LONDON, UK (ANS) -- Catholics in England have created an Olympic Cross to help reach out to Olympians and attendees of the 2012 Olympic Games.

“We wanted to create a keepsake that symbolizes everything the games truly represent, something we could then pass on to future Olympic host nations,” explained James Parker, Catholic Executive Coordinator for the 2012 Games via a news release posted to www.catholicnewsagency.com .

“As Christians our lives mean nothing without the Cross, and so this seemed to be the most suitable object to commission for ourselves and as a future gift to others,” said Parker.

Caption: The Olympic Cross being blessed by Fr. Simon, with youth leaders from the Joshua Camp. (Credit: The Catholic Church in England and Wales).

According to the news release, the cross will stand at the Joshua Camp, an international Catholic Olympic gathering to be held in East London from Aug. 1-13, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales reported. The camp will provide hospitality, organize service projects and create a Catholic presence to foster spiritual growth and evangelization.

Organizers have described the camp as “Olympic World Youth Day.”

Fr. Simon Penhalagan, President of the Sion Community, blessed the cross in the presence of young Joshua Camp volunteers from around the world, the news release said.

Artist Jon Cornwall, from the Walsingham House retreat center in Essex, designed and created the work, which was specially commissioned for the 2012 London Games.

Cornwall said he used 12 different types of wood from around the world to represent the 12 disciples. The wood making up the three-tiered base of the Cross includes three types chosen to symbolize the virtues of faith, hope and love, the news release said.

Fr. Penhalagan said there is a “growing affection” for the Olympic Cross among those preparing for the Joshua Camp.

“I am confident that those who will travel across the globe to be with us in London next week will also come to honor this Cross and in so doing will fall more in love with Christ,” he said.

Parker said the Joshua Camp could become a model for how to combine sports and spirituality at future global sporting events.

“This initiative is a powerful response to Pope Benedict’s call to find ways to draw modern hearts and minds to Christ,” he said.

The news release explained the Olympic Cross will remain at the Joshua Camp throughout the Olympic Games.

It added that after the games, the cross could head to Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, or it could head to Brazil for the 2013 World Youth Day, the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International To support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism,' please contact Michael for more information. Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter