The 2024 National Vocations Awareness Week was this year celebrated with a series of engaging events organised by the Archdiocesan Vocations Office.
This year’s celebration, celebrated from 4 to 11 August, culminated in a soccer tournament, a first-of-its-kind event that brought together different communities of the Archdiocese.
The inaugural soccer tournament took place Sunday 11 August at the Sam Kerr Football Centre in collaboration with Football West.
The event, which was the finale of the week’s activities, saw 48 enthusiastic participants forming six teams.
Players from St Charles Seminary, Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Catholic Youth Ministry Perth, Notre Dame Chaplaincy Freo, the Vietnamese and Burmese Catholic Communities, and members of the clergy from various parishes including Whitford, North Perth, and Como, participated to create a fun and exciting day!
The tournament featured a series of five-a-side matches, with substitutions to accommodate the full registration.
After five rounds of spirited play, Team Orange from Redemptoris Mater Seminary faced off against Team Blue, also from Redemptoris Mater, with a young player from the Burmese Community, in a thrilling penalty shootout for first place.
In the end, the gold and silver medals were claimed by the Redemptoris Mater Seminary teams, while the clergy team secured the bronze after a tight 1-0 victory over the St Charles x Burmese Catholic Community team.
The day was not just about competition but also about building camaraderie and friendship among the participants. The tournament concluded with a shared meal and prayer led by Fr Joseph Laundy, Vocations Director, fostering a sense of community and gratitude.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing a desire for future tournaments—though not too frequently, as some walked away a little tenderly from the event, ready for a well-deserved rest!
The inclusion of sport in the Vocations Awareness Week was a reflection of the principles outlined in the Open the Way to Christ document by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, which emphasises the role of sport as a gift that can draw people closer to Christ,” explained Fr Joseph when he opened the soccer tournament on Sunday 11 August.
“The soccer field, much like Catholic parishes, served as a “place of encounter,” where the values of solidarity, the common good, and the dignity of the human person were on full display.”
The soccer tournament was one highlight of a week filled with meaningful events.
