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Young people in sports jerseys react after winning a friendly soccer game at World Youth Day in Panama in 2019. | Jonah McKeown/CNASt John Paul II once said that “every Christian is called to become a strong athlete of Christ — that is, a faithful and courageous witness to His Gospel.”
“I was never good enough to go pro, so I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but I really wanted to pursue a career in sports journalism, work for ESPN or something,” Heidland said. Heidland was quick to point out, echoing St. John Paul II, that sports confers many benefits on society and on individuals. For example, being physically active is good for everyone, and developing the skills of determination and teamwork are very positive and important things, she said.
“Not to be morose about it, but there will be a day when every single one of us is not an athlete anymore,” Heidland said. “Because sport is going to pass away. You blow out your knee, or you don’t make the top elite team, they’re done with you. It’s a system, it’s a business… so if I’m not really clear about who I am and what I’m about, it’s going to be very difficult.”Fr Chase Hilgenbrinck, a priest of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, serving his second year as vocations director, played soccer in college and at the professional level.
Hilgenbrinck started to hear and respond to God’s call to become a priest when he realised the various “jerseys” that he wore throughout his life weren’t bringing him the fulfilment he truly desired. But when Hilgenbrinck first heard the call to become a priest, he said he wasn’t living as an “authentic Christian man”; he described himself as spiritually “still a boy.” He wanted to be a soccer star, not a priest of Jesus Christ.
While playing soccer professionally in Chile, a country where he had no connections and did not yet speak the language, Hilgenbrinck had fallen back on what he knew, which was the Catholic Church. Later, his interest in practising his faith started to grow. He was struck by a quote from the late Pope Benedict XVI: “You are not made for comfort. You are made for greatness.”
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