The friendly wager between Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati on the Big Game between the LA Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals was a big win for students in both archdioceses, with more than $22,000 raised so far for tuition assistance scholarships.
With the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Archbishop Schnurr will now be sending a gift of Cincinnati’s own Graeter’s ice cream to Archbishop Gomez. Out of gratitude and in consolation, Archbishop Gomez has decided to also send his wager of baked treats from LA’s beloved Porto’s Bakery to Archbishop Schnurr. Since the friendly wager was made with the intention of helping Catholic school students, each archbishop has now decided to share his winnings with students at a school in their respective archdioceses.
“As we said before, our bet was with our Catholic school kids all the way,” said Archbishop Gomez. “They are always winners in our book! We want the kids to get in on the fun to celebrate the great sportsmanship of both the Rams and the Bengals who gave us such an exciting game, and the generous support of all those who donated to the Bishops Big Game challenge.”
Archbishop Gomez will be celebrating his victorious ice cream party with students at St. John Chrysostom school in Inglewood, near SoFi Stadium, on March 1, Fat Tuesday. Archbishop Schnurr will gather with students from Our Lady of the Rosary school in Dayton to enjoy cookies, pastries and other goodies, also on March 1.
The funds collected through #BishopsBigGame challenge will be split between the Catholic Education Foundations (CEF) of each archdiocese. The CEF of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, by virtue of the Rams’ victory, will receive 60% of the money raised while the CEF of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will receive 40%.
Our Website will Remain open through the end of the day Friday, February 18, to receive additional donations
.
“The Bengals and Rams certainly brought their A-games to the gridiron, and the fans of both teams did as well through their generous donations in support of Catholic education, and that is deserving of a real celebration,” noted Archbishop Schnurr. “Archbishop Gomez and I are grateful for the generosity of the people of our respective archdioceses and thank everyone who joined us in our friendly wager. We are delighted to celebrate this moment with at least some of our wonderful Catholic school students, teachers and staff members. We look forward to sharing the love and support of our Catholic communities in the form of delicious Graeter’s ice cream and tasty treats from Porto’s Bakery. A win for Catholic education all around!”
Archbishop José H. Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are taking an active interest in this upcoming Sunday’s big game. Both archbishops are enthusiastically rooting for their home team and have even placed a friendly wager on the outcome, which was announced in a joint video post this morning. Archbishop Schnurr is offering a case of Cincinnati’s own Graeter’s ice cream for his part in the wager; on his end, Archbishop Gomez is offering baked treats from LA’s beloved Porto’s Bakery.
“I look forward to celebrating the Rams’ victory with the delicious Graeter’s ice cream that Archbishop Schnurr will be sending my way,” commented Archbishop Gomez. “One of the best parts of the Bengals’ triumph will be digging into the famous Porto’s pasteles and cookies provided by my friend Archbishop Gomez,” responded Archbishop Schnurr.
Catholics are encouraged to get involved in this friendly exchange. Donations are being accepted to benefit each archdiocese’s Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) in the spirit of the big game. Visit BishopsBigGame.com or follow #BishopsBigGame on social media to see how you can be a part of the excitement and donate to support Catholic school students in the name of your favorite team. The CEF of the “winning” archdiocese will receive 60% of the total fund and the CEF of the other archdiocese will receive 40% of the total fund. All proceeds collected will go directly to the respective CEFs, which provide needs-based tuition assistance for students attending Catholic schools. To get things started, each archbishop has made of a donation of $1,000 to the joint fund.
“I am so proud of the Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and the work of the Catholic Education Foundation. Through the generosity of the faithful the CEF is providing millions of dollars of financial assistance each school year,” said Archbishop Schnurr.
“We may disagree on the winning team, but on Catholic education, our bet is on our Catholic schools in both archdioceses all the way,” added Archbishop Gomez. “I’m proud of the great work of our students, teachers, staff, families and parish communities that make our Catholic Schools great, and for the generous support of the faithful through CEF so that our students have the opportunity to learn and grow to become the leaders of tomorrow.”
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati (established in 1821) and The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (established in 1840) are the presence of the Roman Catholic Church in their respective geographies. Collectively, the two archdioceses minister to more than 5 million Catholics through 496 parishes, 376 schools and numerous charitable ministries.