Five religions gather to celebrate fraternity at Paris Olympics

By Jean-Benoît Harel and Lisa Zengarini

During the Olympic Games held in Paris 1924 Notre-Dame Cathedral hosted an extraordinary interreligious ceremony.

100 years later, another multifaith meeting was held on 4 August in the parvis of the famous Parisian cathedral to celebrate the spirit of fraternity underpinning the most important sports event in the world.

Participants in the ceremony

At 10 am on Sunday morning, representatives of the five major religions of the world gathered outside one of the most iconic symbols of Paris, which is still under reconstruction after the devastating fire of April 15, 2019, and will be reopened in December this year.  

Surrounded by some one hundred chaplains from the Olympic Village multifaith centre, they shared their thoughts on how sport can bring out the best of humanity and serve the peoples of the world.

Bishop Philippe Marsset, auxiliary bishop of Paris, along with Rev. Christian Krieger, President of the Protestant Federation of France, and Rev. Anton Gelyasov, national Orthodox hospital chaplain, represented the Christian religion.

They were joined by Haïm Korsia, Chief Rabbi of France, Najat Benali, President of the association of the  mosques of Paris, Lama Jigmé Thrinlé Gyatso, Co-President of the Buddhist Union of France, and Shailesh Bhavsar, representing the Hindu community.  

Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard of Digne, who is the Holy See’s special envoy to the 2024 Paris Olympics, explained to Vatican News’ Jean-Benoît Harel that Notre-Dame de Paris was the obvious venue for the event because it is a place of deep religious significance for Christians but also “a place that speaks to all people” across the world.

The religious leaders spoke freely, with prayers, exhortations or readings. Bishop Gobilliard highlighted the impact of the moments of silence during the ceremony.

“I think this is the most beautiful way to express a common prayer, it allows you to say something important and beautiful,” he said.

“God has performed a miracle”

The first interfaith meeting organized on July 5, 1924, at the behest of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the initiator of the modern Olympic Games, brought together almost all the athletes.

Bishop Gobilliard recalled that, at first, the initiative sparked some controversy. De Coubertin clarified that the ceremony would include “neither Mass, nor blessing, nor priests at the altar, or any other element of a Catholic ceremony, but nothing else but beautiful songs, in a beautiful setting, and a few very secular words of welcome.” 

However, the ceremony was later hailed by the press of the time. French daily Paris Soir went as far as saying that “God had performed a miracle by bringing together Protestants, Buddhists, Jews and Orthodox Christians in His sanctuary.”

Spirit of fraternity

That extraordinary event, Bishop Gobilliard noted, shows that already a century ago, religions wanted to express their fraternity, noting that this happened during the Olympic Games.

This spirit of unity will continue to accompany the Olympic athletes throughout the Games at the multi-faith centre in the Olympic Village, which houses five prayer rooms and offers spiritual support during the competitions.