ASTON, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Countless sports fans in the Delaware Valley are cheering and praying for the Philadelphia Phillies to win the 2022 World Series. One fan in Delaware County embodies that with a whole lot of faith.
“I have a baseball signed by Mike Schmidt. I have a baseball signed by Tug McGraw. Here is Tug McGraw at a very young age,” said Sr. Linda DeCero, proudly showing off her Phillies memorabilia collection.
DeCero, originally from South Philadelphia, is the director of pastoral ministers at Neumann University and — as her collection shows — a huge Phillies fan. The former chaplain for Newman’s baseball team has a sort of shrine set up in front of her TV in her living room with those autographed baseballs, bobbleheads, religious relics, and a lot more.
“This is my little corner of the world, my sacred space for the Phillies,” she said.
“Here’s our relics, St. Padre Pio, St. Francis of Assisi — we are sisters of St. Francis — photos of Mike Schmidt.”
Decked out in a Phils jersey, DeCero cheers on her team while kneeling in front of the television during games, saying continuous prayers which are often interrupted by cheering.
“God is probably looking at Houston over the past six years and saying Philadelphia deserves this. They play a clean game,” DeCero said.
“God has long- and short-term memory. Not that God punishes people, but God likes to reward the good. I think the Phillies are very good.“
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During games, DeCero’s housemate Sr. Marguerite — who is originally from Ireland, and not a baseball fan — is not allowed to speak during games. She confessed the excitement is starting to rub off on her, though she’s not yet ready to invest in a powder blue or red-pinstripe Phillies jersey.
“I haven’t gone that far in my conversion. I’m still in the early stages of conversion, but I do enjoy doing the research on them,” said Sr. Marguerite.
“There are moments during the game, especially if they’re not doing well or they did very well, and I’m upstairs and I hear this ungodly screaming, that I could ask to have the university evict Sr. Linda from the ministry house.”
However, because DeCero is such a good Italian cook, Sr. Marguerite decided to keep her around.
She has seen her roommate, deeply devout in multiple ways, show off that faith and passion during this improbable Phillies playoff run.
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”I say more Hail Marys during a Phillies game than I do in a whole year,” DeCero admits, giving a bit of an addendum to that prayer recited during the Rosary.
“‘Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen. Go Phils. See the ball, hit the ball, catch the ball, throw the ball.’”
