Green Bay Packers connect Lombardi with home parish in new Heritage Trail

GREEN BAY— Fans of the Green and Gold who check out the new Packers Heritage Trail will discover that a number of Catholic sites have strong ties to the team's rich history.

The trail, designed as a self-guided walking tour, features 22 commemorative plaques located within a two-mile radius of downtown Green Bay. Seventeen plaques are part of a City Walk. Five others are a part of two spurs designed as self-guided bike rides. St. Willebrord Church, known to many as the church where Vince Lombardi attended morning Mass, is among the city sites. Cliff Christl, a Green Bay native and longtime sportswriter who developed the idea for the tour, said that while St. Willebrord was an easy choice for the trail, he didn't know if placing a plaque on church property would be possible.

Norbertine Fr. Andy Cribben, pastor at St. Willebrord, admits that he was initially skeptical of the possibility of what was first described as a nine-foot sign being installed outside the church. The post is placed three feet into the ground, so the plaque is actually at a six-foot level. The text on the St. Willebrord plaque convinced Fr. Cribben of the project's merit.

"I thought the text was beautiful," he said. "It connected faith and the history of the Packers."

The text opens with Lombardi's connection to the church. The history of the parish is also presented as well as information about Norbertine Fr. David Rondou, who was pastor at St. Willebrord during the Lombardi years.

"It's interesting, why did (Lombardi) pick St. Willebrord? I think it had something to do with Mass times," said Christl. "When he first moved to town there was the convenience of being close to his office on Washington Street, but why St. Willebrord instead of St. John's or cathedral or one of the other nearby churches?"

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Very cool!!

The Bishop's Charity Game is this Thursday, BTW.  Hope to see some good shots of Bp. Ricken and the Green and Gold.