Runners of all backgrounds, including 30 members of the newly formed Vatican Athletic Team (Athletica Vaticana), take off at the first annual “Rome Half Marathon Via Pacis,” which starts and finishes at St. Peter’s Square in front of the Basilica. Athletica Vaticana is made up of Vatican employees who dub themselves “the pope’s runners” and strive to evangelize through sport and carry the pope’s message to those who might not otherwise hear it.
Photograph by Massimiliano Migliorato for Catholic Press Photo – ©M. MIGLIORATO/CPP