OSBORN, Mo. (AP) — When fans of defending World Cup champion Argentina and Algeria arrive in Kansas City to open the tournament on June 16, they can find a taste of home if some local businesses get it right.
Hen House Markets and Betty Rae's Ice Cream are just two of the dozens of small businesses hoping to boost their bottom line — and have a little bit of fun — when Kansas City helps to host one of the world's biggest sporting events.
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A general view of Arrowhead Stadium as it is rebranded as Kansas City Stadium, Monday, May 11, 2026, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer matches in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
This image made from videos shows special bottles of The Shatto Milk Company milk with flavors themed for participating countries to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup on display Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
Special flavors of Betty Rae's Ice Cream in anticipation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are displayed Thursday, April 28, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
Riley Mustard, a scooper at Betty Rae's Ice Cream, puts an order together on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo., as the store prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
In the case of the grocery store chain, that means taste flights inspired by the nations coming to the Midwest this summer, while Betty Rae's has concocted some unique tastes with an eye on fans of teams that will not only play at Arrowhead Stadium but be based in the area.
“I mean, anything that puts Kansas City on a stage is exciting for us. If Kansas City wins, we feel like we win,” said Matt Shatto, the owner of Betty Rae's, which has been voted the city's top ice cream shop for most of the past decade.
“There's a lot of thought and conversation about how many people are going to come, and for us, it's not about the people that are coming, necessarily,” Shatto said. “Our job at the end of the day is to take care of our customers. For those that can't go to the World Cup games or FanFest, we want to bring those festivities to them in their local neighborhood through our scoop shops.”
For Lionel Messi fans, that mean offering a cold, creamy riff on alfajores, the biscuit-like confection popular in Argentina. The ice cream version from Betty Rae's features a dulce de leche base with pieces of the traditional pastry mixed into it.
Argentina's counterparts from Algeria? They can indulge in a take on baklava with honey ice cream, phyllo dough and almonds.
“We have a number of interesting flavors that we're going to be bringing out,” Shatto said.
Local businesses always try to capitalize on major sporting events that bring fans from around the country or around the world, from the Super Bowl to the Olympics. The World Cup dates to 1930, but this version is unique in that it is hosted by three nations, the U.S., Mexico and Canada. FIFA expects to generate a record $11 billion-plus in revenue thanks in part to an expanded 48-team format, ticket sales, sponsorships and licensing agreements.
In Kansas City, local organizers have said they expect more than 600,000 people to visit over the course of the summer. It's a chance for businesses big and small to cash in.
Hen House, which also has some official World Cup merchandise in its stores, and Betty Rae's chose the to offer flavors inspired by the nations playing in the tournament. So did Shatto Milk Co., which still makes weekly porch deliveries to customers in traditional glass bottles, and has revealed nine commemorative flavors for teams making their way to the Heartland.
Orange chocolate for Curacao, for example, chai latte for England and butter pecan for the Netherlands.
“The restaurants and grocery stores are really on the bandwagon, and other people and other companies want to join in the fun,” said Barbara Shatto, whose family runs the century-old fairy farm that serves as the backbone of the company. She is Matt Shatto's mother.
“To have the World Cup being in Kansas City is tremendous for the economy,” she said, “but more, we can meet new friends from other countries and share things that we do in America. For just a little farm like us, they can learn how we make milk, butter, cheese and ice cream, and we can celebrate and learn from them."
Sandlot Goods, which produces apparel and other vintage-style offerings in Kansas City, has unveiled its Summer of Soccer line of shirts emblazoned with “Kansas City” across the front but in the colors of Argentina, Algeria, England and the Netherlands, the four nations that have base camps in the area.
Three KC may best epitomize the mom-and-pop shops leaning into the World Cup fervor, though. A math teacher by day, Brendan Curran runs the apparel company as a sort of one-man band, and his soccer-inspired designs first available on his online store have been picked up by several brick-and-mortar shops throughout the area.
“Shops were pretty pleased with the first run of shirts and they have ordered more, so that bodes well as the World Cup approaches,” Curran said. “I would love for visitors to pick up a piece of Kansas City while they are here.”
AP video journalist Nick Ingram contributed to this report.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
A general view of Arrowhead Stadium as it is rebranded as Kansas City Stadium, Monday, May 11, 2026, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup soccer matches in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
This image made from videos shows special bottles of The Shatto Milk Company milk with flavors themed for participating countries to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup on display Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
Special flavors of Betty Rae's Ice Cream in anticipation of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are displayed Thursday, April 28, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
Riley Mustard, a scooper at Betty Rae's Ice Cream, puts an order together on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo., as the store prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Nick Ingram)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pope Leo XIV honored Barcelona’s most sacred and beautiful monuments Wednesday by first leading a noontime prayer at a mountain-top abbey, hours before he was due to give an evening Mass at the famed Sagrada Familia Basilica on the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí.
The celebration of Barcelona's Christian traditions, past and present, marked the highlight of Leo's weeklong visit to Spain, the first by a pope in 15 years to a once staunchly-Catholic European country that like many others has experienced secularizing trends.
The trip, though, has underscored how the country of 50 million people, which experienced a religious crisis after its 20th-century dictatorship ended, still has plenty of faithful Catholics who have turned out in droves to welcome the American pope.
Leo celebrated their centuries-old tradition of popular piety by praying at Montserrat, a mountain complex outside the city that is dear to many Catalans. The complex, which includes an 11th-century Benedictine abbey and a 16th-century basilica, is revered for its Black Madonna statue and is home to a boy's choir that has existed since the 13th century and is Europe's oldest.
Thousands of faithful arrived early at the monastery, with groups of nuns and schoolchildren singing and waving signs and photographs of the pope outside the basilica. Bells rang out over the spire-like rock formations that top Montserrat and the valley below as Leo arrived in a golf cart.
In his remarks to the faithful in the abbey, Leo said that Montserrat for centuries has been a place of peace and reconciliation in a world marked by violence, “criticism that humiliates, condemnation that destroys and aggression that divides.” He urged Spaniards to follow in the “path of mercy, reconciliation, truth and gentleness.”
In recent years, the Montserrat abbey has faced numerous accusations from survivors of clergy sexual abuse and was included in the Spanish ombudsman’s 800-page report on the crisis in 2023. The report found 15 victims and three alleged perpetrators linked to the abbey.
“It’s very painful because there are members of the church who committed errors,” said the Rev. Cesario Escarda, a Toledo priest, as he waited for Leo at the abbey. “What the pope wants to do is shine a light on the truth and ask forgiveness and bring in the victims and listen to them and accompany them.”
The highlight of Leo’s visit was expected to be his Mass on Wednesday evening in Barcelona at Sagrada Familia. The Mass commemorates the 100th anniversary of the death of its designer, Gaudí, who died at age 73 three days after he was hit by a tram.
A century after construction began during the pontificate of Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, the basilica has become one of the world’s most visited but unfinished monuments, annually drawing upward of 5 million visitors a year.
Gaudí, the famed Catalan architect who is on the path to possible sainthood, spent four decades designing and building the temple as the summary of the Christian faith carved in stone. The most important stories of Jesus’ life, the Nativity and Passion, are etched into the basilica’s east and west facades. A third facade facing south, the Glory, will serve as the basilica’s main entrance when finished.
The temple is an architectural and geometrical masterpiece inside and out, a celebration in form and symbol of Christianity and God’s creation through stone and light, based on the architectural tradition of Byzantine and Gothic churches.
A total of 18 sandcastle spires rise up from the top and pierce Barcelona’s skyline: 12 to symbolize Christ’s 12 apostles, four for each of the four Evangelists who recorded Christ’s life in the Gospels, one topped with a star over the apse honoring the Virgin Mary and, tallest among them, the Tower of Jesus Christ.
When the final Christ tower was finished last year at a height of 172½ meters (564 feet), it made Sagrada Familia the world’s tallest church. Leo will formally consecrate the tower on Wednesday night.
The cross-shaped interior, with the altar at the apse, is an homage to light and nature. Treelike columns soar to the sky, colored by constantly changing light filtered through stained glass windows like the sun poking through leaves in a forest.
“Nature is my teacher,” Gaudí once said. “Everything comes from the great book of nature, always open that we must read.”
The colors of the window glass have meaning: The blues and greens of the eastern portal windows, where the facade depicts Christ’s birth, look more joyful and are most brilliant when the sun rises and light passes through. The coarser shades of red and orange, illuminated by the setting sun on the western portals, color the side of the basilica that depicts Christ’s Passion. Behind the altar and above the cross are yellows and gold that glimmer in the noonday sun.
Historian Mònica Santín, who leads tours of the basilica, said that in designing Sagrada Familia, Gaudí was guided by two books: the Gospels and nature.
“The way he lets in the natural light is also an invitation to the Christian mystery,” she said, citing the three facades depicting Christ’s birth, death and glory.
“And when you enter inside, it is all light,” Santín said. “What is that the symbol of? We can’t see God, but we perceive his light all around us. I think that is how you can read this message, and it is fascinating.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Pope Leo XIV leads a rosary prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful from the balcony after leading a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to lead a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
People wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV to lead a rosary at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, in Montserrat, Spain, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Antoni Gaudí's Basilica of the Sagrada Família stands at dusk as seen from the Mirador Torre Glòries in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV looks at the cheering crowd upon arriving to attend a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Visitors take photos inside the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A view of the Basilica of Montserrat at the Monastery of Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A view of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, ahead of Pope Leo XIV's visit to the city in June. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to attend a prayer vigil at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Pope Leo XIV blesses a child before a prayer vigil at Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
