Dreaming of Olympia

Dreaming of Olympia Tim Byron SJ Over the next few weeks we will hear a lot about the Olympic Spirit, but rather less about the man responsible for the growth of ‘Olympism’ in the modern age. Tim Byron SJ explores the roots of Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s thinking in his Catholic educational experience, and tracks the rise of the Olympic movement alongside de Coubertin’s relationship with the Catholic Church. The founder of the Internation- the Church and the privileged al Olympic Committee, Baron elite. However, the de Couber- Pierre de Coubertin (1863- tin family was by no means a 1937) dedicated his life to haven of Catholic orthodoxy, promoting the values of the with a grandfather who was a ancient Olympiad. His fascin- freemason and a great uncle ation with the ideals of the who was a priest with liberal Greeks originated during his and socialist tendencies. The Catholic upbringing amid an latter had been outlawed by the atmosphere of uncertainty and family and when the young nostalgia for the French aristoc- Pierre wished to tend to his racy in the late nineteenth cent- grave he was told this would be ury, following defeat in the useless as his eternal damn- Franco-Prussian War and the Photo by Michelle Robison at flickr.com ation was certain. With such establishment of the Third Rep- 'dangerous' influences knock- ublic. I want to explore the effects of his adolescence ing at the door it was decided that it would be better on his career. Was the Olympic movement an for the boy’s spiritual health if he were sent to the attempt by its founder to recover some of the values Jesuits, who would surely heal any tendency towards of nobility that had been lost? His initially close unorthodox opinions. relationship with the Church became increasingly strained: how did this shape his vision? And finally, His time at Saint Ignatius College, Rue de Madrid, in what might he think today as London gets ready to Paris certainly had an impact. The provision of a become the first city to have hosted the Modern gymnasium and six playgrounds made an impression Olympiad for the third time? on the young student. However, it seems that his humanities teacher, Father Jules Carron, had the The young Baron strongest influence on him. An enthusiast for the world of antiquity, Father Carron spoke with love of De Coubertin's father was a staunch royalist and an ancient Greece, the country of philosophers and accomplished painter who focused on Catholic and poets, where discordant factions and provinces where Classical works, perhaps pining for another age. His united in harmony by the call of Olympia. This must mother, overly pious, often encouraged the young have sounded very attractive to the young baron who Pierre to ‘play Mass’ and dearly hoped he would enter longed for a clear sense of his place in the world. A a monastery or at least be ordained a priest. Their solid classical education with an extensive knowledge family life was paradigmatic of the stifling co- of the history of Greece and Rome was thus received dependency that existed between a certain type of gratefully by de Coubertin from Father Carron. Like Catholicism and the aristocracy during a period in many teachers, his was a hidden and heroic struggle French history that was thick with enemies for both in the anonymity of the classroom to widen the horizons of his young charges and fill their hearts with Two other events in de Coubertin's visit are worth knowledge and a desire to dream and change the mentioning. On a visit to the Oratorians and their world. It filled the young baron with a fascination for college in Birmingham, he met Cardinal (now Bless- Olympia and a romanticised nostalgia for a place ed) John Henry Newman. More importantly, but where honour and glory dispelled conflict and little commented on, was his stay at the home of Dr uncertainty. William Penny Brookes in Much Wenlock in Shrop- shire. Brookes, a visionary figure, polymath and social Tour of Britain reformer, had begun the Wenlock Olympic Games in 1850 with the aim of the moral, physical and intell- De Coubertin was generally impressed by the Jesuit ectual improvement of the people of the area. Ignored Fathers’ educational skills, piety, persuasion and self- by the British sporting establishment, nevertheless assurance. However, with the honourable exception Brookes had successfully set up a National Olympian of his classics master, it is not clear that the Jesuits Association in Liverpool. De Coubertin witnessed had any deep or lasting effect on the conflicted young the Wenlock Games with all its attendant pageantry boy. In fact, at a later time he was dismayed by the and wrote an enthusiastic article about it on his return French Jesuit schools’ indifference to his ideas for to France, although he would later, somewhat disin- educational reform. These ideas were stimulated by a genuously, play down the influence of the Wenlock tour of British public schools in 1883, particularly by Olympics on his thinking. One of the Olympic the meritocracy and competitiveness he experienced mascots for London 2012 is named Wenlock. there. The first stop was Beaumont, the Jesuit Coll- ege in Windsor, where he was deeply impressed, Back in France de Coubertin was faced with an especially by a prize given to a swimmer on the educational system that, in his judgement, was too occasion of a banquet held by an association of former rigid, where sport was not utilised to its full potential. pupils. De Coubertin thought that here sport At this stage, with his horizons limited to educational extended beyond the childish games of Parisian reform, he was eager to try out new ideas, but he was schools and was valued as more than merely a to get a lukewarm reception from many quarters, pastime. He also travelled to Stonyhurst where he including his former school. This lack of interest from was to praise the ‘moral atmosphere’ of the English the educational establishment 1 prompted de Couber- Jesuit schools. Other stops on his tour included Eton, tin to start thinking of a more grandiose scheme, an Harrow and Rugby. It was clear to him that in international athletics congress based on the ideals of Britain, sport was permitted as an unbridled contest, ancient Olympia. forming character and helping the competitors let off steam. This attitude was perhaps attractive to a Birth of ‘Olympism’ young man wrestling with doubts about his own identity and purpose. Competition was encouraged, The seminal meeting in Paris of the Olympic valued and rewarded, and this was clearly expressed in Congress in 1894 laid the foundations of the Modern Tom Brown's Schooldays, the novel about Rugby school Olympic Games. De Coubertin now saw the potential still basking in the legacy of Thomas Arnold, whose of his Olympics to instil a sense of national pride and educational ideas de Coubertin studied closely. At also to promote international co-operation. After the Rugby, there existed a vigorous mix of piety and success of the Athens 1896 Olympics and also the physical health. Inspired by Pauline athletic metap- succeeding 1900 Games in Paris, de Coubertin want- hors , this ‘muscular Christianity’ was credited by de ed to widen its appeal. He found two influential allies Coubertin as one of the reasons for the successful in the Vatican who would help him further his vision. spread of the British Empire. This was in stark The British-born Cardinal Merry del Val was very contrast to France, where he attributed the defeat in interested in his ideas and through him de Coubertin the Franco-Prussian war to a lack of good physical met Pope (now Saint) Pius X, whom he claimed gave education for the masses. Wistfully, de Coubertin his blessing to the movement. Pius X, unlike his would return to France hoping that maybe education- bookish predecessor Leo XIII, was a sports enthusiast, al reforms based on what he had learnt in England and had instituted competitions for gondoliers during could turn around Gallic fortunes. his previous role as Patriarch of Venice. Important as Dreaming of Olympia 2 Tim Byron SJ www.thinkingfaith.org Copyright © Jesuit Media Initiatives 27 July 2012 these two contacts were, de Coubertin’s writing and The dangers of this approach became clear by 1936. his speeches were becoming more critical of Christ- Deeply impressed by the opening ceremonies of the ianity, so it is not unfair to see his dealings with the Berlin Games, de Coubertin reached the alarming Vatican as no more than opportunistic. conclusion that he could rely only on Germany as the guardian of Olympism because only the Germans A change in attitude towards the Church understood the Greeks and would create ‘a new man’. 2 Impressed by 'Hitler’s Games', De Coubertin Western European culture was being influenced was to request the establishment of an institute in increasingly by the 'reforming' currents of the Germany where he would leave his letters and manu- Enlightenment. In France this had led in particular to scripts. This centre would help to promote his work an attack on the Monarchy, the Church and and keep it on the right tracks. This hubristic and Christianity in general, as enemies of freedom. In this short lived dream of de Coubertin, embracing the ill- climate, de Coubertin started to reread history, fated Third Reich and its Aryan ethos, perhaps indic- blaming the twin forces of feudalism and the Church ated how distorted his vision had become. In this for preventing the spread of ‘the sport impulse’.

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