Catholic Athleticism: Faith in the Boxing Ring

As Catholics we can rejoice in the fact that every facet of our life in some way can be oriented towards God. Whatever a person does as their job can be offered to God in a sacrificial manner for the good of the soul and the glory of God. Likewise athletic endeavors and strength can be offered up in God’s service. On a personal level I recently fell in love with the sport of boxing. Alongside that I learned more about Catholic athletes. 

I already had heard of the patron Saint of athletes St. Sebastian. To give a quick summary of his life, he was a roman soldier of the highest athleticism during the reign of emperor Diocletian. He also was a Christian. St. Sebastian quickly rose to the highest ranks in the roman military due to his skill and strength, becoming close to the emperor. Diocletian began a horrible persecution against the Christians in the empire and soon found out Sebastian was a Christian himself. He offered the Saint a chance to apostatize but he of course refused and so the emperor had him used as target practice for the archers. By the grace of God and his extreme vitality Sebastian actually survived the archery despite looking like a pin cushion and was secretly nursed back to health by a pious woman. After being healed he returned to call out the emperor for his persecution of Christians and the emperor, terrified, ordered a second execution where Sebastian did actually die. This is why he is often referred to as the twice martyred. Due to his great strength and fealty to the Lord St. Sebastian is the patron of those involved in sports. That is why St. Sebastian is the patron of my left boxing glove. With this story in mind I knew that if I wished to get into boxing and be good at it I had to invite God into the endeavor. 

There was another Saint however, alongside Sebastian, that I felt would be a good patron for a boxer. That Saint being none other than St. Nicholas. I understand if you are scratching your head. What does this gift giving Saint have to do with a combat sport after all? Well there is actually a very cool legend regarding St. Nicholas hitting a certain heretic named Arius. The tradition states that while at the Council of Nicea St. Nicholas could not take the blasphemy that Arius was spewing about Our Lord and so he got up and slapped him. Of course the historical reality of this story has often been debated but it is an important tradition nonetheless. That is why St. Nicholas is the patron of my right boxing glove. 

Now that is all well and good but I am just a lowly trainee in the ways of this sport. However I think it would be very beneficial for Catholics to know that the greatest heavyweight champ of all time, Rocky Marciano, was a devout Roman Catholic. He had 49 wins and 0 losses, 43 of his wins being knockouts. He was amazing at the sport and is probably just about the only athlete I admire. Marciano’s mother is regarded as a woman of great faith who inspired him to love the Church as he got older. When training for fights he would always be sure to attend Mass. His biography The Rock of His Times by Russell Sullivan will tell you of his great faith. He had a great devotion to St. Anthony the Hammer of Heretics and St. Jude. He would often have priests around and went to Confession often. It is also said that he credited his victories to his mother praying the Rosary before his fights. I even recall reading he had blessed oil rubbed on his chin before a fight once. 

It is very edifying to know of such athletes because of the good example provided. If one day I become a father I certainly would tell my kids about Marciano. It is always wonderful when a Catholic holds true to their faith even when they climb to the absolute heights of their career. An athlete like Marciano today would be a total enigma, a real standout. We need to go back to making Catholicism not just a little part of our personality but an essential component of our being. Incorporating Catholic devotions into our athletic life is just one way of doing this. So if you are a parent and your kids are into sports perhaps tell them about Marciano or St Sebastian. They might just be inspired. 

Thanks to The Catholic Defender: Rocky Marciano, A Man Of Great Catholic Faith (deepertruthcatholics.com) for some of the information on Marciano’s devotions.