These 'apostolic athletes' are fit for Heaven

Despite the many problems associated with organized sports, they can serve as excellent training grounds for virtue. This is something many Catholic laymen have experienced – as well as many priests. Each of these athletes became ‘apostolic’ when ordained by a bishop who could trace his ecclesiastical lineage back to one of the original pillars of the early church.

In fact, some bishops themselves are known for their athleticism. Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre, NY, played guard on the junior varsity basketball team at the University of Princeton, while Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, IL, plays goalie on a hockey team to this day.

IN THE BIG INNING

Of all sports, baseball seems to have produced a preponderance of priestly vocations. This could be due in part to the large number of young men who participate in “America’s pastime,” but also possibly because of baseball’s slower and quieter nature. It is much easier to think clearly and pray consistently when the game has an abundance of downtime and silence compared to hockey, basketball, or football.

Father Michael Cunningham found the time to pray his way into the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. After playing three years as a catcher at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, he signed with the Florence Freedom, an independent league team in Kentucky. His brief playing stint was followed by a transition into coaching and then into working for an orthopedic surgeon.

Then Cunningham’s friend invited him to a Traditional Latin Mass. Not only was he impressed by what he saw and heard, but he also was humbled by it. Because he was unaware of the responses or postures in the liturgy, he watched his friend’s children to see what they did or said. Then he followed.

Through Marian prayer, Cunningham discovered his priestly calling and was ordained in 2018. After spending three years at the National Shrine of Saint Alphonsus Liguori in Baltimore, he was assigned to the Chapel of Our Lady of Fatima in Pequannock Township, NJ, the unofficial home of The Latin Mass magazine.

Also counted among today’s “baseball priests” are Fr. Burke Masters and Fr. Alan Benander, O.Praem. Father Masters played at Mississippi State University and has been a priest in the Diocese of Joliet, IL, since 2002. Among his duties has been serving as the Chicago Cubs’ Catholic chaplain.

Father Alan Benander played baseball at John Carroll University and was ordained for the Order or Premonstratensians (commonly known as the Norbertines) of Saint Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, CA, in 2013. He has offered Mass for MLB teams and has assisted at Mike Sweeney’s Catholic Baseball Camp, where boys are taught virtue through sports.

CHASING A DREAM

Father Chase Hilgenbrinck had a good Catholic girlfriend and a professional soccer career. He played at the sport’s top level in Chile and returned to the U.S. to spend a short time playing Major League Soccer with the Colorado Rapids and New England Revolution.

Despite being paid to play a game he loved, Hilgenbrinck sensed that he should be doing something else with his life. Unwilling to simply enter the seminary to see what he might do with his life, he made sure— as far as it was possible for him to know—that he was indeed called to be a priest. Once that was settled in his mind, he hung up the cleats, became a seminarian, and was then ordained for the Diocese of Peoria, IL in 2014.

Other men who have experienced the “net result” of becoming priests after soccer careers are Fr. Kevin Drew and Fr. Jaime Zarse. Father Drew played at Northern Illinois University and was ordained for the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, MO in 2012, while Fr. Zarse played at the University of Marquette and the University of Missouri- Kansas City and was then ordained for the Diocese of Kanas City, KS, in 2014.

‘FREEDY ’ FROM SIN

Father Joseph Freedy had been the starting quarterback at the University of Buffalo. That distinction as a local celebrity went to his head as he participated in the school party scene. However, after reading The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn, Freedy realized he was supposed to be a priest. He was ordained for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2008 and served as the vocations director until 2017.

Another college QB named Joe who became his diocese’s vocations director is Father Joe Fitzgerald. The Division- III national championshipwinning quarterback at Ithaca College subsequently became an Olympic handball player for the United States and played at the 1996 games in Atlanta. After a transition from the life of an international athlete to a church youth leader to a seminarian, Fitzgerald was ordained for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY, in 2007.

Father Thomas Haan set high school passing records for the state of Indiana before heading off to join Purdue University’s football team. He then transferred to the University of Notre Dame and boxed on the club level there. He was ordained for the Diocese of Lafayette, IN in 2013.

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

These athletic priests—and others, including Fr. Antony Sumich, F.S.S.P., former coach of the Croatian National Rugby Team—loved playing sports. They see, despite some excesses in dedication or other associated negatives, how physical exercise, especially when carried out in a team environment, can help boys and young men become virtuous. After all, the word “virtue,” which denotes valor, bravery, courage, and strength, comes from the Latin root vir, which means “man.”

The discipline involved in humbly recognizing an objective standard toward which to tailor one’s behavior, the ability to rebound from adversity, and the many lessons of how to productively interact with teammates are among the top virtue-producing aspects of sports. Sports done properly can make one fit for heaven, and can lead a man who is called to priesthood specifically to be an apostolic athlete fit for heaven.

In living out their vocation, these apostolic athletes draw countless other souls into spiritual fitness. Maybe many of these very members of the Church living today will be added to the roster of sporting saints that includes Pope St. John Paul II, St. Sebastian, St. Cletus (the third pope, whose name is a homonym of “cleat-us” and so could be invoked by a team when placing footgear on before a game), and of course, St. Paul the apostle.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul reveals how he learned to turn inward for venting his aggression. The former persecutor of Christians recognized the irreplaceable importance of self-denial to achieve God-acceptance:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises selfcontrol in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air, but I pummel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Cor 9:26)

Along the same theme of competition, Paul encourages Christians to “fight the good fight of the faith” and to “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Tim 6:12).

This is an exhortation the whole Church can benefit from, but most especially when it is heeded by priests.

TRENT BEATTIE is the editor of Apostolic Athletes (Marian Press), which contains the athletic vocation stories of 11 priests and bishops. He is also the author of Fit for Heaven (Dynamic Catholic), which contains the stories of top Catholic athletes such as Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers and All-Star first-baseman Mike Sweeney.