As Steelers play Vikings on Sunday, they're also fighting a holy war against church services

Church and Steelers football routinely go hand-in-hand among fans in Western Pennsylvania.

“We are a multi-religious city, and one of our religions, perhaps the most popular religion in Pittsburgh, is the Steelers,” the Rev. Liddy Barlow told TribLive on Friday.

Barlow is executive minister of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, a regional nonprofit that aims to bring people of various religious traditions together for the greater good.

“On this Sunday in particular, I am sure there are going to be some empty pews,” Barlow said.

Services in churches with fervent football fans might resemble the dairy aisle of a Giant Eagle at game time.

Sunday’s Steelers game kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Pittsburgh time as the Steelers will “host” the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin for the first-ever regular season NFL game on the Emerald Isle.

It will be 2:30 p.m. in Dublin when the game starts, which gives the Irish plenty of time to attend Mass, and then, if they partake, to have a pint or three of Guinness or Smithwick’s and a nip or four of Jameson or Bushmills before the game.

But back home on the North Side, faithful Catholic fans may have to monitor the game from the pews of St. Peter Church — home parish of the Rooney family, where Art Sr., the “Chief,” was known to attend daily Mass. The service starts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. That could be halftime, depending on how many successful drives quarterback Aaron Rodgers can lead.

The Very Rev. Joseph R. McCaffrey knows how on any given Sunday at St. Vitus Church in New Castle, black-and-gold jerseys are plentiful in the pews as Catholics fulfill their obligation to attend Mass while also showing allegiance to the team.

A former pastor of the New Castle Catholic churches, McCaffrey is now a senior priest who oversees the parishes in the northern part of the Pittsburgh Diocese.

“When the Steelers are winning, there are a lot of things we have to be careful about scheduling,” McCaffrey said.

When Barlow was pastor of Smithfield United Church of Christ, Downtown, she kept a Steelers schedule handy in her study to avoid scheduling conflicts, she told TribLive.

(Pro tip: Bye weeks are the way to go, Barlow said.)

“In the Catholic Church, one of the blessings is we have multiple Mass times over a two-day period,” the Rev. Terrence O’Connor said.

He’s pastor of Mary, Mother of God parish, which serves McKeesport and White Oak.

“Mass is always more important than any game,” O’Connor said.

Unlike their Protestant counterparts, Catholic Christians are obligated to attend Mass each week without a dispensation. That means if they don’t go, they’re sinning.

Dispensations are offered during emergencies like the covid pandemic, or special occasions like when St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Friday during Lent and the bishops in predominantly Irish cities like Boston may grant people a dispensation from abstaining from meat.

Pittsburgh Bishop Mark Eckman and Greensburg Bishop Larry Kulick did not provide dispensations for Sunday’s game. Neither was available to comment Friday.

As an Irish lad, O’Connor — son of former Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O’Connor and brother of Allegheny County Controller and mayoral candidate Corey O’Connor — is excited for the game, he told TribLive.

“It would be really exciting to watch them play over there,” the Rev. O’Connor said.

In 1997, the Steelers played a preseason game against the Chicago Bears in Dublin that was billed as the American Bowl.

The late Dan Rooney, a son of “The Chief,” was U.S. ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to 2012. He lobbied for the Steelers to schedule a game in Ireland. That didn’t happen then, but he was able to see his team take on the Vikings in 2013 in London.

“It’s week 4, it’s not a playoff game, so I don’t think it’s going to have a huge impact,” said the Rev. Brandon Cooper, assistant rector of Christ Episcopal Church in the North Hills. People can also stream services at home or find a later service to attend, he said.

In many Catholic churches, there’s always the 4 p.m. Saturday Mass as well.

Barlow, the leader of the Christian unity group, noted that a faith-filled life is a marathon and not a sprint. So missing one service isn’t a make-or-break proposition, though she encouraged people to do something to foster faith and community on Sunday.

For Catholic Steelers fans, the service is more important than the game, the Rev. O’Connor said.

“I think the most important thing is to get to Mass,” he said.