Pope To Launch London Sport Foundation

Pope Benedict XVI will launch a new sport foundation dedicated to his predecessor in London, during his visit to Britain later this week.??

The Pope will launch the John Paul II Foundation for Sport at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, on during a school assembly broadcast live to 800,000 pupils across Britain.??

Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, was known for his football skills as a youth, and used to jog in the Vatican gardens, hike regularly in the mountains and was also a keen swimmer.??

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said of the foundation: ‘With the Olympic Games less than two years away, we have a moment of opportunity and a whole process in which the aspirations of young people, the meanings of habit and routine in their lives, and the whole notion of achieving excellence can begin to be lifted up again.’??

Former England and Manchester United player Brian Kidd, now assistant manager of Manchester City, is set to light a candle at the foundation launch as a symbol of God’s light present in the world of sport, the Church said.??

The foundation aims to train future youth and adult leaders of sport and encourage sporting excellence.