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In the weeks before the World Cup tournament got underway in Qatar, Claudio Tapia, who heads Argentina’s national soccer federation, visited the sanctuary of Difunta Correa, in Vallecito, a district in Argentina’s western San Juan province.

He was there for two reasons. First, he had to thank la Difunta Correa, a folk saint in Argentina and parts of Chile, for Argentina’s success in the 2022 Finalissima, when South America’s champion defeated the European champion, Italy.

Professional degrees are gaining traction at theological schools across the US and Canada, while the traditional ministerial degree, the master of divinity, is faltering, according to new data released late last month.

But Chris Meinzer, senior director and chief operations officer of the Association of Theological Schools, noted that overall enrollment at ATS schools has remained stable and that the master of divinity degree isn’t dying. Instead, he said, the MA degree is appealing to more students.

Washington National Cathedral unveiled a specially commissioned portrait of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student whose 1998 murder sparked a national outcry against homophobic violence, on December 1, which would have been Shepard’s 46th birthday.