The Real Madrid football (aka soccer) club offered its recent triumph in the European Champions League to Our Lady, under the title of the Our Lady of Almudena, patroness of Madrid. (The Champions League tournament, organized by the Union of European football Associations, is something like the European soccer equivalent of what the Super Bowl is for Americans.)
The Spanish team beat British team Liverpool 1-0 during the final match, played in Paris.
The following Sunday, May 29, at 6:15 p.m., the winning athletes went to Madrid’s cathedral to offer the trophy to Our Lady of Almudena, once again showing the devotion they had already demonstrated after previous victories. In fact, the team has kept the tradition of offering the trophy to the city’s patron saint for decades—and this is the 14th time they’ve won the League.
Our Lady’s maternal protection
In the cathedral, the club’s delegation was received by the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, Card. Carlos Osoro, who told the athletes that “it’s encouraging to support each other in the pursuit of success.”
During the Real Madrid delegation’s visit to Our Lady of Almudena, former player Emilio Butragueño, now the club’s Director of Institutional Relations, read some prayers — including one that prayed that the athletes present would live under “the maternal protection of Our Lady.”
The team’s previous victory in the Champions League was won at a game in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2018.
And today we celebrate...