Creuse: both priest and referee, he juggles between churches and stadiums every Sunday

Because he is a priest and swaps, almost every weekend, the cassock for a referee jersey. “Everything is a matter of organization but I always manage to respect the two commitments. It can happen to me to make a mass at 11 am then to be at the stadium at 2 pm, ”rejoices the one who covers no less than 55 municipalities in his parish.

Diocesan delegate for the Olympic Games

Originally from Cameroon, this supporter of the English club of Arsenal has always had a ball in his feet. Thus, mixing sport and faith is natural in his eyes and allows him to meet non-believers. “Sometimes I can be a little likely or some tell me that they have made their catechism. It is always very enriching and it gives a look at society. »»

But Marie-Debrice Tiomela does not stop at arbitration in her “pastoral of sport”. He organizes, each summer, football camps in Limousin and was appointed diocesan delegate for the Olympic Games. “It is in a dynamic of real support of the person, without making proselytism because we welcome everyone. And the Olympic Games have given a certain momentum, I know that the dioceses of France would like to prepare something for 2030 and games in the Alps. The modern Olympics are the meeting between a priest, Father Dido, and Coubertin. The first inspired in the second the currency “faster, higher, stronger”. And the priest concludes: “Sport and faith, these are two areas where we are called to excellence to achieve a goal that we have given ourselves. »»