Priests and trainee clergymen will soon be shooting hoops and slam dunking in the name of the Catholic Church as the Vatican gears up for a new basketball tournament.
On the heels of last year's Clericus Cup football championship comes the Clericus Cup basketball competition, open to all men of the cloth and anyone registered at one of the city's pontifical training colleges or universities.
Philadelphia-born basketball star Marques Green, who plays for the Italian league's Avellino team, has sent his blessing for the presentation of the Catholic championship on Friday.
The new competition is organised by the Centro Sportivo Italiano, a Christian body that promotes education through sport and also masterminds the Clericus Cup football tournament.
The second edition of the Vatican football competition got under way in November, with 16 squads battling to take part in the final scheduled for May 3.
The tournament follows most standard soccer rules but games only last 60 minutes and referees show a blue card to players who get a bit hot under the collar, putting them in a 'sin bin' to cool off for five minutes.
But ball sports are not the only competitive leisure activities getting a holy seal of approval.
Earlier this month around 50 priests gathered at the Passo del Lupo ski resort in Sestola to show off their freestyle and slalom skills on the pistes for the ninth edition of the Priest's National Ski Championship, which has adopted the slogan ''may the lord ski with you''.
