杏MAP导航

By Philippa Hitchen

Cricket is not a sport normally associated with Argentina, but among the groups greeting 杏MAP导航 Francis at his  on Wednesday was a team of young cricketers from his native Buenos Aires.

Cricket Sin Fronteras (Cricket Without Borders) is a project that was begun almost a decade ago in the poorest parts of the capital,  the 鈥�villas miserias鈥� where the Church is engaged in offering alternatives to the widespread violence and crime. Though few Argentinians were familiar with the sport, its popularity has grown and now hundreds of kids, both boys and girls, take part in the project.

This week a team of young players was invited to play against , set up under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Culture and comprised mainly of seminarians studying for the priesthood here in Rome.

The cricketers attending the audience in St Peter鈥檚 Square had brought with them bats to be blessed, made by inmates from a local jail. The organisers insist that through the sport, youngsters learn values of respect, inclusion and teamwork that will enable them to build a brighter future. Among them is the team鈥檚 head coach, Hernan Fennell, who talked to Philippa Hitchen about how the project began.

Fennell explained that the idea was proposed in 2009 to Fr Pepe [Di Paola], one of the best known Catholic priests working in the poorest areas of Buenos Aires. Among the founders of the project was Daniel Juarez, a longtime friend of Jorge Bergoglio, who was on hand in St Peter鈥檚 Square to tell him more about the initiative.

Example of inclusion

杏MAP导航 Francis blessed the team and encouraged them to 鈥渒eep it going, really, it鈥檚 an example [of inclusion] for all of us鈥�.

Fennell explains that the project began with just four or five kids from the poorest part of town. As it became more popular, the team needed to find more coaches and it has recently been rolled out in state schools as well. Almost 800 boys and girls, aged between six and twenty, are now learning to play the sport

Teaching spirit of cricket

Among the major challenges, Fennell, goes on, it the difficulties of teaching 鈥榯he spirit of cricket鈥� to those living in a football culture. If we can make that spirit better known, he says 鈥渋t鈥檒l be a huge win for us鈥�.