The Vatican Needs to be Prepared to Cut Off Its Sinful Hand in Germany
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The Vatican national athletics (track and field) and cricket teams had a fantastic British experience in late June and early July.
On Saturday June 22nd, the Vatican City's athletics team competed in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar for the Championships of the Small States of Europe with 16 other nations.
Here were their results:
Mountain Race Men: Carlo Pellegrini (9th)
Shot Put Men: Giuseppe Tetto (6th)
5,000 Meter Men: Emiliano Morbidelli (5th)
Swedish Relay Men: Vatican City (8th) - Rein John Schuurhuis, Giuseppe Zapparata, Carlo Pellegrini, and Emiliano Morbidelli
100 Meter Hurdles Men: Giuseppe Zapparata (3rd)
The Vatican City finished tied for 15th on the medal standings with a single bronze and improved on the men's side. Lately, the women had been best on the Vatican athletics team with daughter of Vatican officials, Sara Carnicelli, having earned a 3rd place finish in the 5,000 Meter Women competition at the same championships in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Vatican City men's national cricket team played four matches in the Twenty20 version of the historic sport of cricket in its spiritual home nation: England.
The Vatican City's team is known as St. Peter’s Cricket Club and are recognizable by their gold sports coats they often wear on their journeys, sort of like the Masters Green Jacket in golf.
On June 29th, the same day that India won their second Men's Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in Barbados, the Vatican's team played two matches against the England and Wales Senior's team at the Wormsley Estate.
Wormsely Estate Cricket Ground sits nearly halfway between Windsor and Oxford and is on a private estate of Mark Getty KBE, co-founder of Getty Images and member of the famous Getty Family, most known today for their spectacular properties and museums in the Los Angeles area of California, USA.
The England and Wales Senior's national team is the 60 year old and over team and while older, they are experienced and still quite athletic. England and Wales are one of three national teams to have won two Twenty20 Men's World Cups with India and the West Indies, so this is top class pedigree.
The 1st match saw Vatican City score 105 runs, but England Senior's past them up by the 14th over with 106 runs. The 2nd match was much more competitive with the Vatican City scoring 133 runs. With 4 balls left, the Vatican City still had a chance to win, but alas the England Senior's scored to win to reach 136 runs with just 3 balls remaining!
The next day, the St. Peter's players and staff visited Westminster Cathedral, the mother parish for Catholics in England and Wales, where they remembered all the Catholic martyrs who died keeping their Faith during the difficult times after the Reformation.
On July 1st, St. Peter’s Cricket Club would play St. Mary's University at the Arundel Castle Grounds.
Arundel Castle is near the south coast, south of London, in West Sussex that predates the Reformation and thus is a historic English Catholic sight from the 11th Century. Post-Reformation England has seen this castle remain a bastion of Catholicsm. Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, was key in restoring the castle and he was well-known for promoting Catholic Emancipation, supporting King George II, but also opposing war with the 13 American colonies that became the USA. Additionally, Saint Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel, is one of the 40 recognized and canonized English Catholic martyrs who lived around the castle.
Thus, the Dukes of Norfolk have been well-known Catholic recusants in England and its current Edward William Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, GCVO, DL, is the Vatican's recognized senior representative of the Catholic Faith in England. Nearby is the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and St Philip Howard, Arundel, also known as the Arundel Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
St Mary's University is equally known for its well-found Catholic Faith, being a Catholic university in the Greater London area of Twickenham, a place known for its historic and famous rugby union football stadium that is home to the England national team, often called the "Home of Rugby". Lately though, Twickenham has been making its name through other sports because of St Mary's University's prowres, especially in cricket.
Vatican City therefore had a lot to do against one of the United Kingdom's leading sports universities and did well to score 136 runs from just 5 wickets in 20 overs. St Mary's University thus had a difficult chase, and Vatican City held them to 131 runs from 5 wickets in 20 overs. Thus, Vatican City won!
Then, July 3rd saw St. Peter's play just one more match, this time at the Windsor Castle Grounds against the King's XI, a team which is composed of the monarch's household and has come to represent the Anglican Communion and Commonwealth. This match was a low scoring fielding affair, and the Vatican City scored 98 runs from 8 wickets and 20 overs, while the King XI also had 8 wickets fall, but scored 99 runs on 19.3 overs. A narrow loss was difficult for the Vatican City side who had won the previous meeting, but the trip to Windsor Castle was successful for other reasons. Here, Pope Francis and King Charles III were able to share messages through the teams where they stressed the importance of uniting amidst diversity. For this specific match, it was a day to unite the most populous and third most populous Christian denominations.
British Ambassador to the Holy See, Chris Trott, was quick to acknowledge how the Catholic Church and the United Kingdom, as well as the Vatican City and Holy See and the United Kingdom grew closer with this successful cricket tour.
July 4th saw the Vatican cricketers visit Westminster Abbey, a parish many claim to be the equivalent of Saint Peter's Basicilica in the Anglican Communion.
This summer thus reminds us of the diversity of the Catholic Church.
First, the athletics team largely featured Dutch and Italian Catholics, while the cricket team featured Catholics largely from South Asia, Australia, and the British Isles.
Then, we were reminded of England and the United Kingdom as a Catholic country, and the Anglican Communion as our Christian brothers. We often forget how many saints and present-day Catholics exist in the United Kingdom and other sovereign-states under King Charles III, and many are unaware that the Royal House of Windsor are well-supported by many Catholics such as those in Gibraltar, a Catholic-majority territory.
Therefore, it was a celebration of sports, Christianity, and solidarity in diplomacy.
But, make no doubts about it, Vatican City plans to improve upon these results as they push for Olympic inclusion.
Cole Kinder is a recent graduate of UCLA in political science with a focus on international relations. He has written one book, Foreign Policy in 4 Hours, Afghanistan 2021, and has written many articles on various websites such as Crisis Magazine. Cole Kinder specializes in international relations, domestic politics, religious studies (Catholicism), Slavic studies, sports, as well as geography.
