Stars of Penn football: Austin Zimm, sophomore offensive lineman, and Will Bergin (right), senior captain and offensive lineman.
“We're all in the same fight, getting ready to ‘die’ for each other on the field. To have that bond in Christ means a lot.”
Welcome to "Fields Full of Grace: The Faith at Play," casting a spotlight on the devotional practices of college and professional athletes and coaches on and off the field.
By Jay Sorgi
They may compete in different sports, but student-athletes at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have all deepened their Catholic faith and Marian devotion within the same Mass settings and Adoration chapels: St. Agatha-Saint James Parish and the Penn Catholic Newman Center community.
“I do a lot of ministry with the athletes from Penn and Drexel University. It’s fascinating how the Holy Spirit works,” says Fr. Remi Morales of the Penn Newman Center.
“One or two athletes came to Sunday Mass five years ago, and I started welcoming them and receiving them. They started a weekly Thursday night meeting of athletes. Suddenly, we have nine of those teams with Bible studies, and two Bible studies a week for the football team. They are leading themselves.”
Four student-athletes who have competed in the shadow of the Liberty Bell shared their faith pathways, and how the Blessed Mother has helped lead them to Christ. Let’s meet them.
Penn football
Like many Catholic college students, Will Bergin, senior captain and offensive lineman, and Austin Zimm, sophomore offensive lineman, for Penn football entered secular universities coming from cradle Catholic settings. Both found a true step of strengthening their faith as adults within the five decades of the Rosary.
“It's opened up a different perspective of how I view faith, and how you see the love you get from God from Mary’s point of view. She’s loving Jesus the same way God loves us,” says Bergin, a starting center from Cheshire, Connecticut, who prays his Rosary nightly.
“With everything that we juggle and balance around with our schedule, prayer lets you be in the moment and not have to worry about tomorrow. You get those minutes of just being in the now, being present with yourself, with Mary and with Jesus.”
Zimm, a backup offensive tackle from Naples, Florida, agrees. “I always saw the Rosary as daunting, and felt a little unsure of how to pray,” he says. “Once I finally began to pray it, I haven't found myself being able to stop it. It's a beautiful part of my prayer life now.”
Bergin has helped Zimm and fellow teammates in his faith journey, organizing prayer with 40 teammates before games.
“We're all in the same fight, getting ready to ‘die’ for each other on the field,” said Bergin. “To have that bond in Christ means a lot.”
Penn wrestling
A graduate of Malvern Preparatory School, an Augustinian school outside Philadelphia, Reed Fullmer (above) began owning his faith through retreats and service opportunities, but Mary became a major piece of the sophomore wrestler’s life this past Lent at the Penn Newman Center.
“In the Newman Chapel, there's a quote that is right in front of me where I sit down, saying ‘Have no fear or anxiety in your heart. Am I not here, I, who am your mother?’” he recalls, quoting Our Lady of Guadalupe’s words to St. Juan Diego in 1531.
“My own mother’s love towards me is the greatest love that I know on this earth, so I can only imagine just how much our Mother loves us in eternity. And when I put that into perspective, it's just amazing.”
Penn basketball
Ethan Roberts’ faith journey has taken him from Arlington Heights, Illinois through the U.S. Military Academy and Drake University. It has seen God accompany and strengthen him through struggles with mental illness.
“I found Jesus in that,” the sophomore basketball player (above) says, crediting Mary for leading him to Christ. “My Marian devotion was praying the Rosary, my experience of really having my soul fulfilled. I knew we didn't pray to Mary, but more through her in intercession. That might sound unconventional, but that's how I feel like I got the closest I've ever been to Jesus was praying through Mary.”
Each of these athletes has drawn strength of faith through their West Philadelphia Catholic collegiate community, but Roberts especially credits them it for finding “the real Ethan.”
“Before, it was a personal thing to help find myself,” he says. “Now, for the first time, I’ve grown into a leader in my faith.”
To learn more about the Penn Catholic Newman Center, visit newman.upenn.edu.
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