Dozens of students, alumni, staff and faculty of Thomas More College spent a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon cheering on the Manchester Fishercats, the local farm team, at Catholic Day at the Ballpark. Organized by the Diocese of Manchester, the event brought together Knights of Columbus, diocesan staff, representatives from local Catholic organizations, and Bishop Peter Libasci, who mingled with the crowd and threw practice pitches for young aspiring players.
The contingent from Thomas More College included President Fahey and his family, the college’s student summer work crew, local and visiting alumni, and several staff members. Admissions Officer Zachary Naccash (’18) and his wife Marguerite brought their one-year-old son Nicholas to experience his first day at the ballpark, while Nicholas’ two-year-old cousin Monica, daughter of Vince Deardurff (’15) and his wife Allison (’16), took home a commemorative baseball and enjoyed her first taste of Cracker Jack.
Alumna Sabina Brady Adams (’16), who now works for Sophia Institute Press, mobilized the TMC community to attend the event. “There is so much going on in the Church that is very serious and grave and demands a great deal of prayer and fasting from us all that sometimes it can be overwhelming. So when I heard about Catholic Day at the Ballpark, I decided this was much-needed leisure to refresh us all. I love baseball, and this was a day unabashedly dedicated to Catholics in our diocese.”
“I was so proud as I watched Bishop Libasci cheerfully walking around the field greeting the ball players and speaking with the event coordinators. It was even more special when our Bishop stood on home plate and prayed the prayer of the Holy Spirit over the entire stadium. I could hear so many others saying the prayer along with him. It served to remind me of all that is good and beautiful. And—oh yeah—we won!”
President Fahey expressed similar sentiments: “What could be grander? The Bishop mingling with the stadium crowd, the Knights of Columbus leading the Color Guard for the National Anthem, and a winning home team—all under a cloudless June sky. A healthy culture allows for the mixture of the high and the low, the spiritual and the natural, on a local level that can deepen a person’s love for the good. And what kid—whether five or fifty—doesn’t love hot dogs and Cracker Jack?”
