Quincy University held its annual blessing of the athletes on Sept 4. Blessing of the Athletes is an annual event that symbolizes the beginning of the new athletic and academic year for student athletes at QU.

The event begins with all student athletes gathering in the Health & Fitness Center, where they combine to take a picture in the formation of a Tau Cross. The cross is a symbol commonly worn by Franciscans and is meant to symbolize redemption and salvation.

The cross is one of the many different references back to QU’s Franciscan origins throughout the ceremony. The inclusion of every team in the photo is meant to showcase how the many different individuals at QU come together in a way that gives the university a unique community feel.

“That is probably the most significant part of the whole thing for me. My mom likes to remind me of what the tau cross means,” Joseph Westerhoff, a student-athlete, said.

The student-athletes then walk over to St. Francis Solanus Church for the remainder of the ceremony. There are several student-athletes and coaches who are given opportunities to speak or read.

Every year a different student-athlete is chosen to talk about their unique experiences at QU, and more broadly what being a part of the QU community has meant to them. After these speeches and several prayers are led, the ceremonious lighting of candles takes place.

For the lighting of candles, every head coach walks to the front of the church with their own candle. Each coach lights their own candle before returning to their teams to light their players candles.

“It is my favorite part of the whole thing, I think the candles show the community of everybody at QU,” Luke Wilson, a student-athlete, said.

After every person has their own candle lit up, Athletic Director Josh Rabe led the student-athletes in an oath. The oath includes the student-athletes commitment to uphold the values of QU on and off the field.

“I think what (Josh) Rabe is having us say is pretty important. I think it’s easy to forget that you’re representing a brand bigger that yourself sometimes. It’s also important, I think, that we get reminded of what it means to be a part of QU specifically,” Riley Hall, a student-athlete, said.

After Rabe is finished speaking, everybody is able to extinguish their candle and begin to process out the back of the Church.