‘Holy Goalie’ Chicago bishop takes to ice, not ready to give up day job

Catholic Online (Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) ^ | 1/19/2006 | Tom Sheridan

[annie laurie]

CHICAGO (CNS) -- The puns are obvious: "Who IS that masked man?" "'Stick' with me, kid." And, of course, "Hey, fella, you're on thin ice." But in this case, the "fella" would be Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki -- all dressed up in a Chicago Blackhawks uniform and ready to take to the ice at the United Center.

Neither is it all for show.

Bishop Paprocki, 53, has been involved with hockey for a long time -- as a fan and a player.

He was profiled in the December issue of USA Hockey magazine, where he was pictured in his episcopal robes holding a hockey stick and helmet.

The article's headline, appropriately enough, was "Holy Goalie."

[annie laurie]

OK, this is my first full-thread posting, so be please be kind if I've made any mistakes :) Yes, I did do (several) searches before posting! :)

Just thought this was a neat story. Enjoy!

[mikrofon]

Only Jesus saves more than Bishop P.

[sassbox]

I knew a priest once, a late vocation, in his 50s. I was always surprised by how young and, dare I say, handsome he looked. Turns out he had been a hockey player in Canada for many years. By the time he was 40 or so his face was so messed up from hockey that he had extensive plastic surgery to fix it up. He ended up looking better than he ever had in his life.