The Archdiocese holds the first Diocesan Sports Day with young people from parishes and brotherhoods

The first Diocesan Sports Day was held on Saturday, October 17, at the Colegio Salesiano de la Trinidad. It was organised by the Delegación para la Pastoral con Jóvenes of the Archdiocese of Seville, with the motto «¡Hacia lo alto!», inspired by Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati. Young people from parishes, brotherhoods, movements, associations and other ecclesial institutions attended the event. The day began with a Eucharist and the Pope's prayer for the values of sport, and then came the competitions in the different disciplines.

Among the participants were the Hermandad de las Tres Caídas de San Isidoro, the Hermandad de la Paz, the Servicio de Asistencia Religiosa de la Universidad de Sevilla (SARUS), the Real Parroquia de Santa María Magdalena, Doctrina Cristiana, the brotherhoods of Jesús Despojado, la Redención, las Cigarreras, la Candelaria and la Pastora de Cantillana; the parishes of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, Santa María de las Flores, San Eugenio Papa and Nuestra Señora de la Salud; and also MAGIS, Hakuna and CEU. The programme included a training session called Think to Play, on the value of sport in the pastoral work of the Church. The Jesuit priest Javier Bailén, who works in the Jesuit community of Málaga, took part in it. His talk dealt with the educational and evangelising possibilities of sport for athletes, coaches, referees, educators and Physical Education teachers.

At the awards ceremony, the organisation recognised the winning teams and gave the same trophy to the last-placed team as to the first, to stress that the value of participation is not measured by the result alone. The referees received a medal for their work and all those attending received a commemorative medal. The priest Manuel Jiménez, diocesan delegate for the Pastoral con Jóvenes, has said that the day confirms «the need and the desire that exist» and that sport is «a privileged place of communion, of fraternity and also of evangelisation». Jiménez explained that sport should be «the excuse or the vehicle» for proclaiming the Gospel, and added that «defeat can also become an opportunity to recognise what can be improved». The organisation thanked the Colegio Salesiano de la Trinidad and its director, the priest Miguel Canino, for their collaboration, as well as Escuelas Católicas, which made available the pool of referees from its training courses. The Pastoral con Jóvenes hopes that this first experience will become a stable meeting point for the different ecclesial realities of Seville.