The big question surrounding the upcoming Priests vs. Seminarians Basketball Game is: Will the priests continue their winning streak? Or, will this be the year that the seminarians bring home the trophy? Fans will get the answer July 21 at the basketball court at Mater Dei High School.
Priest-seminarian athletic fundraisers “have been a pretty common practice on the East Coast,” Father John Moneypenny, director of Vocations for the Diocese of Orange, told OC Catholic in an interview about the first game in which funds sent the seminarians to see the Holy Father. “We have priests who love to play basketball and the guys thought it would be a nice fundraiser for our trip to go see the Holy Father… and, in subsequent years, it would fund the Vocations Office.”
“It kind of shows their initiative and their leadership skills, which are the very qualities that you want in future priests,” Father Moneypenny said. “You get to see how well they can organize and put things together. It’s really been a great joy to watch them and see all their enthusiasm for this.”
The game “is really a good tool to support vocations as well,” said Father John. “Priests play basketball. Seminarians play basketball. Hopefully it will be a fun event that will show that priests are normal people, and that seminarians don’t just pop out of nowhere and exist, that they come from real lives, too.”
A social hour is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m., and food trucks will be available. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Order tickets here: ocpriestsvsseminarians2017.eventbrite.com
For any questions, please contact the Vocations Office at (714) 282-3033.