Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith

Hockey-playing Catholic bishop Thomas J. Paprocki has a message for teens and young adults: athletics and fitness provide daily ways to connect with God. Bishop Paprocki weaves his unique personal story with eight athletic topics and connects them with a path to wholeness.

Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith links lessons from the world of sports and fitness―especially the experiences of a Catholic bishop who plays ice hockey―with concrete ways to live a holy life. In Bishop Paprocki’s view, everyone is called to holiness, which can be encountered anywhere: “I encounter holiness while training for a marathon. I encounter holiness during a workout at the health club.” He explores eight sports-related topics to help the reader navigate a life of holiness:

1. Fear
2. Frustration
3. Failure
4. Fortitude
5. Faith
6. Friendship
7. Family
8. Fun

Most Rev. Thomas J. Paprocki is the bishop of Springfield. A Chicago native, he was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1978. He served as auxiliary bishop of Chicago from 2003 to 2010.

After ordination, Paprocki studied law at DePaul University and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1981. He cofounded the South Chicago Legal Clinic to help the poor with legal services. In 2014, he was named president and of-counsel for the organization, which is now called the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic. Paprocki completed his doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1991 and his MBA from the University of Notre Dame in 2013. He served in a variety of pastoral and administrative roles in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University Chicago from 1999 to 2015 and has served in the same capacity at Notre Dame since 2016.

The connection between sports and faith is a focus of Paprocki’s ministry. He is an avid hockey player and runner, having run twenty-four marathons throughout the world and raised about $500,000 for charity. Paprocki is the chairman of the Episcopal Advisory Board of Catholic Athletes for Christ. He is the author of Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith.

Joe Paprocki, younger brother of Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, has been active in pastoral ministry for over thirty years. He is the best-selling author of many resources for professional and volunteer catechists, including The Catechist's Toolbox.