Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Saveriadi is the title of a mini Olympics competition organised in memory of St Francis Xavier for Jesuit school pupils from ten different countries. For a week starting from Sunday 2 July about 600 boys and girls from Albania, Australia, Denmark, France, Holland, Lebanon, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Italy, accompanied by about a hundred sports teachers, will compete in basketball, football, volley ball, rugby, combined swimming-running, beach volley) in sports grounds in five different cities of Italy San Pellegrino Terme (Bergamo), Palermo, Torino, Padova and Rome.
The initiative has been organised to celebrate a special year for the Society of Jesus. In fact 2006 marks the 450th anniversary of the death of Saint Ignatius and 500 years since the birth of Saint Francis Xavier and Blessed Pierre Favre, two of the Founder’s first companions. With the Saveriadi the organisers wished to highlight the figure of St Francis Xavier because he represents the spirit of mission which marked the Society from the beginning as the Jesuits spread all over the world. One characteristic of the Jesuits is that they created a network of schools: promoting all round education, the Society of Jesus has always given special attention to the care of the body by means of sport.
The Saveriadi will open with a Mass presided by Prepositor General Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, on Sunday 2 July at the Church of St Ignatius, in Rome. After the mass the teams will travel to the respective cities. Besides sports events there will also be moments of spiritual animation, cultural visits and debates on major social questions today, faced with a marked missionary spirit proper to Saint Francis Xavier. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 30/6/2006; Righe 23; Parole 325)
