By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Cheering for the home team, next to Archbishop Thomas Wenski, is Yomaira Diaz of St. Stephen Parish in Miramar, along with other local young adults and priests.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Rosemarie Banich, director of the archdiocese's Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, left, and Father Richard Vigoa, the archbishop's secretary, cheer as the Marlins score a run.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Young adult Marie Curtis, from Good Shepherd Church, center, roots for the Marlins along with "Plantain Man."
MIAMI | Archbishop Thomas Wenski, three other priests, and participants in Catholic young adult ministry went out to the ballgame, bought some peanuts and Cracker Jack, "root, root, rooted" for the Marlins and had a great time at the old ballgame.
“We find that the young adults love to spend time with the archbishop and other priests in such an informal setting,” said Rosemarie Banich, director of the archdiocesan Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. “They get to see that priests are human, just like other people.”
Father Richard Vigoa, the archbishop’s priest secretary, Father Elvis Gonzalez, archdiocesan vocations director, and Father Bryan Garcia, parochial vicar at St. Andrew in Coral Springs, all wore Marlins baseball caps to the second annual Catholic Young Adult Night at the Marlins, Aug. 24.
They enjoyed ballpark hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy. Banich brought along her 14-year-old son and his friend, who caught a foul ball hit right at him into the stands.
Best of all, the Marlins’ ace starting pitcher, Jose Fernandez, halted the 2016 World Series champion Kansas City Royals’ nine-game winning streak by posting a 3-0 victory. The pitcher started a three-run rally, hitting a single in the sixth inning that led to the victory — and wild cheering from the young adults and priests.
The event scored a homerun for the nearly 100 young adult group members who come from parishes throughout the archdiocese.
“We get to see each other at these types of events,” said Yomaira Diaz, administrative assistant in the archdiocesan Office of Catechesis who is involved in young adult ministry at her parish, St. Stephen in Miramar.
“I love the informal setting,” she said, adding that the next young adult event will take place October 8, when they go on a pilgrimage to the Florida Keys.
“We will travel by bus, stopping at the Catholic churches in the Keys and reciting a decade of the rosary at each church,” she said.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Estrella Cordero from St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center roots for the Kansas City Royals, despite her fellow young adults' playful objections. She recently moved from Kansas City to Miami.
Alfredo Mesa, vice president and executive director of the Marlins Foundation and board member of Catholic Charities, said the ballgame is becoming a tradition.
“This is a relaxed, family environment for groups to enjoy each other’s company,” he said.
Among those making new friends was newly-relocated Army Major Steve Flanagan, 37, who said he found the Catholic young adult group online.
The Green Beret, Special Forces officer has been stationed at Homestead Air Reserve Base for about a month. He attends St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center in Coral Gables and praised their young adult ministry.
“Last week, the young adults went to the Missionaries of Charity to feed the homeless,” he said.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Archbishop Thomas Wenski and priests pose for photo with young adults from the archdiocese at Marlins Park.
