At 34, Wendie Renard is considered a legend in the world of women’s soccer. Those who have followed her since she joined Olympique Lyonnais (OL) in 2006, however, know that her passion for this sport is not matched by her passion for Christ, which she regularly shares with her hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.  

Originally from the French island of Martinique, she was raised in the Catholic faith by both of her parents. After losing her father to cancer when she was 8, Renard and her four sisters found in Christ a solid compass capable of keeping them on the right path.  

Renard joined the women’s professional section of OL (in Lyon, Southern France) at the age of 17, after being discovered as a teenager for her physical and technical abilities. 

Now captain of both the French national team and OL, she is one of the most decorated players in modern women’s club soccer, having won 17 national championships, 10 French Cups, three Champions Trophies (equivalent of a Super Bowl trophy in American football) and eight Champions League titles. With the French national team, she placed fourth at the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympic Games and was a semi-finalist at Euro 2022. 

Renard took part in the 2016 Olympic Games and then the 2024 Paris Games, at which France lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals. Looking back on the disappointment of that home defeat, in this interview with the Register, she revealed how she draws on her faith to face and overcome life’s challenges.  

 

You’ve never made a secret of your faith, which is a family legacy. How did your personal faith take root, and how did it contribute to your vocation as an athlete?  

I was brought up by parents who followed the same path as my grandparents before them, and the same as mine today. By baptizing me, my parents did something very important: They made me a child of God. I am aware of having received a certain blessing, a protection, that our guardian angels above guide us, protect us.  

I’ve always felt that the Lord was guiding me, putting people in my path so that I could persevere in my faith, stay on the right path, fulfill my earthly mission, which today is to be a professional sportswoman and inspire others through it.  

For me, faith is a powerful compass. You either have it or you don’t, but whatever your age, the Good Lord never closes the door on anyone. As I often say, knowing this, we keep in mind that we can always lie to ourselves and to others, but we can’t lie to the Boss who’s up there, watching us. He never sleeps. He’s watching us.  

 

The Paris Olympics ended a few weeks ago, leaving a bitter aftertaste as your home team lost to Brazil in the quarterfinals. You said how hard that defeat was for you to take. Where do you find the strength to move forward after every setback?  

Even when you’re a top athlete, you don’t always win. You fall once, twice, three times, four times, 10 times, 20 times. But the most important thing is to be able to get up again for the 21st time.  

 

Were there any particular catalysts in the way your faith developed, apart from your family heritage?  

Catechism, then encounters afterwards, such as the one with Bishop Emmanuel Gobillard [former auxiliary bishop of Lyon, where Renard’s club is based, and the Catholic Church’s delegate to the Olympic Games]. I’m a practicing Christian, so my faith is nourished over time by my attendance at Mass, on Sundays but also during the week when I don’t have a match.  

During COVID, for example, my family and I used to go on videoconferences where we’d say the Rosary together. This practice is also a determining factor in the lives of my mother and my four sisters, in our respective careers.  

 

Is there a particular saint you like to turn to?  

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. In fact, Thérèse is my middle name. She has always been an important part of my spiritual life. Then there’s St. Michael the Archangel, who is one of our protectors, who are there to watch over us.  

They really do exist, and we need to invoke them on a daily basis. I’ve already witnessed so many graces resulting from these prayers, especially back home in Martinique, where popular fervor is strong.  

 

It is often said that faith and sport are mutually nourishing. There are many references to sport in the Bible, particularly in St. Paul. How do you see faith and sport feeding each other? How is this reflected in your life? 

As a top-level athlete, you have to have the discipline to reach the highest level, to be rigorous with yourself, and also rigorous with Jesus.  

That’s what makes me attune to the truth. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” the Lord told us, and we must always act with that in mind. The self-transcendence that top-level sport demands of you is of course also a way of reinforcing the life of faith and discipline on a daily basis, but I don’t think you should force things or overplay them; you have to be yourself. Discipline is certainly necessary, but it has to be as natural as possible. When we get up in the morning, when we brush our teeth, it has to be natural to think and give thanks to the Lord for allowing us to live another day, and in good health, setting ourselves up for a healthy and holy day.  

I often feel an unshakeable, mysterious strength. Even on the playing field, I feel that my every step is guided. The ball falls at just the right moment, I make the right move at just the right time. Naturally, I thank the Lord. It’s something strong, difficult to describe in words, but very real. 

But to have inner peace, to be open to God’s providence, we also need to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror, to ask forgiveness for our daily sins. When evening falls, we examine our conscience. Renewal in faith is perpetual.  

Faith has always been a determining factor in my success, in my personal and professional life. I will always be a child of God until I reach Heaven. 

 

It’s all the more striking that you profess your faith so openly in a French context known for its relatively anticlerical tradition. What kind of reactions have you had to this?  

So far, I’ve never had a particularly negative or violent reaction to it. Because I think I’m quite fair and balanced, I don’t put the subject on the public stage every day.  

But indeed, I’m not afraid to state my faith loud and clear. The fans who follow me obviously know that I’m a believer. I say it, I show it. I go to the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière regularly. I show it on my social accounts.  

As I’ve always been bathed in faith, it’s what gives me the strength to move forward, so it makes sense for me to talk about it on a daily basis.  

I can’t help but slip in little references to God here and there, to also show the community that follows me, which may include nonbelievers, or people who are in trouble today, that there is always a way to find help. And that help is in heaven.  

When we have the grace to know this, we owe it to our fellow human beings to share this good news, and not keep it to ourselves. The Lord, when he’s with his disciples, is into pure sharing.  

In my native Creole, we say that “it’s always one hand that washes the other; no hand can wash itself.” God wants us to help each other, because he wants all his children to be happy.  

There are a number of people around me whom I’ve managed to get to Mass with my message, and who now go every day. They pray daily. I see it as a victory.  

In any case, no one can ever stop me from proclaiming that God exists. He is there, above us and with us. He has proved it at various times in my life.  

 

You met Pope Francis in 2021. What memories do you have of this meeting?  

It was wonderful. I don’t know how to describe how I felt. It was one of the best days of my life, I think. Not many people get the chance to shake hands with the Holy Father. He said a few words to me in French, which was really sweet. It’s a great feeling. Just entering this unique place, the Vatican, made me feel so much security, love and peace.  

On top of that, I was able to take my mother with me, and surprise her. I took her to Rome without telling her who we were going to see. ... The Pope blessed us and our rosaries — it was so emotional! 

 

Is there anything you’d like to say to your Catholic fans around the world?  

I’d like to tell them to spread and perpetuate the love of Christ around us, in a world where violence reigns. 

We need to cherish our families, take care of the people we love, and as far as possible, help them grow in their faith. For when they have been called back by the Lord, lying in a coffin with their eyes closed, there will be no point in saying “If only... .” It’s very important to pray together — prayer brings peace, love, and showers of blessings on families. It’s like a chain. If everyone managed to draw others in their wake, for example along a Way of the Cross or by praying the Rosary, our planet would be all the better for it.