Eighteen months ago, Matthieu Bennasar caught wind of a discussion between senior missionary Karen Bybee and her mission president in Lyon, France, about creating communication opportunities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As national director of communication for the Church in France, Bennasar joined in the conversation where ideas were discussed in the Lyon and Paris coordinating councils with local church leaders. Ultimately, he was asked to pave the way for the committee to organize initiatives for the Olympics.
The committee generated ideas, three of which were ultimately approved by the Europe Central Area Presidency and enacted. These three ideas were to create interfaith opportunities, host delegations at the Paris Temple visitors’ center, and organize devotionals with Olympic athletes to strengthen the faith of members, particularly the rising generation.
Bennasar and the committee immediately got to work. In particular, Bennasar’s efforts focused on finding the connections that would mobilize these groups forward.
“My responsibility was making sure we kept our eyes on the vision and not drown ourselves in too many details,” Bennasar said. “I was the chair of the committee, so I had to give the initial impulse. I try to make everybody feel comfortable with what we're trying to achieve.”
Gaining approval on the plans from the Area Presidency was the first step in launching the project, but their plans faced two major hurdles as the Olympics loomed on the horizon.
Not knowing which athletes had qualified for the Games made it hard for the committee to commit to planning the devotionals as they were uncertain who to plan for each Sunday. Still, they crafted programs and reserved buildings, anticipating that athletes with ties to the Church would qualify for the Games. This was the first hurdle.
When Latter-day Saint athletes did qualify, Bennasar was grateful they had put so much effort into the plans as it made it easier to fit the athletes into the slots needed.
“There are so many parallels between competing in sports and the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bennasar said. “We tried to make sure that we drew that parallel during the firesides and leveraged the wisdom and authority of the athletes to share messages that build hope and infuse energy.”
The second hurdle was trusting in the Lord as the devotionals actually occurred. A lot of mobilization of athletes and coaches needed to work just right for the meetings to occur, and the stakes were high as the firesides were widely broadcasted. The committee’s faith helped them recognize the many scheduling miracles.
Reflecting on the impact of the devotionals, Bennasar said many members of the Church have contacted him with questions to pass along to the athletes and also expressing gratitude at the lessons shared at each devotional.
“I think that we underestimated at first how important this all was for the rising generation, especially those in France and Francophone countries who crave for high sports at the highest level and they don't know what the entrance door is,” Bennasar said. “It really bolstered their confidence that it's possible to do sports at the highest level and still be a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.”
Bennasar felt that he was able to draw from a lesson Bishop Gerald Caussé shared with him as he prepared for the Paris Temple open house in 2017. When preparing for a stress-inducing press conference, Bishop Caussé told Bennasr, “I know the Lord wants that to happen in the proper way. Do you think he's going to give up on us now? So, don't worry.”
Even in stressful moments as the devotionals approached, Bennasar knew that the Lord was helping make the events successful because of the faith and dedication of the committee, local leaders, and church members.
“I have seen that there were many hands working, even some that were invisible on the other side of the veil,” Bennasar said. “I have seen again and again, the Lord's hand in all these proceedings.”
As the Olympics draw to a close at the end of the week, the committee is excited to plan an extra devotional featuring the Latter-day Saint Paralympic athletes that recently qualified.