Watch as these Polish priests take part in an annual skiing competition in Wisla, Poland. With their black cassocks flapping in the wind, the priests raced to be the winner of the John Paul II cup.
Polish priests hit the slopes for a friendly competition in Wisla, Poland, inspired by the late Pope John Paull II pic.twitter.com/zXHBwPL0p5
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 17, 2020
The late pope, an avid skier, gave the initiative his blessing in his lifetime. He skied nine years into his papacy, until 1987 when his health would no longer permit it.
St. Pope John Paul was was known as the “Daredevil of the Tatras,” a name he earned for his skills in taking on the slopes of Poland’s Tatra Mountains where he spent two weeks each winter. He reportedly once said, “It’s unbecoming for a cardinal to ski badly.”
Father Damian Kopek, one of the organizers of the competiton, told the Religious News Service of Ukraine in 2013 that the event allows priests to show the people how to enjoy leisure time and compete honestly.
“The priest is with the people and for the people. I can give an example of how to have a good time – without alcohol, with honest competition, and also with the communal spirit of the mountain,” he explained.
