Catholics around the world taking part in the Rosary Olympics
The Paris-based Catholic social prayer network Hozana Association has joined forces with the app Rosario to hold its own “Rosary Olympics” alongside the 2024 Olympic games.

“Inspired by the extraordinary feats of athletes,” the Rosary Olympics will encourage Catholics to mirror the intensity of Olympians in their prayer lives, Cassandre Verhelst, head of Hozana’s Anglophone edition, told CatholicVote in a July 26 interview.

“These athletes are giving their whole life and everything they’ve got to a cause,” Verhelst said, noting that Jesus is “the cause” closest to the hearts of all Christians. “The idea is that during the duration of the Olympic games, we challenge ourselves to get into the habit of praying the Rosary daily.”

The Olympic games in Paris began Friday morning and will continue through August 11.

Participants start off the challenge by first downloading the app and then praying one decade of the rosary per day with a group of four other participants. “You know, we always talk about the communion of saints and praying together,” Verhelst said of the social component to the challenge. “This just makes it so concrete.”

Gradually, as the games continue, the number of decades will increase to two, three, four, and five, with participants joining a new group for each decade.