Today in St Peter’s Square in Rome the Beatification of Pope John Paul II was celebrated, a pope who has gone down in history. The faithful arrived in Rome from every corner of the world, especially from Poland, the homeland of Karol Wojtyla; a crowd of more than 1 million people thronged St Peter’s Square and the streets of the capital this morning.
There are so many things to remember about John Paul the Second, and among them his passion for sport and his love of nature stand out.
Unlike his predecessors, Wojtyla always emphasised the beauty of nature, an almost mystical beauty, according to those who accompanied him in the Mountains. The Mountains were in fact one of his favourite places: he did not go there only during the summer holidays but throughout the year, to find rest and that calm which only the mountains can offer.
The mountain guides who accompanied him on his outings recall how he was able to appreciate the beauty of every flower and every landscape the mountains offered. He often spoke to the vegetation itself as if it were alive.
Wojtyla went to the mountains not only in summer but in winter too. In the early years of his pontificate, when his health still allowed it, he loved to go on long excursions in the snow. Among his favourite ski destinations were the ski areas of the Gran Sasso, where he went for both alpine skiing and cross-country skiing, the mountains of the Aosta Valley and the whole of Trentino Alto Adige, especially the mountains of the Adamello-Brenta range..
A pope who not only taught respect for nature and the environment, but who also showed everyone the importance of sport, and in particular of mountain sports, “skiing, hiking and rock climbing“, sending a strong, clear message by practising these sports himself.
A bond between sport and the mountains that over the years united him even more closely with all enthusiasts, who time and again have honoured his deeds with commemorations in his name in the most diverse mountain resorts all over the world.
We also recommend an interesting article recounting one of the pope’s outings on the slopes of Ovindoli
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