July 20 will mark the first day of a month of great women’s soccer at the World Cup being held in Australia and New Zealand, and there will be many intriguing storylines to follow that are both individual and team related.
- Will Canada be able to follow up on its Olympic gold medal performance?
- How will new entries like the Philippines perform on the biggest stage?
- Will this be the last we will see of Christine Sinclair representing Canada? Will she add to her all-time international goal record?
- Will the United States three-peat, becoming the first country to win the title three consecutive times?
- Can Australian sniper Sam Kerr help the host country pull off an incredible title?
Another story to look at is the Catholic and Christian influencers at the World Cup.
Most people do not realize that the creation of the World Cup was the brainchild of a devout Catholic. Jules Rimet was a lawyer in France who as a child was an altar server and choir boy. He was heavily influenced by Pope Leo’s XVIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Noverum which addressed labour conditions and the extreme poverty seen at the time.
Rimet got involved in various groups involved in serving the needy, especially youth. Eventually he saw soccer as an opportunity to foster unity.
He first started a team and ultimately became president of the French Football (soccer) Association. In this role he pushed for a world championship of soccer to help heal wounds after World War I. In 1930 his dream came true when Uruguay hosted the first World Cup.
I like to look at the countries involved in World Cups to see how many have a population that is predominantly Catholic. It reminds me of the amazing work apostles and missionaries have done over 2,000 years in spreading the Gospel to every corner of the world.
Of the 32 countries participating Down Under, nine have a majority Catholic population: the Philippines 86%, Panama 81%, Portugal 80%, Italy 79%, Columbia 79%, Ireland 78%, Brazil 65%, Spain 56%, and Haiti 52%.
Catholicism is the largest religious denomination in eight other countries: Switzerland, Canada, Australia, France, Netherlands, Argentina, Germany, and Costa Rica.
The Canadian squad in this year’s version includes several players who got their start at Catholic schools.
Forward Deanne Rose, who attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary in Tottenham, Ont., played a significant role in Canada’s 2021 gold medal victory in Tokyo by scoring on a beautiful and courageous shot in the shootout of the finals. If she had missed, Canada would have lost.
Sabrina D’Angelo is a Team Canada goaltender who went to Notre Dame College School in Welland, Ont.
Centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan was a student at Cardinal Leger Secondary School in Brampton, Ont.
While Team USA is considered a major rival for Canada, there is reason to cheer for Rose Lavelle, who is very proud of her Catholic faith. No stranger to the World Cup, during the 2019 U.S. championship Levelle scored an insurance goal in the final game.
Despite her significant role she humbly stated afterwards, “It is easy to look good when you play with all these incredible players,” she told Aleteia.
Lavelle is known for her faith-based Tweets such as, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice.”
Another American who speaks vocally about her faith is Julie Ertz. She told Sports Spectrum, “God has shown up when it is most important for me. At times you ask yourself what is your purpose, there has to be more to this (life). You get sick of the wordly views.”
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