A cyclist from Athletica Vaticana, the Pope's official sports team, raced the World Championship on September 25 in Australia. Rien Schuurhuis even broke away from the pack, winning cheers and thunderous support from spectators lining the streets. The day before the World Championship, Rien and three other Athletica Vaticana-Vatican Cycling representatives met with an Aboriginal community experiencing an inclusion program coordinated with Caritas Australia.
A simple gesture that astonished the international sports world and captivated the media, who were drawn to the story of the first "papal cyclist" to compete in a World Championship. Yet there is nothing unprecedented here. From the beginning, the Vatican's official sports association has never thought of athletic competition in isolation. It weaves sport naturally into a gesture of solidarity—one rooted in listening and fraternity with the most vulnerable.
Using the universal language of sport, which engages and speaks to all. So it is no exaggeration to say that for Vatican cyclists, solidarity rides carry the same weight as a World Championship. Perhaps even more.
When sport is truly lived as inclusion, solidarity, and fraternity, paths converge. And on bicycles, it is natural to gather as one group, so that no one falls behind. Among the services Athletica Vaticana-Vatican Cycling offers as a communal experience is welcoming cyclists who arrive in Rome on pilgrimage. Their journey ends as they meet Pope Francis at the papal audience. A particularly moving story unfolded last June: the Vatican team encountered five visually impaired and blind cyclists pedaling tandem bikes with their guides. The group had set out from Dosson, near Treviso, and covered roughly 700 kilometers over seven stages along the Via Francigena to reach Castelgandolfo. From there, Vatican cyclists joined them for a symbolic ride into St. Peter's Square. The Pope greeted each cyclist, shook their hand, and praised them for their achievement. It was indeed a courageous feat.
When sport is truly lived as inclusion, solidarity, and fraternity, paths converge. On bicycles, it is natural to gather as one group, so that no one falls behind.
To Francis, the five blind cyclists and their guides presented the purpose of their adventure, We Bike 2022, a project launched by the Treviso cycling club Dopla to support people with disabilities in sports. Blindness must not prevent the possibility of doing sport and living powerful experiences. "Meeting the Pope was a surprise, as was the generosity of Athletica Vaticana, who welcomed us with their cyclists Emiliano Morbidelli, Simone Ciocchetti, and Rino Bellapadrona, along with their spiritual assistant and president," explains Dopla's president, Paolo Sartorato. "Francis touched the hands of all our blind cyclists—a tender gesture that will stay in our hearts forever. I am extremely proud of these 'guys,' whose ages range from 50 to 60. But what matters most to us is sending a clear and powerful message of inclusion: we want to show people living with physical disabilities that it can be done. We made it!"
"In tandem, with your guide, it is crucial to balance weight, refine trust, and strengthen the ability to rely on one another—and this applies to more than just sport," Sartorato adds. "We must also recognize the vital partnership between the athlete and the guide in the tandem: over hundreds of kilometers, the guide must be your equal. If I'm pedaling hard, my guide must have the strength to match that effort. It may seem like a small thing, but it is essential for a successful journey." The Pope's embrace, Sartorato concludes, offers encouragement to countless people with disabilities "who lack the courage to start playing sports or joining others. But we say: look, with just a little willpower, you can do it too!"
But the story does not end there. Athletica Vaticana-Vatican Cycling also became the bridge connecting the Veneto blind cyclists with an extraordinary initiative: the Giro d'Italia for Pediatric Palliative Care—a event designed to promote the culture and value of pediatric palliative care (PPC) through cycling, raising public and institutional awareness. Michele Salata, director of the newly opened Center for Pediatric Palliative Care at Bambino Gesù Hospital, won Athletica Vaticana's heart with this special Giro d'Italia project (held June 15–30). It could not have been otherwise: the Pope's team, cycling with and for the Pope's hospital. The Veneto cyclists embraced the cause with equal enthusiasm, incorporating their "Giro d'Italia" into the circuit promoted by the Maruzza Foundation to support pediatric palliative care. They are ready to do it again in 2023.
