Go on an extended road trip this summer with The Bleacher Brothers—Fr. Casey Cole, OFM, and Fr. Roberto “Tito” Serrano, OFM.
From Miami to Seattle and Chicago to Los Angeles, the Franciscan friars are crisscrossing the United States and Canada to attend games at all thirty Major League Baseball stadiums to meet people where they are, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In 2013, Cole and Serrano began to dream how they might preach in the modern world like St. Francis of Assisi did in the 13th Century: to ordinary people in the spaces they gather in ways they understand. Avid baseball fans, Cole and Serrano came up with the idea of spending a summer visiting the ballparks of America’s pastime, inviting people “home” to the Catholic Church. That dream is finally coming true this summer.
They will celebrate Masses and also visit Catholic schools, parishes, and dioceses for talks along the way.
“St. Francis didn’t just preach in churches,” Cole said. “He had a gift of finding God even in the ordinary. For 800 years, the Franciscans have continued this legacy. This trip is our way of continuing what St. Francis started.”
The tour coincides with the release of Cole's new book, The Way of Beatitude: Living Radical Hope in a World of Division and Despair. He explores the mearning of the words Jesus preached at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12) and shows readers how to get beyond apathy and despair and help Christ bring about the Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now. The Beatitudes, Cole says, offer a path toward radical change.
The stadium tour kicks off with a visit to the Miami Marlins (vs. Atlanta Braves) on May 20 and ends with the Colorado Rockies (vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers) on July 30. You can see the complete schedule for The Bleacher Brothers tour on breakinginthehabit.org.
