Trieste: A new seven-a-side pitch inaugurated
The Villa Ara football field in Trieste was inaugurated on 8 January. The works included a new lighting system with LED lights, a completely new artificial turf financed by the Region and the construction of a new bathroom for the disabled.
These are essential works as they form part of the renewal project of the community, where the St. Ignatius Amateur Sports Club operates, which welcomes 120 children and young people, the parish catechism programs are offered, and young people find opportunities to play basketball and volleyball.
The goal is unique: to contribute to human and spiritual growth through sports, to have fun together, to learn teamwork, respect and healthy competition, and to experience the value of being a community, including parents, to whom specific programs are addressed.
Present at the inauguration were Giovanni La Manna, President of ASD Sant’Ignazio Calcio and of Caritas of Trieste; Fr. Federico Parise, Vicar and Director of Villa Ara; Fr. Ronny Alessio, EUM Provincial; and Pierpaolo Roberti, Regional Councillor.
“It was a great joy to participate in the inauguration,” Fr. Alessio said, “after having been president of the St. Ignatius Football Association in Trieste for more than a year. It is a great consolation to see a group of lay people and Fr. Federico Parise carry out an important work that benefits many families, children, but also the entire city and diocese”.
The Jesuits and Sports
Sport is a fundamental part of Ignatian pedagogy, not a secondary activity. Among the most significant ongoing experiences is that of the Schuster Centre in Milan, which in 2024 will celebrate the 70th anniversary of its foundation with 1,700 boys, accompanied also on a spiritual and formative level, the renovation of the facilities of the Massimo Institute in Rome, which led to the creation of a real gymnasium at the disposal of the school and the ASD. Also noteworthy is the recent inauguration of the new gymnasium at St. Aloysius College in Malta and the wide range of facilities offered by the Polisportiva del Gonzaga Campus in Palermo, the SSD Leone XIII Sport in Milan and the Pontano Institute in Naples. At the Social Institute in Turin, the Liceo Scientifico Sportivo has been included to the educational sector, while in Messina, at the Collegio Sant’Ignazio, the motricity project was initiated in the kindergarten for the youngest children.
The presence of the Jesuits in Trieste
“Villa Ara”, Fr. Giovanni La Manna explains, “is one of the expressions of the Jesuit presence in Trieste, together with the Parish of the Sacred Heart. “The commitment is to accompany the people who visit it and those of the parish to feel part of a community, sharing the responsibility of service.”
The renewal initiative includes the study and implementation of projects that help to improve the areas. Last year, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region approved a project worth 82,000 euros. “Growing in hospitality,” Fr. La Manna highlighted, “means taking care of people and facilities. Service to the city’s community is also realized through the creation of summer centres. “Villa Ara has an important history in Trieste and wants to remain an opportunity for everyone”.
