Vatican opens its first official cricket club

Seminarians rest after playing cricket on October 22, 2013 at the Vatican.The Vatican launched its own cricket club with the yellow-and-white colours of its flag and the coat of arms of St Peter’s as its symbol

The Vatican has unveiled its own cricket club as a part of efforts to boost interfaith dialogue.

Speaking at the launch, Monsignor Melchor Sanchez, the honorary president of St Peter’s Cricket Club said: “This represents the council’s desire to go to the peripheries of the world that Pope Francis has spoken of.”

The chairman of the club, Father Theodore Mascarenhas, an Indian priest said: “The team will be strong enough to beat anyone in the world.”

Pope Francis, a fan of the San Lorenzo football club in his birthplace Argentina, is an avid follower of football.

Mascarenhas believes that Pope will be open to embrace all types of sports. He added: “I think cricket is another thing that would be part of that openness.”

Vatican Cricket Club has already challenged the Church of England for a match at Lord’s in September next year.