Sports Brings Religions Together

We had the opportunity to go to Florence to have an official hand-off of Soccer uniforms and sports bags that LDS Charities donated to the camp that is run by CARITAS, the Catholic charity arm.  This is the group of Mormons that were able to attend:  Us and Rocco Ianni who is the 2nd counselor in the Stake Presidency, Bishop Ferrini, and Enrico Morelli.  (the guy in the sweatshirt was a visiting relative)  The celebration was held at the San Lorenzo Basilica.

Here we have the ArchBishop of the Catholic Church, attended by several other clergy as well as the CARITAS director.  The feeling in the room was exceptional because it was a rare time for the Catholics and the Mormons to be working together on the same team.  

Bishop Ferrini with the Arch Bishop.  Now get this.  Bishop Ferrini served his mission in Brussels Belgium under President Harrison!  He remembers us and said Dad was his Bishop.  He was happy to be part of this celebration.  After the meeting he invited us to his place of work:  The Pitti Palace Hotel where there is a terrace with a great view of the city.  We decided to eat dinner there and Bishop arranged for us to get a 20% discount.  Nice guy and fun to talk to about old times.  He is now married with 3 children.

The uniforms all have the LDS Charities logo as well as the CARITAS logo.  Talk about working together!  The 'team' has already played in the official city league, however they haven't won a game yet.  But just wait!  Of course it will be a revolving door as far as the players go because it will depend on who is staying at the refugee camp.  The best thing is that there is an integration of the boys in the camp and the Italian boys in the city league.

This player said that he was a professional soccer player in his home country:  Ghana.  When he left Ghana his Mother said, 'why are you leaving?' and he replied, 'I have to.  If I am successful I will bring you to Europe.'

The sports bags also had the CARITAS and the LDSCharities logo on them.

This was to show my badge and his arm patch:  the same!

The ceremony was held at San Lorenzo Basilica.  This was the upstairs terrace.

Team Photo

This is where the ceremony was held.  We took photos on the top terrace and the ArchBishop had access to a hall just for our celebration.  It was cool.

After the celebration we had time for some strolls in Florence.

From the Ponte Vecchio Bridge

This is the view from the Pitti Palace Hotel that Bishop Ferrini works for.  We stayed for dinner and enjoyed the view and very tasty food.  Be sure you stop in next time you are in Florence.