Priests use sports to encourage others to join priesthood - The Washington Post Page 1 of 4

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Priests use sports to encourage others to join priesthood

(Christopher AndersonfThe Gazette) - The Revs Larry Young of Leonardtown left and David Wells originally of

Bowie Pfepare to play a group of local hlgh school and coIlegeplYGlS Sept 4 at Prif1Gltl Georges Stadium The

two are members of the D C Padres a group of area Pfiests who organized a baseball league to draw more

young men into the seminary and into the Pfieslhood

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Catholic priests Larry Swink and David Wells returned to Bowie on a recent Sunday but it

wasnt to deliver a sermon at St Pius X Church where Swink served as a priest and Wells

oonducted his tirst Mass

Instead they took the field Sept 4 at the Bowie Baysox Stadium - Wells at third base and

Swink pitching - as players in the first DC Padres baseball game

The team of priests and seminarians most Comments of whom are in their 20S and 30s played the Weigh In Corrections Bowie All Stars a team of about 20 Bowieshy

area high school and college players as a

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httpwwwwashingtonpostcomllocalpriests-use-sports-to-encourage-others-to-join-priest 4182012

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Priests use sports to encourage others to join priesthood - The Washington Post Page 2 of4

rwoot 10 way to encourage young men to join the

priesthood

[t allows kids and families to see priests in a EARN MORE YOU VE EARNED IT

fw1 sclting doing everyday things said

Mary Regan a 30-year member of Sacred

Heart Parish in Bowie

It mak~_ them approachable said Regan

whose son Kevin Regan is a priest

After six competitive innings the priests

won 5-4 before a crowd of more than 600

enthusiastic fans most of whom knew the

players on both teams personally

That was the most fun Ive had as a priest said Swink 35 who conceived of the Padres as

an offshoot of the DC Hood basketball terun on which he also plays The team which

represents the Archdiocese of Washington promotes the priestly vocation

My two favorite things - being a priest and playing baseball - all in one day It was great

said Swink a Silver Spring native who is the pastor at Jesus the Divine Word in

Huntingtown Calvert County

Swink who played ball for The Heights School in Rockville and later for the University of

Dallas said he envisions at least one annual baseball game for the Padres at Daysox

Stadium

The stadium is fruniliar territory to Wells who grew up in Bowie attending St Pius X

Regional School and later playing third hase for DeMatha Catholic High School in

Hyattsville

The Bowie All Stars team was composed of students from Bowie High School and local

Catholic high schools such as DeMatha Archbishop Spalding in Severn and Gonzaga in the

District

Michael Comer 15 aJ1d Luke Green 18 both from Bowie said they enjoyed taking on Swink

again having played touch football with him after youth-group classes at St Pius X before

Swink left for Calvert County in J une

Most of us know Father Larry aJ1d we were wondering how good he was at baseball said

Comer a sophomore at Spalding He was good - he struck out a lot of our players

At 15 Comer said he believes hes too young to know whether he wants to be a priest

although he knows some of his peers are interested

Kids )sk a lot of questions in religion class like How do you know if youve been called

he said

Green also said he didnt feel drawn to the vocation but knows people who have not ruled

nut the idea

[ts not completely absent in kids my age said Green a freslunan at St Marys College of

MarylaJ1d in st Marys County I think were still young and a lot are going to college aJ1d

seeing if it stays with them

There are about 250 priests in the Archdiocese of Washington the Rev Carter Griffin

vocations diredor for the archdiocese said in an e-mail MaJ1Y serve in its 140 parishes aJ1d

others serve in schools universities hospitals and military facilities Grift1n said there is a

need for pastors in Washington-area churches which serve about 600000 Catholics in the

District aJ1d Prince Georges Montgomery Calvert aJ1d Charles counties

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httpwwwwashingtonpostcomlocallpriests-use-sports-to-encourage-others-to-join-priest 4182012

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Brie Hall a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington said there are 33 parishes in

Prince Georges She was not able to provide information about the number of parishioners

Also playing for the Padres was the team organizer the Rev Larry Young 42 pastor of Our

Ladys Church in Leonardtm-1Tl in St Marys BDth Swink and Young had served before at St

Mary of the Mills in Laurel

Swink Young and Wells are teammates on the DC Hood team which sometimes take on

the Men in Black - the team that the Archdiocee of Raltimore fields - in exhihition games

as a way to interest young men in becoming priests

Seminarian Shaun Foggo 34 a Padres player and a Hyattsville native taught history at

DeMatha before deciding years after college to study for the priesthood

We need young men to fill our shoes he said to the fans Sept 4 Do not be afraid ifyou

hear Christ calling you

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