Pope Endorses Skiing

[thetrailboss]

I knew that there was another reason why I am Catholic!

From SAM magazine: http://www.saminfo.com/news/article.php?tid=4841

POPE ENDORSES SKIING

SAM Magazine--November 16, 2010--During a visit to the Vatican by a group of ski instructors, Pope Benedict XVI praised skiing as one way that, "man recognizes the greatness of God."

According to published reports, the Pope said that the sport of skiing teaches, "constancy in reaching objectives, respecting the rules, and tenacity in facing up to and overcoming difficulties."

He also praised the mountain environment saying that it is "an environment, which in a special way, makes us feel small, giving back to us the right dimension of our being creatures. It makes us capable of asking ourselves about the meaning of creation, of looking above, of opening ourselves to the Creator.”

As we gear up for the season, the industry will take all of the endorsements it can get.

In particular, this is an awesome quote:

Pope Benedict XVI praised skiing as one way that, "man recognizes the greatness of God."

 

[snowmonster]

I saw this yesterday. Ironically, it was published in a Philippine newspaper. Who would have thought Manila had so many ski bums?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breaki...pope-praises-skiing-which-makes-us-feel-small

 

[billski]

I saw this yesterday. Ironically, it was published in a Philippine newspaper. Who would have thought Manila had so many ski bums?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breaki...pope-praises-skiing-which-makes-us-feel-small

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]ROME (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II made more than 100 clandestine trips to ski or hike in the Italian mountains and was rarely recognized by others on the slopes, his former secretary said.

Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz described the secret outings in a book of memoirs, "A Life With Karol," which was being published in late January. An excerpt appeared Jan. 23 in the Rome newspaper Il Messaggero.

The cardinal, who was Pope John Paul's personal secretary for 38 years, wrote that the pope, an avid skier and hiker in his youth, often felt pent up inside the Vatican.

In the winter of 1981, the pope, his secretary and two of his Polish aides decided to make a "getaway" to the mountains from the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo.

They packed into a car owned by one of the priests, in order not to raise suspicions, and when they passed the Swiss Guard post one prelate opened wide a newspaper to hide the pontiff in the back seat.

Then they drove to the central Italian ski town of Ovindoli without an escort, winding through mountain towns and carefully respecting the speed limits.

Once they arrived, they chose a deserted slope and the pope was able to ski all day long. On the way back, the pope smiled and said, "We did it!" It was the first of many such escapes, the papal secretary said.

In the beginning, no one -- including journalists and other Vatican officials -- knew about the mountain excursions.

And the odd thing was that, for a long time, no one recognized the pope, Cardinal Dziwisz said. He would dress as other skiers, with a ski jacket, beret and sunglasses, taking his place in line at the lifts with the rest.

One of the first people to recognize the pope was a young cross-country skier, a boy no more than 10 years old, who was lagging behind the rest of his family when he came upon the papal party. He asked them if they had seen his family go by, and one of the priests pointed to the trail.

At that moment, the pope arrived at the bottom of the slope.

The boy looked astonished, pointed to the pontiff and began yelling, "The pope! The pope!"

One of the pope's aides intervened quickly: "What are you saying, silly! You'd better think instead about hurrying up, you're going to lose your group."


The boy skied away, and the pope and his friends quickly returned to their car and headed for Rome before the word got out.[/FONT]

 

[polski]

ROME (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II made more than 100 clandestine trips to ski or hike in the Italian mountains and was rarely recognized by others on the slopes, his former secretary said.

Naturally the poster known as "polski" LOVES this story. Especially the image of the astonished 10-year-old yelling "The pope! The pope!" Can't you see him skiing like mad to catch up to his family and breathlessly telling them what he saw and them being, shall we say, Doubting Thomases.

 

[eatskisleep]

Great news! Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[snafu]

Pope on a slope...who knew?

 

[BushMogulMaster]

Deo Gratias! Vivat Papa Benedictus XVI!

 

[WakeboardMom]

Agree that this is an awesome quote: "Pope Benedict XVI praised skiing as one way that, 'man recognizes the greatness of God.' "

Another awesome quote:

Pope on a slope...who knew?

:beer: (There wasn't a wine toast available. ; )

 

[BushMogulMaster]

:beer: (There wasn't a wine toast available. ; )

 

[deadheadskier]

maybe he should get in touch with the man upstairs regarding mother nature being out of line lately

 

[RISkier]

I knew John Paul skied. I used to golf occasionally with a Catholic Priest. Great guy who I really enjoyed. Ran into him one day on the course with two other guys and he asked if I wanted to join up. They were Priests visiting from Ireland. One had a terrible temper. He hit a bad shot, threw his club and screamed a gd. My friend Father Mike said, Paddy, you shouldn't swear like that. And Paddy responded "oh Mike, sometimes it's good to swear."

 

[snowmonster]

I remember seeing an exhibit on John Paul II and his skis were displayed prominently. Here's a piece in Ski Heritage News on Pope John Paul II and skiing:

http://skiinghistory.org/johnpaul.html

John Paul II: Lifelong skier

With the passing of Karol Wojtyla, the sport has lost its most exalted devotee. A lifelong skier, the pontiff sneaked off to the hills as long as his health permitted. He was shot in 1981, which enforced a temporary layoff, and quit for good after the 1987 season, nine years into his papacy.

During his decades as Bishop and Cardinal of Krakow, beginning in 1962, Wojtyla spent two weeks each winter at Poland's largest resort, Zakopane (site of the 1937 FIS championships), lodging in a local convent. The sisters reportedly still have a pair of his leather ski boots.

In his youth, and into middle age, Wojtyla had a reputation as an earn-your-turns kind of guy. An indefatigable hiker and kayaker, he scorned lifts and preferred to climb on his hickory skis. In his 20s, he was an athlete, standing 5 feet 10.5 inches at 175 pounds, but suffered a number of injuries that caused him to stoop in later years.

When churchly duties cut into his recreation time, Wojtyla modernized, acquiring a pair of 195cm Head skis and taking his place in the lift line. He preferred to ski off-piste, and was quoted as saying "It's unbecoming for a cardinal to ski badly." He made his last runs at the Italian resort of Terminillo, a short commute from the Vatican.

Here follows a short piece from the March, 1979 issue of SKI.

The Vatican Skier

A Pontiff whose non-papal piety runs to the mountains, Pope John Paul II's next ski descent has already been labelled the 'Schuss of the Fisherman.'

BY JOHN HOWARD

Vatican life has its protocol-and Vatican officials are not known to enjoy surprises. It was therefore with some astonishment that they greeted Pope John Paul II's pronouncement, just seconds after his inauguration as the 264th successor to St. Peter and Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, that "I will ski again when they let me."

The Polish Pope's comment to a well-wisher came as he descended into St. Peter's Square to meet his new people-and, so far as the for- mer Cardinal Karol Wojtyla was concerned, it was in earnest. The Pope, his energies now devoted to papal affairs of state, would be missing out on those winter vacations he had regularly taken in Poland's Tatra Mountains. There was, he supposed, some consolation-the Pope would at least be able to see the ski mountains of Terminillo, 20 miles to the north of Rome, from the windows of the papal apartments, the same mountains he had been known to slip away to for some skiing while attending Vatican conferences in Rome as a Cardinal.

Karol Wojtyla is a humble man who confesses his one luxury in life has been "a pair of Head skis." His ski socks are initialed "K.W.", embroidered not so much in priestly affectation as to insure his getting his socks back from the laundry.

The Pope, at 58, is an excellent skier-those who have skied with him call him the "Daredevil of the Tatras"-who has skied for most of his life but did not take up the sport seriously until age 30. His favorite ski haunt is Kasprowy Wierch in Poland, the peak above Zacapone where a wrong turn could send an inexperienced skier bodily over a sheer drop into Czechoslovakia. Hala Gasienicowa-called the Valley of the Caterpillar because of its zigzag terrain-is the Pope's favorite ski run.

Upon his arrival at the Vatican, Wojtyla told the Italian cardinals, "In Poland, 40 percent of the cardinals ski." When it was pointed out to him that Poland had only two cardinals, Wojtyla explained, "Cardinal Wyszynski accounts for 60 percent." He later expressed his love of skiing to a journalist by saying, "I wish I could be out there somewhere in the mountains, racing down into a valley. It's an extraordinary sensation."

Will Pope John Paul II ski again? Says Wojtyla, "It would be impossible for me not to."

 

[Warp Daddy]

Great story !! Knew about JP II but not Benedict's interest in OUR sport

We have a group of 30 guys about half are priests that got together for 3 days each yr at Tremblant . These guys all LOVED to ski and were greAT SKIERS . iT WAS ALWAYS A SUPER FUN TIME

We did that for 15 yrs , They'd make all the arrangements, we stay at a monastery near Tremblant run by an order of religious brothers .. the monastery was on a beautiful lake on the NORTH side and we had these great 4 man lodges and a dining hall with ahuge fireplace .. It is now owned by a local resort since the order was moved to Montreal when the brothers number dwindled down to 6 elderly brother s

 

[thetrailboss]

maybe he should get in touch with the man upstairs regarding mother nature being out of line lately

+ 1.