Gold medal for powerlifting priest at Bhutan tournament

‘Mother Mary herself was my coach, my strength, my protector, and my everything,’ said Fr Denis Dominic Joseph, a priest of the Diocese of Poona in India’s Maharashtra state.

Last month a unique scenario unfolded at the Bhutan Olympic Stadium in Thimpu: an Indian Catholic priest on the podium with a gold medal.

Fr Denis Dominic Joseph had wrested the gold in powerlifting at the SBKF 12th International Games held on 14-17 November in Bhutan.

A gold medal adorning his cassock was a quietly cherished dream for Fr Joseph during the Jubilee Year, he told The Tablet.

“Not for personal glory, but as a visible witness that priesthood and human strength can walk together, and that faith does not compete with discipline, but strengthens it,” he said.

He dedicated the gold medal to his parents and to all parents of consecrated persons – cardinals, bishops, priests, religious – who sent their children to serve in the vineyard of the lord.

Fr Joseph, assistant parish priest at Saint Ignatius Church, Khadki, Pune and principal of St Joseph’s Boys High School in the locality, said that his interest in sport stemmed from a desire to evangelise young people through health and fitness.

The 48-year-old, who competed in the 92kg category, said he had no coach to assist him: “Mother Mary herself was my coach, my strength, my protector, and my everything.”

A fitness fanatic, Fr Joseph said he was a regular at the gym and from there the idea germinated in his mind.

“I tried my hand at power lifting. I had played a lot of football and cricket in my school and college days. But after becoming a priest, I was always regular at the gym.”

The idea of being fit and healthy, a trait he picked up from his octogenarian father, a hockey player when India was under British rule, always stood him in good stead.

Ordained a priest in Pune in 2010, Fr Joseph took to powerlifting just a little over two years ago and has since won quite a few events. In December 2024, he returned triumphant in the World Raw Powerlifting Federation National Powerlifting Championship held in Pune.

However, it was not always smooth sailing. He initially faced ridicule from people who did not like the idea of a priest taking to sport.

“But after two years and winning a few events, the very same people want to felicitate me and invite me to inaugurate sports and church events,” he said. “For me sport is a form of evangelisation. A very creative way of proclaiming faith.”

The priest, who was born and brought up in Maharashtra, added that winning the gold medal was also special for him as his parents are celebrating the golden jubilee of their wedding this year.

“Just after returning home from the tournament, I met my octogenarian parents and placed the gold medal on them.”

Due to his busy schedule, Fr Joseph said he wakes up at 3 a.m. every day to fit in his hour-long training from 5.30 am.

The priest, who is equally at ease whether tending his flock or lifting barbells and weight plates, says he is grateful for the encouragement of Bishop Malcolm Sequeira of Amravati, in western Maharashtra state, of Fr Saby Mony and of his family.

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