Chicagoland

All give-and-go as seminarians meet to compete

By Joyce Duriga | Editor
Sunday, February 8, 2015

All give-and-go as seminarians meet to compete

Mundelein Laker Michael Metz goes up for a shot against players from St. Meinrad Seminary during the annual Father Pat O'Malley Invitational Jan. 31 at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein. (Karen Callaway / Catholic New World)
Mundelein's Mark Burnhard dribbles past a St. Meinrad player on Jan. 31. (Karen Callaway / Catholic New World)
A Mundelein seminarian holds up a cut out of Father Robert Barron’s head as fans cheer and clap during a game between Mundelein and St. Meinrad seminaries on Jan. 31. Barron is the seminary’s rector. (Karen Callaway / Catholic New World)

At first glance, the basketball tournament held in the gym at Mundelein Seminary the weekend of Jan. 31 looked like any other amateur men’s league except with one difference — all of the players were discerning a call to the priesthood.

They were taking part in the annual Father Pat O’Malley Invitational that pits against each other teams from seminaries around the country. This year 12 teams from seven states participated.

“It’s always been a wonderful time for fraternity among the seminarians,” said Father Robert Barron, rector of Mundelein Seminary. “It’s the best seminary tournament I’ve seen anywhere in the country.”

Two years ago, Barron, who attended several of the tournament games this year, renamed the event in honor of Father Pat O’Malley, a retired Chicago priest and former Catholic New World columnist who served as a spiritual director at the seminary and who passed away in 2013. O’Malley was an avid sports fan and used to attend all of the tournament games.

“He loved this tournament. He was always here cheering the guys on. So when he died I thought he was an appropriate guy to name it for,” Barron said.

The tournament builds fraternity among the seminarians.

“It’s brings us together. Look at all of the guys here,” he said. “They’re fighting their way on the court and then they all come together in their common love for the priesthood,” around Mass Sunday morning.

This is the 15th year for the tournament. The Josephinum in Ohio also holds a basketball tournament and other seminaries hold tournaments for sports like golf and soccer.

Some teams were pretty organized like that from Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, who sported matching warm up suits along with traditional basketball uniforms. Mount St. Mary’s also had a seminarian on their roster who played Division I basketball.

Others, like the team from St. Meinrad Abbey Seminary in Indiana wore simple matching tank tops with their own shorts and undershirts.

Since sports are extracurricular activities at seminaries and not all of the teams practice much before the tournament skill levels vary.

There’s a spiritual and social aspect to the tournament as well, with the teams kneeling in prayer together after each game, celebrating Mass together and having a pizza social and screening of the movie Hoosiers.

It was an enthusiastic environment and loud cheers echoed through the gym during games. When they weren’t playing, teams cheered on those who were. Some teams even brought their mascots and others dressed up as gorillas and waved signs. A few Mundelein seminarians made large cutouts of Father Barron’s head and that of Mark McGeary, a second year pretheology student who was this year’s tournament director and team coach.

Each year a seminarian in his second year of pre-theology serves as director. A firstyear theology student serves under him and takes the tournament over the following year. The Knights of Columbus provide the financial support for Mundelein to host the tournament and the seminaries pay their own way there.

This year Mother Nature even made an appearance. A blizzard rolled in Saturday night and on Sunday before the championship games. The 19 inches of snow caused the gym roof to leak.

To keep anyone from slipping on the gym floor it was decided the winner would be determined through a threepoint shoot out. Kenrick-Glennon Seminary from St. Louis, Missouri, won the tournament with Mount St. Mary Seminary and Mundelein taking second and third respectively.

The blizzard also kept some of the teams at the seminary one more day because their flights out were cancelled.

Eight dads and 20 boys from the Archdiocese of Kansas City even made the tournament the focus of their fatherson trip that weekend after seeing the event on Barron’s “Heroic Priesthood” DVD.

This was Quoc-viet Nguyen’s third year playing in the tournament for Mundelein Seminary.

“I think it’s the best team we’ve had since I’ve been here,” said Nguyen, who is studying for the Archdiocese of Kansas City.

The whole event is an opportunity to strengthen bonds between those discerning priesthood, he said.

“For men, we connect by working together, whether it’s building a house or playing sports,” he said. “I’ve learned throughout my life that playing sports is a good way to get to know each other.”

The tournament also offers an opportunity “to see the universal church get together and play basketball,” he said.

For first-year seminarian Andrew Raffanti from St. Joseph Seminary in St. Benedict, Louisiana, training for the tournament was the first time he played basketball on a team.

“It is a great way to just come out here and have fun and stay in shape,” said Raffanti, who is studying for the Diocese of Memphis, Tennessee. But it also helps others view priesthood differently.

“A lot of times people don’t really see seminarians or priests as just normal people,” he said. “And people come out here [to the tournament] and they can see that.”

Topics:

  • basketball
  • university of st. mary of the lake
  • mundelein seminary

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