White smoke rose from the Vatican last May. Just months later, the Seattle Seahawks punched their ticket to Super Bowl LX to take on the AFC Champions, the New England Patriots, after defeating the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL Conference Championships. For the third time in the past two decades, a new pope’s election and the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run have landed in the same year.
The pattern began in the 2005 season, marked by the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and repeated in 2013 with Pope Francis and again in 2025 with Pope Leo.
Born Robert Prevost in Chicago, the new pontiff made history as the first American to lead the Catholic Church. He spent decades as a missionary in Peru before his call to the Vatican, and he now holds dual citizenship in both the United States and Peru. Prevost has centered his young papacy on building bridges and healing global divisions.
The Seahawks’ last Super Bowl appearance ended in dramatic fashion. The Hawks were at the one-yard line, down by four with less than 30 seconds left to play in the game, when Russell Wilson’s pass intended for Ricardo Lockette was intercepted by Patriots corner Malcolm Butler, securing the win for New England.
While the Seahawks’ Super Bowl appearances in 2005, 2013 and 2025 (playing in 2026) share no connection with the Vatican, each of these three seasons align exactly with the years popes were elected.
Jesuit chaplain Mark McGregor has seen this firsthand, having moved to the Northwest in 1976–the first year the Seahawks joined the NFL. As a teen, he met quarterback Jim Zorn on Whidbey Island during a prayer breakfast and has been a loyal fan ever since.
Since becoming a Jesuit, he has assisted visiting NFL teams in Seattle for the past several years, providing Mass for Catholic players and getting to know them personally.
“When I come to pray for the Seahawks, they are very humble. Their faith is important for them. Within the 12s of Seattle, there are 12 disciples, and they are all as one,” McGregor said.
McGregor has only 25 minutes to lead the team in prayer.
“You try to get that one moment or word of wisdom that will resonate with them. It is the intensity of being together that makes both football and faith rituals all the merrier,” McGregor said.
While McGregor focuses on the spiritual lives of the athletes’, the impact of these routines extends far beyond the field.
For the wider public, this tie between faith and sports is linked directly to the human need for large-scale connection, according to Brian Taberski, associate director of University Liturgy, Worship and Faith Formation and assistant clinical professor of theology & religious studies.
On Seahawks game days, Taberski and others in Campus Ministry can be seen sporting the jerseys of their favorite players.
“Before any big game, we’re all wearing our Seahawks gear. This helps us feel connected to one another and the town. When they win, we feel it. When they lose, we also feel it,” Taberski said. “In that way, faith and belief are not that different.”
For Jesuit figures Michael Trice, founding director of Seattle University’s Center of Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement (CEIU) and Jennifer Tilghman-Havens, Executive Director of the Center of Jesuit Education at Seattle U, this overlap in culture and faith is an amusing and reflective moment.
“Human beings need to feel confidence and exhilaration in community, whether that is the white smoke coming out of the Vatican or the final touchdown where the Seahawks win the Super Bowl,” Trice said. “We know that the best kind of celebration happens when we are doing that together.”
Both a Super Bowl run and a papal election help communities define themselves as part of something larger, and Tilghman-Havens explained that these events draw people together—not because they are linked—but because they allow people to participate in something larger.
As Catholics feel a deep spiritual connection to their faith, Seattleites are emotionally invested in the Seahawks performance on the field—or they experience both.
“I believe it touches on something deeply human and spiritual. There is a human tendency to seek meaning and be drawn to shared narratives that bring us together as humans,” Tilghman-Havens said.
Sports events like the Super Bowl do a lot more than entertain. Fans gather in stadiums, living rooms and local spots to cheer and celebrate alongside each other. Game day rituals like chants, face paint and favorite dips help to create an exhilarating feeling among the sea of fans.
Aidan Hatch, a third-year communications and media major, explained why these moments matter.
“If everyone is rooting for one team, and they win, it is a moment that the people in that room won’t forget,” Hatch said. “I find it important to also think about who I am watching these games with. Who am I with when these cool moments happen, and how do I capture that in my head?”
With multiple watch parties planned across the residence halls on Sunday, such as Bellarmine Hall, and off campus at the Chieftain, the anticipation for the Seahawks’ Super Bowl run can be felt everywhere. The success has brought a new kind of pride to Seattle U, making big sports moments feel like shared experiences for students, even if they aren’t diehard fans.
Fourth-year Film and Media major Kris Navarro-Rodriguez, a Seattle native who has followed the Seahawks since childhood, feels the energy.
“I see students repping the jerseys; they are all excited, too,” Navarro-Rodriguez said. “They are more excited that a lot of the games have been here, and that they’re doing good.”
Hatch, who runs a sports Instagram account covering local teams, says the hype for Seattle sports this year is clear, especially after the Mariners made it to the American League Championship series last year and were one game away from the World Series.
“It feels like a taste of revenge a little bit, if we can finish the job,” Hatch said in regards to the Seahawks’ rise this season. “Because they took the hardest route, there facing both the Niners and the Rams, with the Niners it was over before it even started, and for the Rams it was a nailbiter, and they had to earn that one. It makes me think of when they were one yard short of winning back-to-back Super Bowls and then not finishing that job. I am excited to see if they can finish the job this time. It will be the first time in a long time that we see a Seattle sports team win a championship.”
In a city awaiting the results of the big game, this “holy coincidence” is an invitation to celebrate together.