Pope Francis: May Beijing Olympics and Paralympics foster fraternity
Pope Francis sent warm greetings to participants in the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that are about to open in Beijing on 4 February and 4 March, respectively.
Speaking during the Wednesday General Audience, he sent wishes for success to both the organizers and the athletes, Vatican News reported.
“Sport, with its universal language, can build bridges of friendship and solidarity between people and peoples of every culture and religion," Pope Francis said.
“I therefore appreciate that the International Olympic Committee has added the word 'Communiter,' meaning 'Together' to the historic Olympic motto 'Citius, Altius, Fortius', that is 'Faster, Higher, Stronger': so that the Olympic Games may nurture a more fraternal world,” he noted.
On 20 July 2021, the Session of the International Olympic Committee approved a change in the Olympic motto that recognises the unifying power of sport and the importance of solidarity.
As Pope Francis explained, the change adds the word “together” after an en dash to “Faster, Higher, Stronger” meaning that the new Olympic motto now reads in Latin “Citius, Altius, Fortius – Communiter.”