"It gives us a challenge to which we are called, and not just athletes," he said.

"This teaches us about accepting the hardship and sacrifice needed to achieve important goals in life, as well as accepting one's limitations without being paralysed by them, and eventually overcoming them."

He concluded by jokingly warning that he "won't be around" to be involved directly in the Games in 10 years time.

Italian figure skater Carolina Kostner and luge legend Armin Zöggeler were among those present in the Vatican ©AFP/Getty Images



Rome's bid became the first to be officially confirmed attempt to host the 2024 Games earlier this week when Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi confirmed the bid, before promising an "affordable" campaign, seeking to capitalise on pre-existing facilities outside the capital, in places like Florence, Naples and Sardinia.

Speculation has since mounted that the Vatican might host several sports during the Games, possibly including archery or badminton in St. Peter's Square.

But although Vatican officials admitted to have discussed the Olympic bid and possible areas for involvement, no decisions have been made, it was insisted.

This comes at the end of a busy week in the fledgling 2024 race, in which the United States Olympic Committee have confirmed a US city - one of Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. - will bid for the Games, while talks to revive a joint Mexican-US bid between Tijuana and San Diego have also been muted.

Germany is expected to put forward either Berlin or Hamburg, while Baku, Budapest, Istanbul Paris, Doha and either Pretoria or Gauteng Province in South Africa are other potential contenders.

The deadline for confirming bids is September 15 next year but a special invitation phase for the 2024 Olympic bid process will start on January 15, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) keen to provide more consultation with cities in order to generate more support.

This follows the acceptance of the IOC's Agenda 2020 reform process earlier this month, which put forward plans to increase financial and logistical support for bidding cities, and to potentially allow more events to be held in pre-existing venues outside host cities, something that has contributed to cities, including Rome, stepping forward.

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