As the Winter Olympics come to a close on Sunday, EWTN featured an article about Father Oldřich Chocholáč, the Czech priest who has accompanied his country’s athletes to every Games since Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“My service is much more individual and open to everyone, even nonbelievers,” Father Chocholáč said. “It is a service of presence, prayer, and blessing.”
Father Chocholáč told EWTN News his program is quite simple. He comes daily to the Olympic village in Milan to the space reserved for Czech team accommodation and meetings, and can travel to some of the sports venues using athlete transport. Team members decide whether to make use of his presence.
But the multisite format of these Winter Games presents challenges. Part of the Czech team is scattered across smaller Olympic villages in the Alps northeast of Milan, meaning Father Chocholáč relies on electronic communication to stay in touch with athletes at distant venues.
“They know they can contact me at any time,” he said. Spiritual service among Czech athletes differs from that of more religious countries, where team members come in large numbers to church services, Chocholáč noted.