Vatican City: Sport has the ability to overcome the division caused by conflict, Pope Francis says in a message to participants in the “Mass of Nations” on the sidelines of the 19th Mediterranean Games.

Several participants at the 19th edition of the Mediterranean Games took part in a mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Santa Cruz, in the Algerian city of Oran, on 2 July.

Pope Francis sent his greetings to the “Mass of Nations”, and urged the athletes in their desire to “give the best of yourselves”. “The Mediterranean Games are concrete testimony to a sport that can serve as a bridge between religions and different cultures, a bridge that is more necessary than ever because the Mediterranean often becomes an immense cemetery.”

The pope said the authentic sport is based on honesty and respect for others. By engendering human values, he added, sport helps us avoid the tragedy of war.

Solidarity in sport

Pope Francis also thanked the organizers of the Mediterranean Games for inviting a small delegation from Vatican Athletics, which acts as his ambassadors to the event. “Vatican Athletics bears concrete witness to the solidarity inherent in the sport, through the welcome reserved for young migrants and people with disabilities.” The pope concluded his message by encouraging athletes to help sport become “an experience of unity and brotherhood”.

“It is in this spirit, he said, that I have invited you to run together with the great race of life under the maternal protection of Our Lady of Santa Cruz”.

-VM