By ArchSOLL Youth Correspondence

ArchSOLL Youth Center, Cebu City, Philippines, 25 January 2024 -- The Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, as part of its festivities of the Parish Fiesta this coming February 11, hosted the first e-Sports tournament. With mobile games deeply ingrained in today's youth culture, the youth council opted to reach out to young people who enjoy playing games and use this venue to reconnect them to the parish.

The tournament takes a series of several days of matches between teams of five to seven and will culminate in the finals round during the novena days of the parish fiesta on February 8. It is based on the mobile game Mobile Legends, a tower defense and strategic multiplayer mobile game popular among Filipino youth. Young people ages 13 and above are welcomed into the tournament regardless of sex or religion.

As of writing, there are already 30 teams registered in the initial rounds, and more are signing up for the next rounds. In reaching out to young people where they are, Salesians are answering Pope Francis' call for the Church to go to the peripheries.

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