Steelers Field Blessing Priest: 'God Doesn't Pick Sides' — SkimNews
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- Father Maximilian Maxwell, prior of Saint Vincent Archabbey, blessed the entire Steelers field before the Week 18 game against the Ravens — not just the end zone where Tyler Loop missed the field goal that clinched Pittsburgh's AFC North title.
- NBC's Mike Tirico narrated the blessing on-air during the broadcast, showing Father Max sprinkling holy water in that end zone moments before Loop's miss, which sparked viral speculation that the Steelers got divine intervention.
- Father Max and Father Paul Taylor stress the blessing prays for the health and safety of every player on the field regardless of jersey, with Father Paul saying flatly: "God doesn't pick sides."
- The blessing tradition dates to Three Rivers Stadium under team president Art Rooney II; Father Paul started it in 2003 and recruited Father Max a decade ago, with Benedictine jubilee medals inscribed for goodness and divine presence buried at each corner of new sod.
- Saint Vincent College has hosted Steelers training camp since 1966, and the Rooney family's ties trace to Art Rooney Sr. playing prep football on the grounds in the early 1900s and later attending Catholic retreats there.
- Aaron Rodgers flagged down Father Paul during training camp to request a blessing for the quarterback room; coach Mike McCarthy attends Mass at the archabbey several times a week and once skipped the team's home run derby finale to make a late Saturday Mass.
Why it matters: The viral clip reframed a quiet sacramental tradition as a meme about divine intervention, but the nearly 200 monks at the 1846-founded Saint Vincent Archabbey are using the spotlight to draw a line between sacrament and superstition — while the deep Rooney family ties and 60-year training camp partnership show the blessing is one thread in a much older institutional relationship between the Steelers and the Benedictine monastery.
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