The square in front of Notre Dame Cathedral was bathed in sunshine Aug. 4 as representatives of the five major religions involved in the Paris Olympic Games met.

Among American Olympians achieving a spot on the podium in Paris are Catholics who have expressed their dependence on faith over the years as they’ve pursued excellence in their athletic pursuits.

Father Jason Nioka is a former judoka and is now championing the faith as he oversees a team of 40 Catholic chaplains — priests, religious and laypeople — who take turns welcoming the athletes in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.

Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn., went on X, formerly Twitter, to say that while he complained about the Last Supper scene July 27 on social media and “had no intention of returning to the issue,” he decided to do so after the “so-called apology from the organizing committee” was “anything but an apology,” he said.

Just one day ahead of the grand opening ceremonies of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda hosted its own celebration — a pep rally to showcase the community’s love, support and pride for three alumnae Olympians.

Even if the spotlight is now on sports stadiums ahead of the July 26 opening of the Summer Olympic Games, a Notre Dame Cathedral guide with four decades of experience recommended it’s the majesty of the cathedral one should turn to in the midst of the Games’ craze in Paris.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, an alumna of Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, N.J., has secured her place on Team USA for the Summer Olympics in Paris by once again shattering her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympic trials June 30.

With world peace under serious threat, Pope Francis called on all nations to observe the Olympic truce and cease all conflicts for the traditional period before, during and after the Olympic Games in Paris.

Juliette and Isabella Whittaker, a pair of Mount de Sales alums, received a raucous send-off rally in front of about 250 people at the school July 18 as they prepared to fly to Paris on July 24.

Spanish bishops celebrated the success of the country’s soccer team July 14 as the iconic players won their record fourth European Championship title by handing England an agonizing loss.