Olympic priest for the German team

Catholic spirit during Summer Olympics

His duties as an Olympic priest are counselling, the athletes´ support, but he also wants to establish contacts to other priests. "I'd like to broaden the general view and to develop the communication between church and sports." He keeps the talks to athletes in confidence. Broken dreams, dreams came true - he listens to everything


By NATASCHA VERBUECHELN
from Krefeld, GERMANY


Summer Olympics 2008 are over. Most of the athletes have left Beijing already, have driven home to celebrate their victories, process their busted dreams and to tell their Chinese experiences. However, Hans-Gerd Schuett, Olympic priest for the German team, is still in China and enjoys the quite moments before Paralympics starts on the sixth September: "Now I have some time to visit town and Tiananmen Square."

During the Summer Games his days were always busy: Early starts, long evenings. The bus ride to the Olympic village takes one hour. "Up to now I know the trip by heart. And we are quite lucky because the bus stop is in front of our humble hotel." 10 Euros per night, small rooms, and little comfort - anyway, Schuett feels comfortable there. Most of his time spends his time elsewhere: "You cannot be bored here. Something is always going on. Many matches are in the late evening. Before midnight you get no sleep."

His duties as an Olympic priest are counselling, the athletes´ support, but he also wants to establish contacts to other priests. "I'd like to broaden the general view and to develop the communication between church and sports." He keeps the talks to athletes in confidence. Broken dreams, dreams came true - he listens to everything. For practical reasons the German teams minister in their own quarters because distances in the Olympic village are long.

Even if his hands are full, he could watch some matches: "I am fascinated by the so called unknown sports like archery or judo. I am curious, open minded and the athletes like to explain their sports."

There weren't big surprises in China: "I have visited Asia for several times before. Therefore, I expected spicy food or nose-to-tail traffic", says the catholic priest. The atmosphere is good, but not as euphoric as in Athens 2004-reakons Schuett. "It could be the Chinese mentality, they are very calm and inwardly." In contrast to negative media reports, he didn't feel any work restrictions, the organisation worked out perfectly. He can minister where and when he likes.

Only the language seems to be a barrier: "It would be nice to speak Chinese." In the few weeks he has stayed in Asia, he has only learned "Thanks" and "Good morning". "For the Chinese it probably sounds awful, but you are taken seriously. They reckon you try to learn their language." The priest from Krefeld, in Germany, would like to talk to some of the many volunteers, to know something of their lives. Often there is just a "thanks"- as the one for the diligent gardener who arranged the floral writing "Beijing 2008".


(Published: 10.09.2008.)