Priest Combines Mass, Matches

Fr. Paul Ugo Arinze
Cath News/New York Times

A Catholic priest officiating a tennis match is quite a rare picture. But Fr. Paul Arinze does it everyday at the United States Open.

The priest climbs into the chair as a certified bronze badge umpire and officiates serves, not church services, matches instead of Mass.

At tournaments, he trades his robes for the polo shirts worn by the officials, his altar for the chair. Some of his fellow umpires address him as Father Paul, or F.P., and on Sundays some follow him to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.

“Sometimes, I’m tempted to say, ‘You know, you have a Catholic priest sitting here,’ but it’s O.K. being a priest, you’re trained to forgive,” Fr. Arinze said of misbehaving players.

Upon arrival at different tournaments, he first finds the nearest Catholic church. There, his twin passions intersect, again.

The two are more similar than at first glance as in church and on the court, he witnesses the extremes of human emotion, the best events of people’s lives and careers (baptisms and weddings, victories and championships) and also the worst (funerals and losses).

The priest in no way believes that sporting events hold the same importance as many other events in life, but he does see similarities, because to the participants, matches often take on oversize importance.

“It’s not one size fits all. It’s, O.K., who is this person? How can I reach them? It helps that while they have their perspective on the match, I have the bigger perspective on life beyond,” he said.

Fr. Arinze does not pray for particularly unruly players, but he does say a prayer before each match, hoping that it will go smoothly, without incident.

The priest does not believe God takes a rooting interest in sports but he sees nothing wrong with players who cross themselves, or pray on the court. If that calms them, he said, so be it.

By day, Arinze works as director of vocations for the Diocese of Madison, Wis.

Arinze grew up in eastern Nigeria, in a town called Waka, an area filled with soccer fans and coal mines. His father, Michael, worked as a lawyer but played tennis in his spare time. Arinze served as ball boy for the matches, but when they ended, while the parents drank beer, the children picked up rackets and swung away.