Give the Yankees strength, Lord.
The Bronx Bombers’ dire 0-2 World Series deficit prompted a cheeky plea for prayers from New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan and other local religious leaders.
Dolan closed Sunday mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral by pointing out to parishioners that Monday is the Feast of St. Jude, “the patron saint of impossible causes.”
“His shrine is in the very back there,” he said, gesturing to the back, “if you want to light a candle for the Yankees — because it’s not looking too good.”
Dolan invoking the patron saint of lost causes came as the Yankees prepped for Tuesday’s critical Game 3, which is the team’s first World Series home game in 15 years.
The Yankees suffered a bruising 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers during Game 2 Saturday as star Aaron Judge battled an ill-timed case of the yips, striking out three times.
Praying for the Yankees’ World Series chances stretched across faiths in New York.
Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said he will pray for the Yankees — although the native Bostonian couldn’t resist twisting the interfaith knife.
“I will offer a prayer for the Yankees as a Boston Red Sox fan,” he said. “I offer a prayer as an expression of forgiveness for what they did to us all these years.”
The latest bout in the storied Yankees-Dodgers rivalry is also the subject of a friendly bet between Dolan and Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez.
The bicoastal ecclesiastic pair are asking their Catholic flocks and charitable baseball fans to donate to benefit the John Cardinal O’Connor School in New York and the Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles.
A World Series win by the respective archdiocese’s team will bring 60% of donations to their school or foundation, according to Baseball Unites. The losing team’s archdiocese will receive 40% of donations.
— Additional reporting by Carl Campanile
