Vincentian Mother House and Game One for Blue Demons on Tuesday

Photo by: DePaul Athletics

Vincentian Mother House and Game One for Blue Demons on Tuesday

8/6/2019 4:34:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

DePaul wins first game Tuesday evening over the Netherlands National "B" Team

PARIS – The Blue Demons visited the spiritual center of the Vincentians and played their first game of the trip on Tuesday. Fr. Ed Udovic took the travel party to the Vincentian Mother House that included a Vincentian museum with artifacts from St. Vincent de Paul.

Following the Vincentian visit, the team visited the site of Notre Dame Cathedral to take in the damage to the building following the recent fire that destroyed the roof and nearly collapsed the building.

In the evening, DePaul squared off with the Netherlands National "B" Team and came away with a 73-64 victory. The Blue Demons led by 20 points in the third quarter before a late flurry by Netherlands to trim the final deficit.

Charlie Moore led the team with 26 points and added four assists and three steals as the Blue Demons debuted a pressure-filled defensive scheme. Freshman Romeo Weems added 12 points and four boards while Paul Reed totaled 11 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.

The Blue Demons opened up the game by outscoring Netherlands by 13 points in the second quarter. The lead grew as high as 20 points when the score reached 43-23 in favor of DePaul. Jaylen Butz pulled down nine rebounds with eight points while Carte'Are Gordon totaled nine boards and four points.

Jaylen Butz
So far our France trip has been great!! Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and taking it all in. We walked all around France being able to see many different historical buildings and we had the opportunity to see the church of Notre Dame. It is in the process of being rebuilt and it can take anywhere from 20-50 years so hopefully they can get it repaired.

We also had the opportunity to see the medieval wall that at one time surrounded Paris. Another stop was an old preschool from WWll during the time the Nazis impacted France in a huge way. Nazis would take the children from the preschool and ask the parents to turn themselves in so that they could reunite with the child leaving the parents no choice. Then sending them all to concentration camps.

Our first game was Tuesday and we got our first win. It has been a great opportunity for us as young men, growing as individuals and expanding our knowledge on St. Vincent de Paul and his mission giving us the opportunity to travel across the world and do what we love.

Carte'Are Gordon
Where do I start, this trip has been amazing so far. Going to the churches with Father Ed was incredible and I was in shock by all of the cool things we encountered.

Seeing France for the first time is something I'll always remember. The difference between here and home is the architecture of the buildings and the way the roads are, also some of the brands of cars here are different and ones I have never seen before. Being in a country where most people have no idea what you are saying can be annoying and overwhelming at times, but the culture makes up for all of that. The thing I think I had to adjust to the most though is food. Food here has a different taste. The people here are fashionable and nice as well.

Visiting the churches has been the highlight of my trip, the churches here are much bigger than the ones in the USA and have a lot of more things to look at. It is like they value religion more here. I had a great time walking in the steps of Vincent de Paul himself and I was intrigued by learning about what he did and why he did. Seeing the headquarters was something I'll never forget. Today when we went to see the museum dedicated to DePaul, it was very appealing looking at his actual clothes and shoes and seeing his wax figure with his actual remains underneath. I felt as if I was looking at the real him and now I have an idea of what he used to really look like. Being so close to someone who was so influential and royal at the time is a feeling like no other.

I'm so thankful and appreciative of Father Ed showing me around and informing me about the history of DePaul.

Darious Hall
Today was a great day. I had so much fun and was able to see a new part of the world. Everything is different with the food, the smells and the people. The best part of the day was being able to walk in Vincent's steps and learn about him and the things he did in his lifetime. Going through all the churches the he influenced in his lifetime opened my eyes. I didn't know much about St. Vincent, but from what I was able to see and hear it gave me a great idea of what type of person he was and what he did for his people. I'm very proud to play with his name across my jersey and it was a great way to cap off my day and the team day that after walking in the footsteps of Vincent de Paul, we were able to play our first game and come home with the win.

Pantelis Xidias
To say that this trip has been a life changing experience thus far would be an understatement. Each and every time we take the floor, we wear Saint Vincent de Paul's name across our chest with pride as we aim to exemplify Vincentian values. Exploring Vincentian sights and following the footsteps of Vincent de Paul is the perfect way to further understand the name that we wear across our chests, and I can not begin to express how appreciative and blessed we are to have the opportunity to experience something so wonderful.

Today we were blessed enough to visit the Vincentian Museum, home of various relics that belonged to the late Vincent de Paul. The group was able to appreciate the dedication of The Congregation of the Mission, which was an organization that Vincent de Paul founded in an effort to improve parishes nationwide and provide charity to all. We were also able to experience Notre Dame, which is one of the most remarkable and well-known churches in the world. Due to the recent fire that took place, we noticed individuals working tirelessly to restore a church that has been a symbol of charity for over 650 years.

Being able to visit these historic landmarks in a city as magnificent as Paris is a blessing in and of itself, but to be able to experience them with my teammates is an experience that is the best. The bond that we share grows stronger and stronger with each day, and it is evident that we are overjoyed to be taking in this amazing experience together. Each day of our lives, we are tasked with asking ourselves the Vincentian question "what must be done?" Experiencing an area where Vincent de Paul spread charity throughout gives us all a better understanding of what we must do to positively impact our community, and we are continually striving to learn more and more about Vincent de Paul's remarkable journey to canonization.