‘Bringing People Together’: A Church Concert Echoes The Paralympic Spirit
(ANALYSIS) With the spotlight of the Winter Paralympics about to shine on Italy, the warm-up act didn’t happen on either ice or snow. Instead, it took place under the vaulted ceiling of a Milan church.
Days before disabled athletes take center stage at the Milan-Cortina Games, roughly 70 voices filled the Sant’Antonio Abate Catholic Church with a different kind of pre-competition anthem. The Terzo Tempo choir’s concert — titled “Like Yeast in the Dough” — wasn’t about medals, but momentum.
In sports, there’s constant talk about preparation — the unseen miles, drills and the behind-the-scenes incremental gains — that lift an athlete from within. The Gospel image that inspired the concert captured that same principle: Yeast working quietly through dough, helping it to rise. It’s a fitting metaphor not just for faith, but for inclusion and the spirit of the upcoming Paralympic Games.
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“The Olympics and the Paralympics are not something that simply passes over our heads, but something that also touches our lives,” the Rev. Stefano Guidi, who leads the Archdiocese of Milan’s Service for Oratories and Sport, said during the Feb. 18 concert.
That mindset reflects a deliberate strategy. Since 2021, Milan’s Catholic Church has operated a dedicated branch focused on awareness and inclusion, using the global stage of the Olympics and Paralympics to teach Christian values. But instead of separating programs for people with disabilities, organizers are pushing for shared spaces — catechism classes, pickup games and everyday parish life — meant for everyone.
“If we focus on organizing things only for people with disabilities, we risk segregation,” said the Rev. Mauro Santoro, who leads the office alongside 13 volunteers. “Instead, we try to bring everyone together.”
In Italy, the grassroots of youth sports very often runs through parish oratories — after-school locations where children and teenagers can compete and socialize. Santoro said those spaces are becoming training grounds not only for sports, but for perspective. Testimonies from athletes, including Paralympians, are woven into daily programming. At the same time, conversations about fairness and participation become just as important as drills and games.
“The real challenge,” Santoro added, “is to change the game so everyone can play well and participate.”
That challenge echoed in the choir’s set list, which served as an unofficial curtain raiser to the upcoming Paralympic Games. Songs in Italian and English blended with a Congolese samba, an intentional nod to diversity and the international spirit that defines the Olympic movement. Choir director Silvia Gatti said they chose music centered on perseverance and commitment — values athletes live by, even when a spot on the podium is out of reach.
“We tried to choose songs that speak about the desire to achieve something and about constant commitment,” Gatti said. “That is what really matters beyond the result.”
The Terzo Tempo choir — whose motto declares singing to be “unity, passion, freedom and joy” — embodies that spirit. The Winter Paralympic Games in Milano-Cortina will take place starting Friday through March 15, featuring 10 days of competition across six sports. The Paralympics traditionally take place soon after the Winter Games.
Records will fall, medals will be awarded, but inside Sant’Antonio Church, the message is clear: Inclusion isn’t a side event, but the whole point of hosting such a competition.
Clemente Lisi is executive editor at Religion Unplugged.