CINCINNATI — For the love of baseball.
A pair of Franciscan Friars are making a cross-country trip to visit every Major League baseball stadium and are making two stops in Ohio on Memorial Day weekend.
“First time here in Cincinnati, it’s fantastic," Fr. Cole said. “This is what a baseball stadium should look like.”
Often mistaken for Jedi cosplayers or San Diego Padres fans, the ‘Bleacher Brothers,’ as they call themselves, wear their traditional attire called the habit.
“It’s about the habits that we put on in life, right,” Fr. Serrano said. “It’s symbolic about our Franciscan way of life. Our Franciscan Habit.”
The Reds rolled out the red carpet for their virtuous visitors, introducing them to Reds Manager David Bell and giving them an up-close look at batting practice. The Friars also toured the Reds Hall of Fame and received complimentary tickets in the Scouts Club.
While the game itself checks off one box on their tour, it isn’t the only purpose for their trip.
“We want to talk about our faith,” Fr. Serrano said. “We want to talk about the gospel life and we wanna talk about it in a way that’s welcoming to people.”
Fr. Cole and Fr. Serrano came up with this idea eight years ago.
“We were told that Saint Francis of Assisi didn't go to the churches,” Fr. Cole said. “He went to the city streets, the marketplaces. He spoke a language that people can understand, so we thought 'Why don't we do the same thing? That's our charism. Why not go to baseball stadiums?'”
Traveling only by car, Fr. Cole expects it to be challenging.
“We are Franciscans, which means we are penitents,” he said. “It can't be luxury. It's got to have a little grueling aspect to it. We think of the early missionaries. They went two by two all around the world and so we're taking a car. It's a little more comfortable than what they had so we're not going to complain too much.”
The Bleacher Brothers will cover 17,000 miles over the next 11 weeks. They will document it all on Fr. Cole's YouTube channel. It's not only checking an item off their bucket list and spreading the word of God, but also bringing them closer.
“I think we are going to be closer and have this experience to share for the rest of our lives,” Fr. Serrano said.
The trip started in Miami and will end in Colorado on July 30. They’ll be in Cleveland for the fifth stop of the trip to watch the Guardians and Tigers on Memorial Day.