In the month of April, the Vatican cricket club, St Peter’s Cricket Club, played a friendly match against members of the Royal House of England in Rome. The visit was organized as part of the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, and included the prayer of Solemn Vespers at the Pontifical International College Maria Mater Ecclesiae (PCIMME), a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Peter in the Vatican, and a Mass with Cardinal George Pell at the English College.

The visit of the Royal House of England is part of a series of encounters that have characterized the Vatican cricket team, largely composed of seminarians from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka who live and study at PCIMME, a Pontifical College run by the Legion of Christ. For them, cricket has become more than just a sport; they see it as a means to overcome religious divisions in the world in countries where Christianity is little known, or even despised or persecuted.

“Football may be the most popular sport in the West,” comments one of the seminarians, “but in our countries, nothing surpasses cricket in popularity. There are hundreds of millions of people in South Asia, most of whom are Hindus and Muslims, who follow the sport almost religiously.”

“We are aware that we are mere instruments to sow the seeds of the Gospel in others’ hearts through this sport. And this is a concrete way to live what we have also learned in our priestly formation at the Mater Ecclesiae with the Legionaries of Christ: to be instruments of Christ’s presence in the world. Cricket is also a means we use for this, to show Christ to other cultures.”

The idea for the cricket team arose through the Australian ambassador to the Holy See, John McCarthy. The team is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture in the Vatican and by Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy and one of Pope Francis’s advisors. Father Eamonn O’Higgins, LC, spiritual director at the Mater Ecclesiae and professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, serves as the team’s manager, and Father Sameer Advani, LC, also a professor at Regina Apostolorum, is one of the members of the team’s governing council.

The team made its debut in England, the birthplace of cricket, two years ago, on September 19, 2014, with Canterbury Cathedral’s towers in the background. There, Saint Peter’s team played against priests and seminarians from the Anglican Community. Justin Welby, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, along with several Anglican and Catholic bishops, and some members of the British royal family, politicians, and other dignitaries, were present for the historic match, covered by various sports agencies, including ESPN, Sky Sports, and the BBC. The Anglicans won on the penultimate over, and the first ‘Light of Faith Tour’ was considered a success by all, helping to break down religious barriers and foster friendships.

In September 2015, the Anglican team played a return match, this time in Rome. But cricket — which, by the way, the Vatican team won, tying the series 1-1 — was a secondary role and served as an excuse to organize a joint pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Peter, to pray together for church unity, and also included a Mass with the Pope. This visit was preceded by a historic moment on July 7, 2015, when Cardinal Pell, for the first time since the Reformation, celebrated Mass at the high altar of Canterbury Cathedral. And in February 2016, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Primate of England, celebrated Solemn Vespers in the royal chapel of Hampton Court: the first Catholic act after 450 years, in the chapel of King Henry VIII’s palace.

Ecumenical dialogue became interreligious dialogue. In 2015, a team of Muslims arrived in Rome to play against Saint Peter’s team. “Our tour of Saint Peter’s Basilica was unforgettable,” recalls Father Sameer. “A group of 50 Muslim men and women in the heart of Christendom.” The visit made headlines worldwide, especially in Muslim countries where Christians are a small and often persecuted minority, and was seen as an example of how religions can work together for peace in a world torn apart by violence.

Father Eamonn comments: “Pope Francis has reminded us how we must preach the Gospel in those peripheries where few go. These peripheries are present both here in post-Christian Europe and in distant countries that still do not know Christ. It is beautiful to see how the seminarians of Mater Ecclesiae have been receptive to this inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and have learned to use their passion for cricket as a means to be instruments of Christ to so many people who, perhaps otherwise, would be indifferent to the Gospel. Only God can produce what this apostolate can accomplish. We leave everything in His hands and also entrust this work to the Blessed Virgin.”

Here you can see a video about the team and their first tour of England, made by ESPN: