Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

By Caroline de Sury, OSV News

PARIS — With the Paralympic Games closing in Paris on Sept. 8, more than a monthlong Olympic adventure has concluded. However, the spirit of the Games will continue to resonate within the French Catholic Church, largely due to the enthusiastic participation of disabled individuals in church initiatives.

The Aug. 28-Sept. 8 Paralympic Games brought together Christian associations that support people with disabilities around "welcome days" held in Paris' parishes.

"We had a wonderful experience of shared joy," Isabelle de Chatellus, director of the "Holy Games" project, told OSV News. The Holy Games initiative provided tickets for disabled individuals to attend Paralympic competitions, reserving 630 places for this purpose.

One of the participating associations was L’Arche, an international organization caring for people with intellectual disabilities. In Paris, 78 of its members were among the 2,400 disabled volunteers who supported both Olympic and Paralympic events. Four members even carried the Olympic flame.

Other L’Arche volunteers were involved in Holy Games activities. On Aug. 30, they welcomed people with disabilities to Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette Church for a day of hospitality and para-table tennis.

The following day at Saint-Esprit Church, some disabled individuals attended Paralympic competitions at nearby Bercy Arena sports complex.

“Sport and faith go well together,” Father Arnaud Duban, parish priest and chaplain during the Olympics, told OSV News. A seasoned marathon runner himself, he emphasized how sport embodies self-surpassing efforts akin to religious discipline: “It is about surpassing oneself... solidarity and mutual aid... taming the body to achieve a goal.”

For Chatellus, one highlight was an encounter with blind individuals on Sept. 2 organized by Voir Ensemble Christian association at Saint-Pierre du Gros Caillou Church near Eiffel Tower: “People who cannot see develop a very deep inner life.”

On Sept. 5 at St. Augustin Church volunteers from Simon de Cyrène Association facilitated events where able-bodied and disabled individuals live together in France's communal houses; participants watched para-fencing events and listened to testimonials from top athletes like Laurence Durand—a former military paratrooper now paraplegic—who volunteered as a driver during these games despite her condition: “My challenge is staying on my feet... putting off using a wheelchair,” she said.

Durand prepared St Augustine’s Holy Games day alongside Office Chrétien des Personnes Handicapés volunteers supporting families of disabled persons: “Don’t limit your challenges but challenge your limits!” Véronique Prouteau—a multi-sport athlete—added; she lost leg mobility but won numerous championships since then.

Chatellus found meeting others throughout these games immensely joyful: “Bringing together people of all nationalities... has been our greatest strength.” Special guests attended Holy Games’ closing Mass on Sept 8 at Saint-Ouen Church near Olympic Village—the same place athletes prayed during these games: “We need to look ahead... pass on this joy beyond these games for France and world.”