Before games, St. Norbert football team walks hand-in-hand to church for Mass

Look at that magnificent stache on the left!

DE PERE — The first time Norbertine Fr. Andrew Ciferni witnessed the St. Norbert College football players walking hand-in-hand across campus, he was struck with emotion.

As part of a new home pregame tradition, the players make their way to Old St. Joseph Church to celebrate Mass following position meetings and breakfast.

“When they come out of Michels Commons, they come out two-by-two,” explained Fr. Ciferni, director of the Center for Norbertine Studies, who celebrates the team Mass on home game Saturdays.

“The first time we did it was on a beautiful day in September. … They disappeared behind Main Hall and then came around four-by-four. I almost started crying seeing these young men walking together as one,” he said.

The new tradition is the initiative of first-year head coach Steve Opgenorth, a Green Bay native who formerly coached at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

continue at The Compass

Not that this should surprise us, but here's a few photos of the ravaged Old St. Joseph's.

HT Deacon's Bench