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Heart and Soul: The Priest and his Cathedral of Football: The Priest and his Cathedral of  Football

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Padre Alberto

14/06/2014 GMT

The Priest and his Cathedral of  Football

The Priest and his Cathedral of Football

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, The Priest and his Cathedral of Football, The Priest and his Cathedral of  Football

The priest who built a football stadium in the Honduran jungle

Padre (Father) Alberto Gauci is a passionate and unconventional priest who has spent over 40 years in rural Honduras. Football is a passion in the country and Honduras have qualified for this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

Driven by his faith and his devotion to St Francis, Padre Gauci has gone to extraordinary lengths to improve the lives of the people he lives amongst in one of the poorest and most violent countries in Latin America. He has come up with an astonishingly ambitious project - a 20,000 seater football stadium - built from nothing in the heart of the jungle.

On his wall is a poster of the Bishop Oscar Romero, the figurehead of the Liberation Theology movement of the 1970s and for Heart and Soul, Will Grant explores with Padre Gauci how his work has been inspired and is consciously carrying on the tradition of Liberation Theology movement.

As the Honduran national team prepare to begin their World Cup campaign in Brazil, Will tells the story of his stadium, the Estadio Juan Ramon Breve Vargas and hears the tale of one man’s belief, sheer stubbornness and unwavering faith in God, St Francis and in the ability of the people around him to shape their own futures. 

Will visits the stadium, as well as the prison that Padre Alberto has inspired in the town, and hears about his other projects such as the nutritional centre and the Aids facility. It is a vivid successful, vibrant example of the church filling the areas where government fails to help. At the centre of this is the dynamic Padre Alberto, driven by his love of God, and his love of football.

Heart and Soul: The Priest and his Cathedral of Football

BBC World Service

Will Grant meets Padre Alberto Gauci - a very unconventional priest for whom football is more than just a game.

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