Drawn to crosses: Rooney opens up about his religion

Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
Sport blogs

Manchester City top the ‘injury league’, with Manchester United bottom

The results of new research into every significant injury suffered by every Premier League footballe...

Stereotypical Germany? With the defence ‘forgotten’, think again

The blunt exposure of Germany's defensive problems in their last two friendlies has certainly served...

Top 14: The climax of the season

On this side of the Channel the nation’s best players are packing off either for their summer holida...

It was yesterday's Alastair Campbell moment. When Wayne Rooney was asked about the prominent cross he has been wearing during training here he replied: "It's my religion." This seemed to open up an interesting new flank in the Rooney story until the Football Association's head of media relations, Mark Whittle, offered an aside reminiscent of Campbell telling Tony Blair: "We don't do God." Whittle replied for Rooney: "We don't do religion." Rooney, currently an officer of state of Blairite proportions, had already offered enough information to offer an intriguing insight into his Catholicism, though. Of the cross he said: "I've been wearing them for years now and you don't usually watch training [to see them.] I obviously can't wear them in games."

The timing suggests that his recourse to Catholicism may have had its roots in his search for redemption after the events of Gelsenkirchen in 2006, though it seems that Rooney's wife, Coleen, has had more influence than a red card against Portugal. She comes from a devout Catholic family and her father, Tony, is a particularly devoted, practising Catholic. Religion has formed a part in Rooney's own life, though, from the letters "RC" to be found on his birth certificate to an education at Our Lady and St Swithin's Roman Catholic Primary, a ten-minute walk from his childhood Liverpool home, and his particular success at religious education there. "Wayne's recall of stories about the life of Jesus is quite detailed. His contributions to discussions show him to be a caring child who responds to the needs of others," read a formative school report.

The Rooney clan did not attend mass very often, though his own childhood memories include a priest visiting the house about once a week, usually to collect money. "I believed in Jesus of course, did drawings of him at school and I said my prayers most evenings," he recalled a few years ago. "Usually, though, I was praying for Everton to win on Saturday."

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Grace Dent: If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?

Grace Dent

If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?
The weirdest and most wonderful Diamond Jubilee memorabilia

Weird and wonderful Jubilee memorabilia

Coronation Chicken ice cream and Jubilee jelly moulds
'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

Being a teenager is hard enough – for those with hearing loss, it can be even more complicated
A right royal trip down the river

A right royal trip down the river

A new exhibition celebrates the glory days of London's mighty Thames
The 10 Best lawn mowers

The 10 Best lawn mowers

From petrol-fuelled to self-propelled
Every second counts

Why does life appear to speed up as we get older?

Matilda Battersby finds out how the clock plays tricks with our minds
Couture on the Croisette: Fashion hits

Couture on the Croisette

The best outfits from the 2012 Cannes Film Festival
Child of the revolution: the Burmese family that democracy brought back together

Home of the free

The Burmese family that democracy brought back together
Cannes review: Canine accolade and Hitler's return are high spots amid the gloom

Cannes review

Frocks, canine accolade and Hitler's return
Robert Fisk: The going price of getting away with murder... would $33m be enough?

The going price of getting away with murder

Robert Fisk: The long view
Principled Skinner rises above the fray

Principled Skinner rises above the fray

Andy McSmith meets Dennis Skinner
Patrick Cockburn: I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria

Patrick Cockburn

I fear this terrible massacre will be the beginning of a long civil war in Syria
Hardeep Singh Kohli: For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love

Hardeep Singh Kohli

For me, it is all about 'Gregory's Girl', a record of first love
Christian Louboutin: 'I don't think comfort equals happiness'

Christian Louboutin interview

'I don't think comfort equals happiness'
Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Happy birthday, Hotel Babylon!

Hollywood's home to the A-list celebrates 100 years of discreet luxury