Pope Pius’ recognition of the good of physical play foreshadowed formal efforts now established in the Vatican to support athletics as a means of virtue and human excellence, on all levels — from neighborhood kickball to the Olympics, including this year’s Milan-Cortina Winter Games, whose closing ceremony was held Feb. 22.

At the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Polish ski jumper Kacper Tomasiak made history — and then went to Mass.

Mount St. Joseph senior guard BJ Ranson, who led the Gaels to a 29-win regular season, earned the Baltimore Catholic League’s Jerry Savage Player of the Year Award for the 2025-26 season.

Father Geoffroy Génin is a 69-year-old French priest whose appearance is sometimes unusual. Tall and slim, he has the look of an athlete. Once a week, he can be seen on the ski slopes, in the heart of a magnificent snow-covered valley in the Alps.

The Catholic athletes at the Games this year are joining a long tradition of Catholic Olympians who have made history with their inspiring stories of faith and endurance. Here are just some of the Catholic stories that came out of past Winter Games.

“The pope is dead.” These words will dramatically ring out across Olympic ice as Italian figure skater Daniel Grassl begins his long program to music from the movie “Conclave” in the men’s figure skating final event Feb. 13, which will determine who stands on the podium at the Milan Cortina Games.

Just as the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina were about to begin, Pope Leo XIV called on the Catholic Church to recognize sport as an opportunity to offer much-needed human and spiritual guidance.

The 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games opening Feb. 6 are not merely a display of athletic prowess, but an opportunity to rediscover sports as a means of fostering peace in a fractured world, said an official of the Archdiocese of Milan.

Ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games which officially begin Feb. 6, meet some athletes who have mentioned their Catholic and Christian faith as part of their journey to the games.

Father Negri is thought to be the first tourist to travel to Norway’s North Cape and the first Central European to don a pair of skis and spread this sleek, winter transport technology to Italy, host country to the Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina Feb. 6-22.