‘Soccer brings people together’: Nightfever coming to Vancouver for city’s World Cup opener

As Vancouver prepares to host its first-ever FIFA World Cup match June 13, the Archdiocese of Vancouver, in partnership with Catholic Christian Outreach, will open the doors of Holy Rosary Cathedral for a Nightfever event, inviting fans from around the world to step inside for prayer and encounter amid the excitement.

The event is being coordinated by team lead Mathew Joseph, a CCO missionary at UBC. With a longstanding love of soccer, Joseph said he has noticed an overlap between his faith and the sport.

“I remember thinking about the World Cup a year or so ago and just being so excited that the tournament was going to be in my city,” he said. "I felt called by Jesus to do some sort of mission, and I saw it as a great opportunity.”

During Nightfever, young adults invite passersby into an open church for prayer, candle-lighting, and quiet reflection. Joseph said the cathedral was chosen because of its proximity to BC Place and the tens of thousands of soccer fans who will gather there. “It just seemed like the obvious choice,” Joseph said.

Holy Rosary Cathedral will remain open for the evening, with Eucharistic adoration, music, and prayer, alongside opportunities for candlelit reflection and fellowship.

“We really just want to see people be able to encounter Jesus in whatever way he’s calling them,” Joseph said. “It is a bit of a ‘choose your own adventure’ when you step in, but to be a place where people can walk in from wherever they are in their faith journey allows us to be a tool the Holy Spirit can use to help facilitate an encounter.

The event runs as a lead-up to Vancouver’s inaugural match between Australia and Turkey on June 13, kicking off at 9 p.m. Following the 5 p.m. Mass at the cathedral, Nightfever begins at 7 p.m. and continues into the evening. Joseph said organizers are also considering a makeshift watch party for the match in the hall.

Joseph and his team see the World Cup’s arrival as an opportunity to bridge sport and spirituality.

“We are trying to tap into this growing excitement. The city’s energy is high, fans are in good moods, and that is the perfect setting for people to encounter Him. Soccer brings people together from all kinds of backgrounds, and I’m always thinking about how it can be a starting point for something deeper,” he said.

Vancouver’s Nightfever will rely largely on young adult volunteers, especially from CCO communities at UBC and Simon Fraser University. Training for such events focuses on meeting people where they are, listening well, and fostering meaningful spiritual conversations guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Archdiocese is also promoting its online Mass Finder at massfinder.rcav.org during the World Cup to help out-of-town visitors easily find Mass times and locations while in Vancouver. 

“I want Catholics to see this World Cup as a mission opportunity because soccer brings people together,” said Joseph. “It’s a game that makes you hug strangers and chat with people you don’t know for hours as if they were your buddies.”

The root of evangelization is relationship, he said, “and when the Holy Spirit guides the conversation, it becomes a real opportunity.”

Canadian Catholic News

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