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5 powerful moments of faith at the 2026 FIFA World Cup #Catholic The 2026 FIFA World Cup began on June 11 — making history as the first World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.The FIFA World Cup is one of the most-watched sporting events with roughly 5 billion people tuning in to the tournament that brings together soccer’s best athletes from around the world.Despite only being a little over a week into the soccer tournament, the name of Jesus has already been made known many times from several of the athletes and teams as they compete on this global stage.Here are five powerful moments of faith we’ve seen at the World Cup so far:1. Croatian team shares the importance of their Catholic faithAhead of Croatia’s first match against England, two members of the team took part in a press conference where they discussed the role their Catholic faith plays in their lives.EWTN News correspondent Mark Irons was in attendance and asked Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović what Catholicism means to the team and if prayer and faith is important to them in their own lives.“I think faith is very important in my life. When you pray to God, it’s like a feeling that someone is listening to you, and that gives me a lot of strength,” Matanović said.Jakić added: “We are a country in which we are Catholics and in which faith means the path in our lives. I think faith represents the entire national team. Faith simply means everything in our lives.”Instagram post2. Players from Curaçao and Germany join in prayer after competing against one anotherThe national team from the country of Curaçao — which is a Caribbean island with a population of 150,000 — made history by qualifying for the World Cup for the first time. By qualifying, the island nation set a Guinness World Record as the smallest country by population to ever reach the global menʼs tournament.Despite losing to Germany in their first match 7-1, the players and coaches were visibly emotional realizing the achievement the team had accomplished. In a moment of gratitude, several of the athletes joined on the pitch for a moment of prayer. They were then joined by German players Jonathan Tah and Felix Nmecha — both outspoken Christians.In a postgame interview, Nmecha said: “During the game, we are opponents, but after the game we are all Christians and we are brothers… In our faith, we all believe that Jesus is glorified through the game and that’s why we came together and simply prayed together.”Instagram post3. Lionel Messi thanks God after making historyArgentina went up against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City, Kansas, where over 69,000 fans watched history unfold at the feet of the famous Argentinian player Lionel Messi.During the 3-0 victory against Algeria, Messi recorded the first FIFA World Cup hat trick — when a single player scores three goals during one game — of his career. Additionally, Messi made history by tying former German soccer player Miroslav Klose’s record for most men’s World Cup goals scored at 16.After the game, Messi, a devout Catholic, said: “I can’t ask for more than what I received. As I’ve said many times, thank God that he has given me so much and everything that comes now is a blessing.”Instagram post4. Team USA shares a moment of prayer after historic win against ParaguayOn June 12, the men from the United States started their World Cup journey on a positive note with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay. After the game, defender Mark McKenzie led the team in a moment of prayer on the field.Leading into the tournament, several of the U.S. players were vocal about their faith. Star winger Christian Pulisic is known for leading several of his teammates in a Bible study he calls “Bible Time” and has discussed the important role reading Scripture plays in his daily life.Goalkeeper Matt Freese recently spoke to Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast and discussed how his faith and career are intertwined.“Godʼs given me so many opportunities within this game and within my career. I still have a role to play in that. I still have to do my part and take that opportunity and do something with it,” Freese said.He also shared that he’s a listener of Father Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” podcast.“Right now I’m listening to ‘Bible in a Year’ by Father Mike Schmitz. It’s been fantastic and it kind of makes me able to — even when I’m on the road or even if itʼs a busy stretch — make sure I’m spending some time every day, hopefully every day, [with Scripture],” he said.Instagram post5. Felix Nmecha honors Jesus in post-goal celebrationGerman midfielder Felix Nmecha honored Jesus by making a powerful gesture after scoring the first goal in Germany’s 7-1 victory against Curaçao on June 14.After scoring the goal, Nmecha knelt down on one knee and made the gesture of taking off a crown from his head, placed it on the ground, and then pointed up to the sky. This “crown down” gesture, as it has been called, symbolizes that every gift, every victory, and every moment of glory belongs to Christ.In a postgame interview, Nmecha said: “It was an incredible blessing to score my first goal for Germany and for it to be so fast. All the glory I give to God, because he is the one who has given me this talent and the opportunity to be here living this dream.”Instagram post

Michigan diocese celebrates new priests after ordinations moved out of cathedral #Catholic ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, ordained four men to the priesthood on June 6 at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing after the crowd was too big for St. Mary’s Cathedral, the mother church of the diocese. In the packed church, Boyea told the ordinands: “You have been spending years being with Jesus. He’s calling you as he called those 12 so many centuries ago. Today, as you are consecrated by the Church for a sacred ministry, consecrate yourselves to drink the cup which the Lord gives and take in the word which the Spirit is providing. Though weak vessels that we are, we will not let that prevent us from following the calling we have received.”Now 75 and due to retire from his duties in Lansing, Boyea has ordained 45 priests during his 18 years of leadership of the diocese in Michigan’s capital. The diocese, one of seven Latin-rite dioceses in Michigan, is currently sponsoring 29 seminarians, and last year’s ordination class was the largest in nearly 50 years.Fathers Joshua Bauer, Jacob Derry, Ryan Ferrigan, and Peter Randolph, ordained by Boyea, all attended Sacred Heart Major Seminary of the Detroit Archdiocese.

Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, washes the feet of one of the four men he ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 2026, at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Lansing, Michigan. | Credit: Valerie Hendrickson

Before their ordination, the men were interviewed on video, displaying the chalices they will use as priests.Ferrigan, 28, said his antique sacred vessel had been left behind at the now-shuttered St. Michael Parish church in Flint, Michigan, established more than 170 years ago. Inscribed on its base are the words of an anonymous donor: “In reparation from a friend of the Sacred Heart.”“You know, it’s a paradox because this chalice has a long history, and I don’t know who the priests are who used it in the past,” he said. “They offered the Holy Sacrifice using this vessel for over 100 years, and I get to continue faithfully offering the Mass and praying for the salvation of the world every day.”In his thanksgiving address to the congregation, Ferrigan said of his priesthood: “It’s all about the glory of God and the salvation of souls!”In an interview with EWTN News, the new priest said: “In being ordained, the palpable joy they could see in me was there because in ordination, I am seeing the purpose for which God created me coming to fruition. I have become what the Lord created me to be.”“The day of my ordination was the best day of my life. Lots of friends and family were there to support me. The Lord has blessed me and is very good to me. I’m still adjusting and realizing that I’m really a priest now and have the privilege of offering the Mass every day. This is my commission and what the Lord wants me to do for his praise and the salvation of the world. It is still sinking in,” he told EWTN News.

From left to right: Fathers Peter Randolph, Ryan Ferrigan, Jacob Derry, and Joshua Bauer at their ordaination on June 6, 2026, in East Lansing, Michigan. | Credit: Valerie Hendrickson

Ferrigan celebrated his first solo Mass that same day at St. Martha Parish in Okemos, near Lansing. He was able to distribute the Eucharist for the first time in both instances to his mother. He will serve at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, which is close to the University of Michigan campus and known for its music and solemn liturgies.“I’m excited to be going there, and I expect to serve about three years at St. Thomas,” he said, adding: “I’m excited about learning to be a parish priest and diving into ministry. This is how the Lord wants me to feed his sheep.”Randolph, 27, reflected in the video about his journey to the altar, which has included profound loss. “The emphasis of this chalice upon the humanity of Christ and about receiving the chalice, and then living it out to the fullest extent, both in pain and suffering, and full self-abandonment and full self-emptying and glory, means a lot to me, because my [18-year-old] brother Xavier died less than a year ago. And the Lord has really promised me that he’s going to meet me in the place of my pain,” he said, adding: “He’s not going to leave me alone. But it’s going to come in my very broken humanity. In my humanity that is now broken in a particular way in grief.”

Peter Randolph prepares for his ordination to the priesthood on June 6, 2026, in East Lansing, Michigan. | Credit: Valerie Hendrickson

Randolph’s father and grandfather serve as deacons in the Lansing Diocese. At the July 2025 funeral for Xavier, hundreds of friends and parishioners of the close-knit Christ the King Parish in Ann Arbor were on hand to support the Randolph family with the same solidarity shown at Randolph’s ordination. He has been assigned to St. Patrick Parish in Brighton, Michigan, which is known for its healing services and charismatic liturgies.As Boyea consecrated Randolph, the newly ordained young man openly sobbed in the presence of his many friends and family members. “I want every day of my priesthood and every time that I offer Mass in this chalice, to be able to say, like, ‘Accipiam calicem,’ right, I accept the chalice,” Randolph vowed. Paraphrasing Matthew 26:42, Randolph said: “Father, I accept this chalice, and I will drink it to the dregs with your Son.”

unitedyam June 14, 2026June 14, 2026

Bishop Earl Boyea ordained four new priests at a local Lansing parish, urging them to “drink the cup which the Lord gives” as they begin their ministry.