April showers might bring May flowers, but for sports they bring rainouts and delays. This year’s Mass Under the Lights event, usually held at an outdoor athletic field at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, almost suffered the same soggy fate, but was moved inside thanks to the hustle of the university’s St. John Bosco Center team.
Members of the Catholic campus ministry welcomed more than 90 fellow students, alumni, athletes and coaches to the University Center Colonnade room April 7 for the Mass honoring the university’s athletics. The Mass began in 2017 as a way to reach out to college athletes unable to attend campus ministry events, according to university chaplain Father Christopher Vaccaro. This year marked the first Mass celebrated on campus since 2020.
During his homily, Father Vaccaro encouraged students to give as much effort, dedication and discipline to getting to heaven as they would to reaching home plate.
“Aim to be great. Aim to make it home no matter the cost,” he said. “It’s the same in sports. It’s the same in life.”
More than 15 athletes attended the event along with five coaches and the director and assistant director of athletics, Patrick Catullo and Caitlin Moore.
Women’s field hockey coach Jaime Tierney attended the Mass with one of her players, freshman Ellie Helbling.
“It was my first time attending and I really didn’t expect it to cater to athletics quite like that,” said Tierney. “There was a moment I definitely got teary eyed.”
She is looking forward to attending again next year when it will hopefully be back on the field.
“It was great that we had so many people given we were not on the field,” said Father Vaccaro. “It’s good to see that over the years, we have made inroads with the administration so that they are very supportive of this event.”
After the Mass, all were invited to a reception at the St. John Bosco Center across the street, where the festivities and fellowship continued well into the evening.
Kassock is a freelancer in Fredericksburg
