The Church in Paris pulls the faithful together with football

This month, the 2016 European football championship is being held in France, and Parisian parishes seized the occasion to organize tie-in events.

Jun 17, 2016

FRANCE: This month, the 2016 European football championship is being held in France, and Parisian parishes seized the occasion to organize tie-in events.

But others look askance at a sport they feel has become hard to reconcile with the Gospel.

If there were a contest for the most Euro 2016-themed initiatives, the archdiocese of Paris would probably be the champion of France.

In fact, it did not even wait for the championship to kick off last night to get things moving.

Three hundred children from Parisian parishes and youth charities had already participated in a sports day on April 20 at the nation’s football training center at Clairefontaine (in the Paris region), home of the French football team.

The archdiocese also organized a conference last night on education through football at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris. Honored guests include Gérard Houllier, former coach of the French national team, Fr. René Pichon, former top-ranking long distance runner, and François Morinière, former managing director of L’Equipe sports newspaper. As for the Parisian parishes, twenty-five of them are planning to broadcast the France-Switzerland game live on Sunday, June 19 in their church buildings after a time for prayer or witnessing.

We owe much of this enthusiasm to Father Bertrand Cherrier, priest at the Saint-Gabriel de Paris church. A former pro football player himself (midfielder in Bordeaux), and former trainer in CFA (fourth division in France). “Football paid my bills for ten years,” he smiles. With the help of Monsignor Denis Jachiet, vicar general, Fr. Cherrier prepared these initiatives to bring the parishioners together but also to reflect on the educational aspect of sports, while youth charities have been gaining ground in the diocese these past few years.

Outside of Paris, however, the tie-in events are few and far between. A few parishes plan to broadcast the opening match on their premises – Notre-Dame du Rhône in Montélimar, the Saint-Pierre Cathedral in Montpellier. But many dioceses have not made any special arrangements.

It comes as no surprise that those in the south, historic rugby country, have other preoccupations. “The Toulon Rugby Club still has a good chance to win the Brennus Shield (the trophy awarded to the French rugby union champion),” we were informed in the Frejus-Toulon diocese.-- Global Pulse