Vatican's Soccer Tourney Kicks Off
The Christian Post
Supporters attend the inaugural 2007 Clericus Cup soccer competition for priests and seminarians, at the Rome's 'St. Peter's Sporting Center', Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007. The competition was launched by an Italian Christian sporting organisation in a bid to promote a sporting culture in the Church. The teams are likely to be made up of trainee priests, who are studying at the various pontifical universities in Rome. Games are limited to one hour - rather than the normal 90 minutes - which may tempt some of the older generation to play. 16 teams, fielding 311 athletes from countries including the United States, Papua New Guinea, Brazil and Rwanda, will take part in the tournament and the final will take place in Rome in June. In background is the Dome of Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica.
(Photo: AP / Alessandra Tarantino)
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By Ariel David
Associated Press Writer
Sun, Feb. 25 2007 10:31 AM ET
ROME (AP) - The fans were pious. The players bound for glory. And the victory? A miracle. Priests and seminarians from several soccer-loving countries took to a field near the looming dome of St. Peter's Basilica Saturday for the first match of the Clericus Cup, a tournament fielding 16 teams from Catholic institutes in Rome.
In Italy soccer is a hallowed game, taken almost as seriously as Catholicism, and the players were all business once the whistle was blown.
Amid screams from the coaches, pious slogans from the small crowd and T-shirts invoking the protection of the Virgin Mary, a motley crew of Latin Americans, Africans and Asians from the Collegio Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church College) took on an all-Brazilian team fielded by the Gregorian University.
In a miraculous upset, the young Mater Ecclesiae players trounced the more experienced but portly Brazilians 6-0 as their fans chanted: "The Mother of the Church wants a goal!"
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 5:34 PM
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