By Sean Ryan - 29 February, 2016
A unique new partnership has seen Britain’s oldest Catholic University – St Mary’s in Twickenham – team up with the John Paul II Foundation for Sport (JP2F4S).
London-based St Mary’s entered into the partnership with John Paul II Foundation for Sport following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 February last.
The partnership will see St Mary’s work with JP2F4S to explore the development of new initiatives and approaches to sports education.
They two bodies will work to develop resources which can be incorporated into the University’s curriculum and explore the development of new sports programmes.
As part of the partnership, JP2F4S will also have a hot desk at St Mary’s and access to the University’s vast learning recourses and libraries.
St Mary’s has had a long relationship with the Foundation as it was launched on campus during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in 2010.
The JP2F4S is inspired St John Paul II’s vision for sport, which has as its primary focus the building of spiritual character through excellence in sporting skills and fitness.
The Foundation aims to enable young people to achieve inner peace through sport, guided by the principles identified by St John Paul II and set out in his declarations and writing.
The Foundation supports the creation of new sports clubs in parishes and schools across the country, identifying teachers, trainers and coaches, who adopt the ethics and ethos of JP2F4S, to lead new and existing groups and teams.
St Mary’s Vice-Chancellor, Francis Campbell said, “I am proud that St Mary’s has partnered with the John Paul II Foundation for Sport, continuing the legacy of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the University in 2010.
He described the work of the Foundation as important and said he looked forward to the Foundation being at St Mary’s in the near future.
JP2F4S CEO Mgr Vladimir Felzmann said, “The MOU is a win, win event. St Mary’s wins, JP2F4S wins, the Church wins, society wins as we discover and generate synergies in sport, spirituality and education.”
