‘May the best score be friendship, kindness, fraternity’

By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica

Photography: CRISTINA CABRERA JARRO | FC

 

MIAMI | Against all odds, the soccer team from the Archdiocese of Miami, comprised of Archdiocesan priests of different nationalities, won 3 goals to 2 against the team of priests of the Archdiocese of Quito, Ecuador, in the first International Clericus Cup match.

The sporting event took place on April 23 at the St. Thomas University field in Miami Gardens, where dozens of soccer fans attended to cheer on their teams.

The enthusiasm of the visiting team’s fans before the game began was boundless.

“I’m Peruvian, my husband is from Ecuador, so today, it’s my turn to be 100 percent Ecuadorian,” said Tatiana Molina, from St. Stephen’s Parish, in Miramar.

Molina noted that although she did not see the Ecuadorian team practice, “I’m going with the priests from Ecuador because I’ve seen the priests from Miami play, but they don’t play very well. Let’s hope (they play) better than previous times,” she said, referring to the fact that the Miami priests have lost to the Archdiocesan seminarians in the two Archbishop’s Cup annual tournaments.

Jimmy Chang, a native of Ecuador, said before the match that “peace, harmony, and Ecuador are going to win.” His prediction was 3-1 for Ecuador.

Chang attended the event with his entire family, his parents and in-laws. His wife, Guadalupe Chang, an art teacher at Nativity School, in Hollywood, saw the ad for the match in the school bulletin, and the whole family attended wearing their Ecuadorian national soccer team jerseys.

“May the best team win,” predicted Peruvian Ninfa Ventura, a parishioner from St. Stephen, who attended the game with her father and uncles. “We came to support. I don’t want anyone to feel bad. May it be a draw, or may the best team win,” she said.

The match began with the presentation of the two delegations and the national anthems of Ecuador and the United States.

“We are going to watch two groups of priests playing soccer, and maybe next year we will play against Messi,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski as he welcomed the Quito team.

Father Manuel Lalangui, captain of the Quito team said, “Weare going to compete healthily as brothers, kicking goals with faith, and may the best score be friendship, kindness, and fraternity. Long live soccer! Long live the Catholic Church!”

The first goal came 15 minutes into the game, when Father Fritzner Bellonce, pastor of Holy Family Parish, in North Miami, and a player on the Miami priests’ team, scored an own goal for the Quito priests.

The match was very lively, with both teams dominating the ball. There were kicks, yellow cards, falls, and cramps among players of both teams.

In the 33rd minute of the first half, Father Juan Carlos Salazar, administrator at St. Martha’s Parish, scored a goal for the Miami team. Then, 5 minutes before the end of the first half, he scored another goal, leaving the score 2-1 for the Miami priests.

Miami charged at Ecuador in the second half, with several approaches to their goal. The locals scored 12 minutes before the end of the game, when Quito’s goalkeeper, who was in the middle of the field, could not get back in time to block the shot by Father Reynold Brevil, parochial vicar of the Cathedral of St. Mary.

The scoreboard was 3-1 for the Miami priests when, five minutes before the end of the game, Father Lalangui made the only goal for Quito, ending the match 3-2 for Miami.

For Ramón Palma, Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus at St. Stephen Parish, the outcome of the game came as a surprise. His prediction was 3-1 for the priests from Quito, “because I’m Ecuadorian,” he said, even though his soccer team, made up of members of the Knights of Columbus and parents of children who attend St. Stephen’s sports program, trains against the archdiocesan priests in preparation for each sporting match.

When he was first told they were going to play against the Miami priests, Palma recalls thinking that the game would be “a cleaner game,” but the priests “play very rough, they play soccer the way it should be played.”

The Miami priests are “playing at a good level. They have improved and they also have some younger priests,” said Palma. Several players from the seminary were ordained last year and are now on the priests’ team.

For Palma, soccer in the Archdiocese of Miami “will grow,” and sporting events will be held more frequently, not just once a year. At the end of the game, Quito’s Father Lalangui said, “It was a great game. We never look at the scoreboard to win or lose; we just play, have fun, and fraternize.”

The team of priests from Quito has been together for 13 years. Many members have been playing since they were seminarians. That’s why “we’re from midlife on up,” he said, referring to the fact that most of the players are over 40 years old.

But since arriving in Miami the day before the game, “we’ve felt at home. We haven’t seen any difference other than just the names, Quito, Miami, nothing else. It’s the same family, the same feelings, the same faith, also the emotion and the desire to share.”

Father Vicente Gaibor, from the Archdiocese of Quito, who narrated the game for Radio Paz, said he found the match “very exciting, a little bit nerve-wracking because (Miami) is a much younger team.”

Planning this friendly match began three months ago, said Father Francisco Llaquize, of Quito. When they presented the idea to Archbishop Wenski, “he received it with great enthusiasm, with all openness, and that allowed us to hold this International Clericus Cup,” said Father Antonio Tupiza, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, in Doral, and event organizer.

This is the first edition of the cup. “I think that other tournaments will come. The priests (from Quito) have already invited us to participate in a tournament in the capital of Ecuador,” added Father Tupiza.

“Fraternity, priestly brotherhood won, this is what our Catholic Church creates,” Father Tupiza said.

“I am very happy because I had the opportunity to connect with priests from other dioceses, even outside the United States. It’s not just about who won, but about building a bond of priestly fraternity,” said Father Emmanuel J. Essiet, a judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal of Miami. “It’s a wonderful experience.”