“He made everyone he coached, everyone he knew—better, helping them find their own path to heaven, to a chance for eternal life with our Creator. That's the ultimate victory. And Gerry Faust is the Ultimate Champion.”
—From the eulogy at Gerry Faust’s funeral by John Boehner, former U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives, who played football for Gerry when he coached at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Gerry Faust passed away one year ago today, on Nov. 11, 2024 at the age of 89, after having received the last sacraments.
He will go down as the greatest coach in the history of Ohio high school football. He won 5 Ohio State Championships and four mythical national high school football titles while coaching at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Over his years at Moeller, 26 of his players ended up playing for the University of Notre Dame; and eventually Gerry was hired as the Notre Dame coach. Going directly from a high school job to run one of history’s most storied college football programs was unheard of.
But more impressive than all of that was Gerry’s deep Catholic faith and his tender, filial devotion to the Blessed Mother, a relationship explained in a Jan. 2013 interview with The National Catholic Register titled “Gerry Faust on Mother Mary and His Days at Notre Dame.”
Gerry’s first stop every day that he stepped on the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Indiana was to go to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes to pray to the Blessed Mother. Gerry continued this practice for the rest of his life — he made many visits to Notre Dame, but his first stop was always to pray at the Grotto.
Gerry attended daily Mass for his entire adult life beginning at the age of 18. While at Notre Dame, after his stop at the Grotto, he would be off to Holy Mass in the Crypt Church of Sacred Heart Basilica. On game days, he and the team would attend Mass together.
His practice of daily Mass even continued during the COVID pandemic. His pastor, Father Steve Brunovsky, Pastor of St. Hilary in Akron, recounted in his homily at Gerry’s funeral:
“Every day [during the pandemic], he would knock on the side door, we would let him in... then [he would] take his usual front seat, which was only a few feet from the cell phone on the stand recording the Mass. It soon became apparent to those at home that Gerry Faust was at Mass, due to his frequent and distinctive coughing!
“Grateful for his ability to attend Mass when all others could not, Gerry was at the rectory every Wednesday at 5 pm for two months straight with a pizza from Domino’s and exclamations of gratitude to Father Matt Jordan and me for our ministry. He was one of our greatest lights during a very challenging time.”
Gerry once told me he wanted two things in life: to marry a good Catholic girl and to coach at Notre Dame. He said he received both of them due to the Blessed Mother interceding on his behalf with her Son.
Gerry and his wife, Marlene, were married for 60 years. He daily told her of his love for her and thanked her for being a great wife and mother. When Gerry and Marlene were courting, one of the things that impressed her was how well Gerry treated his parents. Gerry proposed to Marlene in front of the statue of Our Lady outside Moeller High School.
Gerry and I became friends through letter writing. While coaching at Notre Dame, Gerry was not winning enough (although he had an overall winning record during his five years there) and he began to receive biting criticism, mostly from people outside of Notre Dame. I began writing letters of support to him and he would always write back to me. On every letter he wrote he put the initials JMJ at the top (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph). We continued writing to each other over the years, leading to a decades-long friendship.
We would exchange Christmas cards, and he often would include a family Christmas letter. In his 2010 letter, Gerry wrote:
“The family is always together at Christmas. A few years ago, for the reason to have everyone realize the true meaning of Christmas, Marlene and I started a family tradition with our grandchildren. We have a crib scene in the front yard; each year on Christmas Eve, before opening the gifts for everyone, the grandchildren carry baby Jesus to the crib and one of the children places baby Jesus in the crib, while all are singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.”
In one of my last visits with Gerry in May 2021, I met him for Mass and breakfast. Gerry, then 86, told me that since there would be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament after 7 a.m. Mass (which he attended daily), we could go to breakfast after he said his rosary. After Mass, Gerry prayed the rosary while on his knees for half an hour before the Blessed Sacrament. You could see his lips moving in fervent prayer as he looked at the host in the monstrance.
When Gerry entered a room, he lit it up. I believe that the enthusiasm and cheerfulness that he radiated came from his love for God and the Blessed Mother.
Natalie Buzzi, granddaughter of Gerry, noted in her eulogy at Gerry’s funeral:
“My grandpa was never one to be unhappy. We all knew he was a terrible driver. And one time he took my friends and me home from school. On the way, he accidentally cut someone off. He just didn't check his blind spot. And the driver was furious and gave him the middle finger. But my grandpa was completely unfazed. He said, “look, they're saying I'm number one!” And that's who he was. Most people would have been mad or annoyed, but not my grandpa.”
She added:
“He could always turn any situation into something lighthearted. Even when Father Steve came to give him the anointing of the sick, he asked grandpa how he was doing. And grandpa replied, “I'm having a great time.”
John Boehner noted in his eulogy:
“For him it was not only about football, but about mentoring young men in maturity, faith, and honor.”
“For Coach, it was...the constant quest to make the most of yourself and be everything you could possibly be in life. That's what gave our lives meaning. The work, the pain, the sacrifice—all of it was the path to holiness.”
“This man cared more about people; it was almost superhuman…“His life was a towering cathedral to the glory of God.”
Father Steve closed his homily with what it would be like with Gerry in heaven:
“Every day he is probably running around, flashing his smile, punching arms, laughing heartily, renewing old friendships, hanging out with family and helping Jesus to prepare a welcoming, joyful, and loving home for us all!”
As for me, I can imagine the moment Gerry met Jesus, with Jesus saying to him, “Welcome, Gerry! My mother spoke of you.”
