Neumann chaplains tie sports to spirituality

Sister Marie Therese Carr doesn't sprinkle the athletes with holy water before a game like one of her colleagues at Neumann University, but her blessings permeate the team just as deeply.

"She's like our biggest fan," said Melissa "Liddy" Haines, 21, a member of the girls' volleyball team at the Aspen, Delaware County, school.

"Like our mascot," chimed in another player. "Our grandmother," said a third. "She just lifts our spirits," added another.

The 70-something retired high school English teacher is the team's chaplain, and at Neumann, all 19 sports teams have one.

This isn't about calling upon God for winning: The chaplains lead teams in prayer before games, offer guidance on personal and school issues, lend an ear during losses and team cuts, and point out good sportsmanship and not-so-good.

All volunteer; they are part of a larger emphasis at the Catholic Franciscan college on the close tie between sports and spirituality.

A 2006 survey showed that most Catholic colleges around the country don't have sports chaplains, and those that do have only one or two, mostly for high-profile sports.

Only a few are like the 3,100-student Neumann, with chaplains for all teams - from ice hockey to basketball to lacrosse, said Stephanie Taylor, program coordinator of Neumann's Institute for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development, which conducted the survey. One of them is St. Francis University in Loretto in Western Pennsylvania.

Neumann on Saturday opened a $25 million sports center, which has a classroom and athletic facilities and emphasizes the link between sports and spirituality espoused by its institute. The center is named after university president Rosalie Mirenda and her family.

It includes 24-foot lighted pillars for each of five key themes: respect, balance, reflection, beauty, and play. The pillars, which shine through the glass building front and onto the gym floor, feature professional athletes, quotes and stories that illustrate charity, commitment to personal relationships, ability to overcome adversity, and reliance on prayer, among other aspects.

"We believe God is very present on the sports field, on the court, in the classroom. Our hope is through some of our programming that we can shine some light on that," said Taylor, 34, a former campus minister who has a master's in theology and another in sports management.

Impressed with the program, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has asked Neumann to introduce the philosophy including the chaplain program to the high schools in its five-county area.

"It's a wholesome understanding of sports and competition, rather than what can sometimes get distorted," said Bishop Joseph McFadden, the Archdiocese's vicar for Catholic education.

Mirenda, who sat in the stands during Saturday's volleyball game after the center's opening ceremony, was pleased.

"I'm glad we can share this," she said.

Neumann began the chaplain program in 1997, seeking more spiritual connection with athletes. The university began with about eight chaplains. Now there are 16 chaplains, including nuns and lay people, from administrators to faculty members to the head of maintenance.

The chaplains get a two-day training in prayer, listening skills, and psychology, and they take workshops on stress, anxiety and relationships.

They also attend "mid-season reflections" with their teams at the Mother House of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia.

Chaplains differ in approach.

Taylor, chaplain for women's tennis and lacrosse, had the tennis team to her house for dinner and then bowling and spent spring break with the lacrosse team in Florida. She also communicates with players regularly by e-mail.

Sister Linda DeCero, the men's baseball chaplain and a diehard Phillies' fan, sprinkles players' wrists, gloves and pitching arms with holy water. She also gives them Dots - the candy.

"I tell them it's for defense, offense, team spirit, and sportsmanship. They have to connect the dots," said the South Philadelphia native.

She wrote "believe" on fabric baseball patches and gave one to each player with his number on it. Players put them on their hats.

For Joseph Crowe, maintenance director, some members of the men's ice-hockey team became like "little brothers" when they would help out in his department in the summer. He now serves as chaplain to the team, the national champion in their division last year.

Crowe spends time with students in the weight room and talks to them about balancing school, work and sports.

"They're here to be students first," he said.

Before each game, Sister Marie Therese - who by day is the Neumann University archivist - stands in a circle with the volleyball team in the locker room, linked arm and arm, and prays for their safety and team spirit.

"I feel like in that moment, we're all together," said Haines, a senior education major from Brookhaven.

Sister Marie Therese also singles out and gives thanks for one player. On Saturday, it was Lindsay Buckland's turn. She thanked Buckland, 21, a senior elementary education major from Middletown, Del., for improving her offensive skills, positive attitude, and "gracious smile."

Sister Marie Therese accompanies the team on away games. Before the bus leaves, she recites the "Our Lady of the Highway" prayer.

"We can't leave without her saying that," Haines said.

A chaplain since 1998, she's been through four coaches.

"Her presence just reminds everyone that win or lose, you're still working to be a good person, a good student athlete," said current coach Deana Jespersen.

A Philadelphia native, Sister Marie Therese was touched when players rallied for her after she took a bad fall returning home from the team's championship game two years ago. The players said they were happy to return the caring.

"She's helped us with so much stuff - school problems, social problems," said Rachele DiMichele, 22, a 2009 graduate who came back for the game on Saturday.

"Her prayers are so inspirational," agreed Natalie George, 19, a sophomore nursing major from Rutledge. "As a team, you're supposed to be a family. She's like our grandmother."

Dressed in lay clothes, Sister Marie Therese stood amid the team huddle on Saturday afternoon on the new gym floor, lifted her fist into the air, and shouted along with the others: "Hoooooooraaah!"

"Nice, nice!" she yelled when Haines dove to the floor to hit a ball.

"Right back! Right back," she encouraged when the team lost a point.

When Neumann swept their opponent - Philadelphia Biblical University - in three games, the players high-fived one another and Sister Marie Therese.

With no shortage of smiles, what's a chaplain to do?

"Smile, too!" Sister Marie Therese said, beaming. "Now, we have to get Cabrini."