In her master's thesis, the author deals with the issue of the connection or implementation of pastoral care in sports. First, she presented the importance that sport has for humans, then through the church documents Sport and Christian Life and Giving All of Yourself, she established that the Church is also interested in sports, because it is interested in humans and attributes great value to sports for human life, both physical, mental and spiritual. Since the author is familiar with the work of the Salesians in the Ljubljana – Rakovnik parish, she investigated the connection of pastoral care and sports based on the work of sports groups in the aforementioned parish. The Salesians continue the work of their founder Don Bosco, so the author presented his life and work and the expansion of his work to the Slovenian region. In sports groups, they play football, basketball and volleyball at a recreational level. The author conducted interviews with participants in sports groups, parents and coaches and came to the conclusion that many children and young people are interested in recreational sports, that they want to be in contact with their peers also through sports. Sports groups also carry out pastoral work, so the participants deepen their faith and strengthen it. Since many participants in these sports groups come from an environment that does not practice religion, they come into contact with religion and learn about it in this way. The author's opinion is that sport is a very important area for pastoral care, which the Slovenian Church should also recognize and include in its activities.
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