Mexican bishop amid World Cup playoffs: ‘We have Jesus Christ as our captain’
Bishop Ramón Castro urged Mexican Catholics to unite, likening the 2026 World Cup to the Church's need for teamwork, discipline, and trust. He proclaimed that Jesus Christ is the captain of the Church, encouraging believers to rely on the Holy Spirit to strengthen and transform them. The homily highlighted Christ’s compassion for victims of violence, poverty, and social breakdown, calling on the faithful to respond to the nation’s suffering. Castro stressed the urgent need for more lay workers—families, catechists, and young people—to serve in the Church’s vineyard.
4 months ago
The Mexican bishop Ramón Castro Castró, president of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference, used the 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs as a pastoral backdrop, urging Catholics to view the Church as a team led by Jesus Christ and to respond to the nation’s social wounds and a pressing need for evangelizers. 1 2
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being co‑hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada from June 11 to July 19, with thirteen matches scheduled in Mexico’s Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. 1
In a homily delivered on June 14 at Cuernavaca Cathedral, Bishop Castro Castró likened the tournament to a championship that cannot be won alone, emphasizing that “we have Jesus Christ as our captain.” He highlighted teamwork, discipline, constant effort, adherence to rules and mutual trust as essential for both sport and the Church. 1 2
The bishop stressed that Christ “sees people’s hidden pain,” pointing to the loneliness of the elderly, the uncertainty of youth, the anguish of those lacking meaning, and the suffering of the poorest, victims of violence, and those who have lost hope. He described Mexican society as “weary and disheartened” by violence, insecurity, extortion, corruption, mistrust, family breakdown and religious indifference, assuring that God never tires of his people. 1 2
Castro Castró warned of a “tremendous spiritual hunger” and an “enormous need for workers in his vineyard.” He clarified that the call for laborers includes not only priests and religious but also committed laypeople, young families, catechists and anyone willing to love the Church. He reminded the faithful that Jesus chose simple, imperfect fishermen as apostles, showing that God calls fragile people to become instruments of grace. 1 2
By linking the World Cup’s spirit of cooperation with the Church’s mission, the bishop appealed for a united Catholic response to Mexico’s social challenges, urging believers to embody solidarity, hope and active evangelization amid a climate of violence and indifference. 1
How does the Catholic Church view Jesus as the ultimate team leader?
The Catholic Church presents Jesus as the ultimate “team leader” in a way that is deeper than mere strategy or motivation: he is the Head of the Church and the Good Shepherd who leads by self-giving love, truth, and saving guidance.
In Catholic teaching, Jesus is not just one influential leader among many; he is the Head through whom the Church lives and receives direction. The Catechism says that Jesus, “the head of the Church,” has “precede[d] us into the Father’s glorious kingdom,” so that believers—“members of his Body”—can live in hope.
Pope Pius XII explains the logic of this “headship” clearly: Christ alone “by every right rules and governs the Church,” like a head that holds the helm and guides the whole body toward its good.
The Church also pictures Jesus as the Good Shepherd, not only as a ruler but as one who searches, gathers, protects, knows, and feeds his people. Pastores Dabo Vobis describes Jesus’ pastoral charity in vivid terms—he calls each by name, leads them to “green pastures,” and “spreads a table for them, nourishing them with his own life,” offering that life through his death and resurrection.
That means Jesus’ leadership is fundamentally self-sacrificial—“a continual manifestation of his pastoral charity.”
Catholic teaching does not deny human leadership in the Church, but it insists that Christ is the true source of guidance and nourishment. The Catechism says the Church is a sheepfold where, even though sheep may be “governed by human shepherds,” they are “unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the Good Shepherd.”
Likewise, Pope John Paul II emphasizes that “everything depends on Christ”: it is Christ’s word preached and Christ’s Church constructed, and though the Spirit works through the Church’s ministers, the Church remains “his Church.”
So if you use the “team” image: human leaders are more like coaches and captains who participate in Christ’s pastoral mission, while Christ remains the captain/leader whose life and authority animate the team.
Another distinctive Catholic point is that Christ’s leadership is not only directional (“go this way”) but formative and energizing: Christ communicates strength and power, enlightens believers, and pours grace into his Mystical Body.
Pius XII ties this to Christ’s role as teacher and presider: Christ enlightens the Church and guides it, including in ways associated with the Church’s teaching authority.
Catholic “leadership” language is teleological—focused on the ultimate end. Jesus leads so that the Body can reach the Father’s kingdom, and the whole pastoral mission is oriented toward enabling believers to share more intimately in Christ’s life.
When Catholics speak of Jesus as the ultimate leader, they mean at least these practical realities:
In short: the Catholic Church views Jesus as the ultimate team leader because he is the Head and Good Shepherd who rules by right, leads by sacrificial love, and gives the Church the light and strength to reach its true goal.