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Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Part of Stay Ahead of the Games UK in Holy See

23rd July 2012

Pope Benedict prays for the London Olympics

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI speaking ahead of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London at the weekly Angelus prayers. Castelgandolfo, 22 July 2012

There is no Vatican Olympic team, at least not this year (though I recommend that you see the recent film “Cento metri dal Paradiso” to see what could happen if the Vatican decided to enter…). But the Holy See and the Catholic Church have been fully involved in the preparations for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. Holy See diplomats supported the UK’s call for observance of the Olympic Truce at the UN General Assembly last year. Our Joint Communique in February looked forward to London 2012 and “a year characterised by the spirit of the Olympic Charter and the Olympic Truce”. The More than Gold initiative in the United Kingdom has seen extraordinary work by religious leaders in ensuring that there will be a healthy legacy for young people following the Games.

So it was no surprise, but wonderful all the same, that Pope Benedict spoke about the 2012 Olympic Games in both English and Italian at the 22 July Angelus at Castel Gandolfo. He said in English that:  “In a few days from now, the Olympic Games are due to begin in Great Britain. I send greetings to the organizers, athletes and spectators alike, and I pray that, in the spirit of the Olympic Truce, the goodwill generated by this international sporting event may bear fruit, promoting peace and reconciliation throughout the world. Upon all those attending the London Olympic Games, I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God.” And he added in Italian, for good measure: “the Olympics are the greatest sporting event in the world, at which athletes from a great many nations will participate, and as such they have a strong symbolic value. For this reason the Catholic Church watches them with particular warmth and attention. We pray that, by the will of God, the London Games will be a true experience of fraternity between the peoples of the earth.”

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are about sport. But also so much more. For all the hype, competition and commercialisation, they remind us of human endeavour and ambition at its most pure; the will to come together to measure our abilities and soar to ever greater heights in the name not of profit or greed but, in the words of the Olympic Charter: “at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity”. Pope John XXIII spoke during the 1960 Rome Olympics of sport as endowing man with “perseverance, courage and the practice of self-denial”. We often fall short of the ideal. But we should never stop trying to attain it. Pope Benedict may be the one Head of State in the world with no interest in the outcome of individual sporting events. But he does see the bigger picture of London 2012.

About Nigel Baker

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as…

Nigel was British Ambassador to the Holy See from 2011-2016. He presented his Credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on 9 September 2011, after serving 8 years in Latin America, as Deputy Head of Mission in the British Embassy in Havana, Cuba (2003-6) and then as British Ambassador in La Paz, Bolivia (2007-11). In July 2016, Nigel finished his posting, and is currently back in London.

As the first British Ambassador to the Holy See ever to have a blog, Nigel provided a regular window on what the Embassy and the Ambassador does. The blogs covered a wide range of issues, from Royal and Ministerial visits to Diplomacy and Faith, freedom of religion, human trafficking and climate change.

More on Nigel’s career

Nigel was based in London between 1998 and 2003. He spent two years on European Union issues (for the UK 1998 EU Presidency and on European Security and Defence questions), before crossing St James’s Park to work for three years as The Assistant Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. At St James’s Palace, Nigel worked on international issues, including the management of The Prince of Wales’s overseas visits and tours, on the Commonwealth, interfaith issues, the arts and international development.

Nigel spent much of the early part of his FCO career in Central Europe, after an initial stint as Desk Officer for the Maghreb countries in the Near East and North Africa department (1990-91). Between 1992 and 1996, Nigel served in the British embassies in Prague and Bratislava, the latter being created in 1993 after the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into the separate Czech and Slovak Republics.

Nigel joined the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in September 1989. Between 1996 and 1998 he took a two year academic sabbatical to research and write about themes in 18th century European history, being based in Verona but also researching in Cambridge, Paris and Naples. The research followed from Nigel’s time as a student at Cambridge (1985-88) where he read history and was awarded a First Class Honours degree, followed by his MA in 1992.

Before joining the Foreign Office, Nigel worked briefly for the Conservative Research Department in London at the time of the 1989 European election campaign.

Nigel married Alexandra (Sasha) in 1997. They have one son, Benjamin, born in Bolivia in September 2008.

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#peace conflict prevention london nigel baker olympic truce olympics paralympics pope benedict vatican ambassador

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