of the torch at Christ the Redeemer marked the final day of the torch’s 95-day journey across Brazil to the Olympic stadium for the start of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I wish the Olympic Games to be a wonderful experience of fraternity and peace, and an opportunity to help build a more just country,” said Cardinal Tempesta, before leading attendees in the Our Father.
The torch was carried and held by Brazil’s former Olympic volleyball player Maria Isabel Barroso Salgado, who ran most of the challenging uphill road to the statue of Christ the Redeemer. From there, the torch started on its last leg to the Maracana Stadium where the opening ceremonies will be held on the evening of Aug. 5.
Blessing of the Olympic torch today! #Rio2016 ????Credit:Gustavo de Oliveira/ArqRio Read more: https://t.co/RQxO7lK7gZ pic.twitter.com/UBPpqrnzwi
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) August 5, 2016
“We hope we will live the days of peace that are part of the ‘Olympic truce’ that will go all the way to the Paralympics,” Cardinal Tempesta said, as he recalled the words that Pope Francis addressed to Brazil Aug. 3 during his general audience at the Vatican: “I wish that the Olympic spirit may inspire all to build a civilization of solidarity.”
Pope Francis offered a messaged to those competing in the international games at the end of his general audience in advance of the 2016 Opening Ceremonies.
“In a world thirsting for peace, tolerance, and reconciliation, I hope that the spirit of the Olympic Games inspires all – participants and spectators – to ‘fight the good fight’ and finish the race together,” Pope Francis said.
The Holy Father voiced hope that in competing this year, the Olympic athletes will desire “to obtain as a prize, not a medal, but something much more precious: the construction of a civilization in which solidarity reigns and is based upon the recognition that we are all members of the same human family, regardless of the differences of culture, skin color, or religion.”
Good luck to the athletes at #Rio2016! May you always be messengers of goodwill and true sporting spirit.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) August 5, 2016
He offered a warm greeting to the people of Brazil saying, “I hope that this will be an opportunity to overcome difficult moments and commit…to working as a team to build a more just and safe country, betting all on a future full of hope and joy.”
The 2016 Olympic Games are scheduled to begin Aug. 5 at 8:00 pm local time in Brazil.
Article Archive
Rio de Janeiro cardinal receives, blesses Olympic torch
Related Articles • More Articles
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice & Likeness in Age of AI event at Robert's Western World on March 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. / Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Human Artistry CampaignWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompte...
Cardinal Wilton Gregory speaks at an interview in Rome on April 11, 2024. / Credit: "EWTN News Nightly" screen shotRome Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).As the Catholic Church's first African American cardinal was honored at a U.S. seminary in Rome, he recalled the legacy of faith and perseverance of Black Catholics in America, including at a time when they were not accepted by U.S. seminaries. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, received this year's Rector's Award at an April 11 banquet at the Pontifical North American College, where seminarians from across 99 dioceses in the U.S. live while studying for the priesthood in Rome.In an interview with CNA before the award ceremony, Gregory pointed out that in the 19th century, African Americans who had a vocation to the priesthood were sent to study in Rome and then to serve as missionaries in Africa because at the time they were not allowed to enter U.S. seminaries."Being in Rome reminds me also tha...
Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako presides over the dedication ceremony of the altar of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Mosul, Iraq. April 5, 2024. / Credit: Fadi Dinkha/ACI MenaCNA Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).When the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Catholic Church was consecrated earlier this month in Mosul, Iraq, a former parishioner now living in the United States said she was moved to tears."My eyes were filled with tears as I watched my church and my school return to the beautiful picture engraved in my memory," said Georgena Habbaba, who used to attend the parish and study at the parish school with her brothers. Her own children studied there, too, before the family had to flee Mosul amid worsening violence in 2007. (Note: Habbaba also writes for ACI Mena, CNA's Arabic-language news partner.)"I remembered the wonderful days I spent studying at this school and praying in this church. Very close to my family's house," she t...