Angelus News | September 6, 2024 | Vol. 9 No. 18
On the cover: Father Richard Sunwoo, pastor of St. Louise de Marillac in Covina, stands on the sidelines of an LA Chargers preseason game at SoFi Stadium in August. This year, Sunwoo is one of several LA priests with a side gig like no other: celebrating Mass for NFL teams before games. On Page 10, associate editor Mike Cisneros tells the story of the little-known ministry helping teams meet their spiritual needs.
On the cover: Father Richard Sunwoo, pastor of St. Louise de Marillac in Covina, stands on the sidelines of an LA Chargers preseason game at SoFi Stadium in August. This year, Sunwoo is one of several LA priests with a side gig like no other: celebrating Mass for NFL teams before games. On Page 10, associate editor Mike Cisneros tells the story of the little-known ministry helping teams meet their spiritual needs.
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EXTRA POINT<br />
Mini-homilies, divided loyalties, and athlete marriage prep:<br />
Meet the LA priests who minister to NFL teams.<br />
BY MIKE CISNEROS<br />
Father Richard Sunwoo,<br />
right, poses with Niko Rudela,<br />
the brother of Father<br />
Marko Rudela, during a<br />
preseason Chargers game<br />
on Aug. 17. | LOS ANGELES<br />
CHARGERS<br />
Father Richard Sunwoo was never<br />
a big sports fan. But when a student<br />
from Loyola High School<br />
came to him asking for help converting<br />
to Catholicism, he decided to meet<br />
with him every Sunday.<br />
When they would meet, Sunwoo<br />
thought it was odd that the student was<br />
always sweaty.<br />
After his baptism on Easter Sunday,<br />
Sunwoo asked the student about his<br />
college plans.<br />
“He said, ‘I’m going to Stanford. I<br />
got an offer to play football,’ ” Sunwoo<br />
said. “I said, ‘I didn’t know you played<br />
football.’ Because it just never came<br />
up.<br />
“But that’s how I started getting<br />
involved in sports.”<br />
Sunwoo, now the pastor at St. Louise<br />
de Marillac Church in Covina, is one<br />
10 • ANGELUS • <strong>September</strong> 6, <strong>2024</strong>
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