by Mariano Montagnin
Little crowd and lots of police: this is how tomorrow’s match of the Italian national football team against Israel for the qualification for the 2026 World Cup is announced. For the city of Udine, which already hosted this delicate match last year for another tournament, the Nations League, the one on 14 October is a very delicate event also for the protest demonstrations that will be held during the match. An island of peace and dialogue will be the church of Santa Maria in Castello, where at On the 18th, a Vigil for Peace will begin presided over by the Archbishop of Udine, Monsignor Riccardo Lamba.
«An event which», explains Monsignor Lamba «has been planned for some time and which is part of a program of prayer vigils for peace which will involve all the ecclesial communities of the Diocese. The Pope’s invitation in the Audience of last September 24th to pray the Holy Rosary personally, in the family, in the community, to obtain the gift of peace, particularly in the month of October traditionally dedicated to Marian devotion, did nothing but confirm the goodness of the project. We began by joining the Holy Father who prayed the Holy Rosary in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican; on 12 October with an initiative that will involve the dioceses of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the neighboring ones of Slovenia and Croatia at the Sanctuary of Monte Santo, with which we have been committed to the journey since 23 September 2024 during the last Permanent Council of the CEIBeing homes of peace‘; today, the meetings resume in which lay associations and aggregations, like every second Monday of the month, animate the prayer of the Holy Rosary for peace; and finally tomorrow October we will pray the Holy Rosary with the same intention in the wonderful Parish Church of Santa Maria in Castello, the oldest in Udine, and recently reopened for worship after a long period of restoration. These moments of spirituality are accompanied by other initiatives of reflection on the promotion of Peace, such as the path promoted by SPES, School of Politics and Social Ethics, entitled ‘Si vis pacem, para pacem’. Furthermore, since last year contacts have been initiated with the members of Rondine Cittadella della Pace to organize training courses for religion teachers and high school teachers in Udine.
The coincidence between the Italy-Israel meeting and the Peace Vigil sparked different reactions. Is it at risk of being misunderstood?
«I believe that joining these various prayer initiatives express the will of the people of God to enhance the dialogue between people and groups and peoples convinced that the first value to be safeguarded is the human person and his dignity which derives from the fact that each life is a gift from God. I am convinced that these initiatives are an aid for dialogue and communion between people. The vigil was not conceived as an alternative to the match, the date was decided some time ago, but it will reaffirm the values of mutual recognition and the valorization of dialogue.”
Do you agree with the choice of the mayor of Udine, Alberto Felice De Toni, who decided to participate in the vigil as an alternative to the match?
«These are personal choices. I really appreciate that he comes to pray with us: this has great value and I think it is the testimony of a believer who also wishes to encourage dialogue and the growth of peace between peoples.”
Forgive my curiosity: are you passionate about football?
«Life, first as a priest and then as a bishop, does not leave much space for the practice of sport and participation in sporting events. However, I greatly appreciate and believe in the value of the fair comparison that sport encourages. Sport is an opportunity for meeting, knowledge, discussion and respect between people and peoples. Let’s not forget that, thanks to sport, there have been important moments of reconciliation in the world. Culture, sport and art have always been places of dialogue: we must enhance these spaces to encourage the resolution of conflicts.”
