I spent the afternoon watching football with my Dad. He enjoys watching sports, but he's not really a fanatic - which is good because his teams didn't do well this weekend. I looked it up and found that the patron saint of footballers is St. Luigi Scrosoppi. Of course, being an Italian, that's not American Football. But he is a Saint, so if those Ohio teams who suffered losses this weekend pray for his intercession, I'm sure that in charity he will pray for them.
Luigi was born in 1804, the youngest of three brothers. He felt a call to the priesthood as a teenager and was ordained in 1827. His oldest brother, who was also a priest, celebrated his first Mass with him. As a young priest, he helped to manage a children's center that was run by his brother. Later, he devoted himself to the construction of an orphanage and was soon running an organization that accommodated 100 boarders and 230 day pupils in a building that became known as the House of the Destitute. He also established the Sisters of Providence of St Cajetan of Thiene and opened a school and a home for deaf-mute girls. He died in 1884 after a long illness.
St. Luigi Scrosoppi was proposed for the patron of footballers by an Austrian bishop in 2010. He represents values that are developed through sport such as fairness, diligence, perseverance and determination. A Canadian football club has been named in his honor. His feast day is April 3.
St. Luigi Scrosoppi, pray for us.
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