Five years after plunging into the world of googlies, square leg and spin bowling with the formation of its own cricket team, the Vatican has founded its first ever athletics association.

Launched on Thursday, the running club consists of 60 members, including soldiers from the Swiss Guard, employees of the Vatican City State, officers from the gendarmerie, the city state’s tiny police force, priests and nuns.

Inspiration for the track team came from a group of Vatican employees who meet regularly along the banks of the Tiber, which curves through Rome just a few hundred yards from St Peter’s Basilica.

The youngest club member is a 19-year-old Swiss Guard, while the oldest is a 62-year-old professor who works in the Vatican's Apostolic Library.

Aside from working up a sweat, the aim is to use sport to promote inter-religious dialogue and understanding.