Retired NBA player Gordon Hayward converts to Catholicism

By Ryan FoleyChristian Post reporter Friday, October 11, 2024

A professional basketball player has converted to Catholicism in a ceremony in Rome that took place just two months after he retired from the NBA.

In a statement released last week, the U.S. Roman Catholic Archdiocese for Military Services announced that recently retired NBA player Gordon Hayward had joined the Catholic Church at an Oct. 1 ceremony in Rome, Italy. The archdiocese said Archbishop Timothy Broglio administered the sacraments of initiation to Hayward, referring to confirmation and his first Holy Communion.

Hayward was officially consecrated into the Catholic Church in the presence of his wife and two of his four children in the Basilica of St. Sebastian outside the Wall. The archdiocese said Hayward chose Sebastian as his confirmation name, noting that Sebastian is the patron saint of soldiers and athletes.

Get our latest news for FREE

Subscribe to receive daily/weekly emails with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.

“Mr. Hayward chose “Sebastian” as his confirmation name following a discernment period by the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) under the leadership of Father Marcel Taillon, who serves Archbishop Broglio as vocations director for the archdiocese,” the archdiocese said.

OCIA is the process that adults who wish to join the Catholic Church go through. This includes courses in which they learn about the Catholic faith.

Hayward, whose NBA career spanned 14 years and included stints with the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz, took to social media to share the image posted by the archdiocese following his confirmation. Pictured are Hayward, Broglio, Taillon, Hayward’s OCIA sponsor Maxwell Van Vliet, and two seminarians studying to be priests with the U.S. Military Services Archdiocese.

A caption with the Latin phrase “Nunc coepi,” which translates to “Now I have begun,” accompanied the photo.

Hayward’s wife Robyn, with whom he has four children, posted more pictures of her husband’s confirmation on social media.

“Gordon joined the Catholic Church this week and why not convert in Rome?” she asked in an Instagram post accompanying the picture. “It was so incredible that the archbishop of the U.S. military welcomed him into the church. What a true blessing! So many great seminarians and priests helped with the service and made it possible!”

The images shared by Robyn Hayward included a picture of the couple in front of St. Sebastian’s Basilica and a photo of those attending the mass. Her Instagram bio includes a reference to Luke 1:37, which says, “For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Hayward’s acceptance into the Catholic Church comes after he announced his retirement from basketball in an August 1 X post.

“God has blessed me with an amazing journey that has taken turns that I never expected or dreamed of as a kid growing up in Brownsburg, Indiana,” he wrote, before telling his followers that he is “officially retiring from basketball.” .”

The retired NBA player identified Philippian’s 4:13 as his “favorite.” [B]“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

“I want to thank God for giving me the grace and privilege to play this game and allowing me to do my best every day,” Hayward added. His resignation statement was accompanied by a caption that read “Thank you” and an emoji of praying hands.