reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
New study examines growing interest in Catholic faith
A national U.S. study finds growing interest in Catholic faith driven by the search for truth, purpose and community
Vatican News
A new national study of more than 2,100 participants in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) across 20 Catholic dioceses in the United States points to a growing interest in the Catholic faith, particularly among young adults seeking truth, meaning and spiritual depth.
Published on 18 June by the Archdiocese of Chicago in collaboration with 19 other dioceses, the surveyexamined the experiences of 2,127 people who participated in OCIA between February and May 2026. The dioceses involved reported record levels of participation in adult faith formation programs.
The study found that those entering the Church were motivated primarily by two broad factors: a personal search for goodness, truth, inner peace and purpose, and an attraction to the Catholic Church’s liturgy, teachings and two-thousand-year tradition.
Among respondents, 28 percent said they had no prior religious affiliation before beginning their journey toward the Catholic faith, while others came from Protestant communities or were Catholics completing their sacramental initiation.
Desire to grow in virtue
Researchers noted that spiritual motivations ranked far above political or social considerations. Seventy-seven percent of participants cited a desire to grow in virtue, 76 percent sought a deeper understanding of truth, and 72 percent reported a search for greater inner peace.
The study also highlighted the growing role of digital evangelisation. Many respondents credited online resources such as prayer apps, podcasts, videos and social media content for helping them explore Catholicism.
At the same time, participants identified several obstacles to entering the Church, especially among members of Generation Z. Common concerns included feeling spiritually unprepared, uncertainty about acceptance within parish communities, and anxiety about participating in the liturgy.
Call for personal accompaniment
The report concludes that dioceses and parishes should focus on personal accompaniment, clearer pathways for faith exploration, and continued formation after reception into the Church. It also emphasizes the importance of creating welcoming communities capable of accompanying those who are taking their first steps in faith.
According to the authors, the findings suggest that many people today are approaching the Catholic Church not primarily through family tradition or marriage, but through a personal search for meaning, truth and a deeper relationship with God.
Coaching the Boston Celtics with the spirit of a deacon
NBA Coach of the Boston Celtics, Joseph Mazzulla, stresses how indebted he is to God for the ability to bring together all his passions - family, faith, and basketball - and live out his dream job, all while keeping his faith at the center of his life.
By Giampaolo Mattei
Coaching the Boston Celtics is not Joseph Mazzulla’s only vocation. He also serves as a permanent deacon. Born in 1988 in Johnston, Rhode Island, Mazzulla also has Italian roots: his father is from Itri, while his mother is African American. After playing college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers, Mazzulla started coaching the Celtics full-time in 2023.
One year later, the team won the NBA title in 2024. However, this year, the Celtics’ run was cut short after losing in the semifinal match against the Philadelphia 76ers.
He married his wife Camai in 2014 and has a son, Emmanuel, and an adopted son, Michael. The coach stresses that family is at the center of everything, citing a passage from the Book of Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (24:15).
From childhood to coach
Faith has always played a role in the coach’s life. He describes himself as a fortunate man, above all because he grew up in an environment where the Catholic faith was part of everyday life.
He lived half a kilometer from a church. From an early age, he always went to Mass and attended Catholic school from kindergarten through high school. However, Mazzulla stresses how no one is perfect. He says he's made mistakes, but his faith has helped him rebuild himself.
Whether speaking to his players or to the highly competitive media, Mazzulla often draws on biblical references. It is part of who he is, the Coach explains. So much so that he does not define himself as a basketball coach. Rather, he calls himself a Christian who, through the experience of sports, is in service to God.
Moreover, Mazzulla stresses that this work is about more than performance or perfection. It is about grace, and grace has already been given.
With support from friends
Along this unique journey of faith and sports, Coach Mazzulla highlights his friendship with Father Marcel Taillon, pastor of Saint Thomas More Parish in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The two went to school together and he highlights how Father Taillon has been present through every stage of his life: high school, college, sports career, marriage. The Celtics coach calls it a grace that the two friends are still walking together in faith.
Mazzulla explains that he’s learned how important and essential faith is in life and particularly in sports. He stresses how when someone forgets that, they start chasing lies. It becomes easier to believe their identity is in basketball rather than in Jesus who died to give them life, he insisted.
In other words, life in the NBA is about more than money and success. Victory and defeat, Mazzulla points out, do not define us as people.
A Celtics inspired Rosary
It is no secret that the Celtics coach goes to Mass even during the height of the playoffs, when he’s far from home. He shares that he prays, but not to win the game or out of superstition, but because he finds a special inner joy in praying the Rosary. He recounts how he has a rosary made from the wood of the old Boston Celtics parquet floor.
Praying the Rosary is a practice that began when he was a child at school. At St. Mary’s, the school did a ‘living Rosary,’ where each student represented one decade. Mazzulla shares that his children continue this tradition, and he hopes they receive the same spiritual benefits.
Living out his faith comes before everything else. He says God places people in your life for a specific period of time — a day, a year, or five years. The question is: how can you bear witness to God for that person during the time you are given?
Ultimately, Coach Mazzulla explains that he is indebted to God, who allowed him to do the job of his dreams at such a young age. Moreover, he asks himself: How can I live it fully, remaining present and grateful? His response is to bring his passions together — family, faith, and basketball with the Boston Celtics.
That way, he explains he does not lose sight of the responsibility, the gift, and the mission God has entrusted to him. He confessed his greatest fear is that, ten years from now, he will find himself like the rich young man in the Gospel — with his life behind him and unwilling to give up his ‘earthly treasures’ after having given everything to worldly things.
Lou Holtz is carried off the field following a win in the Orange Bowl. Holtz won 100 games, including the 1988 National Championship, during his 11-year tenure in South Bend.
Lou Holtz’s Catholic faith is bigger than football
The former football head coach shined not only on the field, but also off the field through his religious values
Legendary Notre Dame head football coach Lou Holtz might be remembered for his greatness on the field, but his enduring Catholic faith led him to be a positive and enduring force shaping Notre Dame football and its reputation for years to come.
Holtz died March 4 at age 89. The 1988 national championship winner began his tenure in 1986 for Notre Dame to help resurrect a struggling Irish team. In addition to giving ten years, 100 wins, five New Year’s Day bowl victories, an undefeated 12-0 season and a national championship, Holtz left his mark with his visible Catholic faith and commitment to cultivating virtuous men on the football field.
Holtz’s early life was formed by the Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Aloysius Grade School in East Liverpool, Ohio. Holtz once told the National Catholic Register that the nuns and early education “influenced my life tremendously. This was due to the fact that they encouraged you always to make sure that God is the focus of your life, and they didn’t allow you to do anything except to the very best of your ability.”
Holtz told the Register that he prayed to God to be a great athlete, only to have been made a coach instead. Holtz’s weekly attendance and trust in the Church on religious principles helped “bring meaning and lasting happiness to life.”
Holtz took on his position at Notre Dame after various stops along the way, including William & Mary, NC State, Arkansas and Minnesota. The opportunity at Notre Dame was not only a larger one in the public eye, but inherently had faith tied into football on the field as a world-renowned Catholic university. Holtz immediately embraced the rich football and Catholic tradition, publicly sharing his faith, re-instating a mandatory Mass attendance prior to games and prioritizing moral messaging to players. His teams began to take the virtues of fortitude, prudence and temperance onto the football field and quickly translated to success for the Irish. Holtz leaned into the distinctiveness of Notre Dame as a truly Catholic and faithful university, which reflected and shared the faith on a national stage. He helped reassert that the football program wasn’t separate from the University’s religious mission — it was part of it.
Holtz posted the famous “Play Like a Champion Today” sign in 1986 hoping to inspire players as they entered the field. After spotting the sign in a college football book, he felt that it “was appropriate for Notre Dame” and brought it along with the team for road games to encourage players and remind them of the sacrifices it took to get to their position. These actions helped make a lasting impact and shape the modern landscape of Notre Dame football that fans across the world recognize today.
Holtz’s time at Notre Dame is certainly remembered for his undefeated national championship season in 1988. However, he is also remembered as a legend for his unforgettable pregame speeches and instillment of virtue in his players. He shared that he wanted “Good people who happen to be good football players” for Notre Dame football. His messaging for speeches was often focused on integrity in the players, respect, self-control and academic excellence, aligning directly with the pillars of Notre Dame. Holtz made Notre Dame’s Catholicism visible on a national stage and reinforced its intimate ties with football.
Lou Holtz retired from Notre Dame in 1996 for a few years before picking up his final job at South Carolina for six seasons. Holtz began to appear in commentary roles for ESPN and other televised programs, bringing his witty sense of humor and passion for the game to every broadcast. In 2020, Holtz earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump as the White House described him as “one of the greatest football coaches of all time” and a “philanthropist, author and true American patriot.”
Lou Holtz “is remembered for his enduring values of faith, family, service and unwavering belief in the potential of others,” his family said. They posted a statement sharing a Mass of Christian Burial at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame to be announced as details are finalized. As the University of Notre Dame and nation remembers Lou Holtz for his football excellence and transformation of collegiate programs, it is important not to forget the ways he impacted players and communities beyond the game through his Catholic faith.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15), a Catholic and the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, greets his mother, Elsa Mendoza, after the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., Jan. 19, 2026. The Hoosiers defeated the Hurricanes 27-21 in the national title game. (OSV News photo/Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images via Reuters)
(OSV News) — On Jan. 19, quarterback Fernando Mendoza soaked in the glory of leading Indiana University to its first national championship, but he directed the attention elsewhere: “This moment is bigger than me,” he said afterward. “First, I want to thank God.”
Minutes earlier, under the bright lights of Hard Rock Stadium in Florida’s Miami Gardens, Indiana University stood on the edge of something it had never touched before.
Quarterback run brought the win
Early fourth quarter. Fourth-and-four at the 12-yard line. The Hoosiers led Miami, 17-14, in the national championship game. A punt would have been safe. A field goal cautious. Instead, the call went in: quarterback run.
Mendoza, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and a devout Catholic, took the snap and went straight into traffic. He absorbed a hard hit at the 5-yard line, stumbled, stayed upright and kept moving. Miami defenders swarmed him again as he leaned forward, refusing to go down. Two more hits followed as he dragged himself across the goal line, the ball extended, the stadium roaring. It quickly became one of the most-watched touchdown runs in college football history — a moment replayed endlessly on social media, stripped of context but heavy with meaning.
For Indiana, it helped seal the first national championship in school history, a 27-21 victory that completed a perfect 16-0 season. Two years earlier, Indiana had gone 3-9 and had more losses historically than any other college football program.
A career shaped by near misses
Indiana’s transformation began with a gamble. After the 2023 collapse, the program hired Curt Cignetti, a builder with a reputation for changing cultures. In 2024, the Hoosiers jumped to 11-2 and a No. 10 national ranking. After that season, Mendoza transferred from the University of California, Berkeley — a quarterback with talent, toughness, and a career shaped by near-misses and limited opportunity.
Rated a two-star prospect out of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, a Catholic school run by the Marist Brothers, Mendoza saw his recruiting window nearly vanish during the COVID-19 pandemic. He received only one scholarship offer. He stayed patient. He stayed disciplined. And, by his own account, he stayed grounded in his Catholic faith.
Mendoza directed the offense with calm precision, finishing this season with virtually every major individual award in college football. On Dec. 13, at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York City, he was named the nation’s top player — the most prestigious individual honor in the sport.
Yet even on that stage, his message did not change.
‘Dream once felt a world away’
“First, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to chase a dream that once felt a world away,” Mendoza said, his voice breaking. He spoke of teammates and coaches, then turned to his family — especially his mother, Elsa, who has battled multiple sclerosis for years.
“Mami, this is your trophy as much as it is mine,” he said. “You’ve always been my biggest fan. You’re my light. You’re my ‘Why.’ You’re my biggest supporter. Your sacrifice, courage, love — those have been my first playbook, and the playbook that I’m gonna carry through my side through my entire life.
“You taught me that toughness doesn’t need to be loud. It can be quiet and strong,” he said. “It’s choosing hope. It’s believing in yourself when the world doesn’t give you much reason to.”
Honoring his Cuban heritage
He honored his Cuban heritage in Spanish and embraced his brother Alberto, Indiana’s 2025 backup quarterback, calling him his “lifelong teammate.” Faith, family and football blended seamlessly — not as performance, but as testimony.
Those close to Mendoza say the public moments reflect private habits. He reportedly prays the rosary every Friday, listens to online Mass before games and avoids hype music to stay grounded. He attends Mass regularly and makes frequent use of the sacraments.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15), a Catholic and the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, reacts after the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., Jan. 19, 2026. The Hoosiers defeated the Hurricanes 27-21 in the national title game. (OSV News photo/Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images via Reuters)
Dominican Father Patrick Hyde, the pastor of St. Paul Catholic Center at Indiana University, has witnessed that consistency. “Fernando backs up his talk on TV by giving glory to God at Sunday Mass,” Father Hyde, who congratulated Mendoza on the field after Indiana’s 56-22 semifinal win over Oregon Jan. 9, wrote on X.
‘Shows up out of love for God’
“He shows up out of love for God, not human praise,” Father Hyde added.
On Christmas Eve, Mendoza brought his Heisman Trophy to St. Paul Catholic Center — not for display, but as an act of gratitude.
More than a month later, on Jan. 19, he stood on the biggest stage of his sport once again. After the final whistle, confetti falling, history secured, Mendoza embraced his mother at midfield. Both were in tears.
“I want to give all the glory and thanks to God,” he said again.
In a season defined by dominance, Mendoza’s faith never felt rehearsed. It was steady. Lived. Verified by habit and witness. From overlooked recruit to Heisman winner to national champion, he returned to the same source — and never looked away.
John Knebels writes for OSV News from suburban Philadelphia.
