Father Chase Michael Hilgenbrinck (born April 2, 1982) is an American retired soccer player who played as a defender. He is notable for walking away from his professional career to become a Catholic priest.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chase Michael Hilgenbrinck | ||
| Date of birth | April 2, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Quincy, Illinois, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2003 | Clemson Tigers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2005 | Huachipato | ||
| 2005 | → Deportes Naval (loan) | ||
| 2006–2007 | Ñublense | 61 | (11) |
| 2008 | New England Revolution | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 65+ | (11+) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
editHis parents, Mike (a regional sales manager for a fertilizer dealership) and Kim (an accountant with State Farm Insurance), raised their children as Catholics. They brought him and his older brother, Blaise, to church every Sunday, where both sons served as altar boys at Holy Trinity Church in Bloomington, Illinois. Chase played soccer for University High School in Normal, Illinois.
Soccer career
editHilgenbrinck made the United States Under-17 national team, before moving on to play for Clemson University, where he was a three-year starter, playing on the same defensive line as future U.S. senior national team fixture Oguchi Onyewu.
After graduating in 2004, Chase was undrafted by Major League Soccer (MLS) after a decent college career. Claudio Arias, the Chilean soccer coach at nearby Southern Wesleyan University, suggested going to Chile where he thought he could help Chase get a contract. Hilgenbrinck signed with Huachipato of Chile's top division, but was loaned out to lower division club Deportes Naval. He eventually moved on to second-division club Ñublense and helped them to achieve promotion to Chile's top flight. In all, he spent four seasons in Chile, with three clubs, and grew to become a star player.
He joined the Colorado Rapids in early 2008, but was waived during the pre-season without making a senior appearance after the Rapids needed to clear salary cap space for other acquisitions. Two weeks later the New England Revolution called, and after a two-day tryout, the Revolution signed him on March 28.[1]
Hilgenbrinck's last game was on a Sunday, July 13, 2008, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts when the New England Revolution faced Mexican club Santos Laguna in a SuperLiga game.
Catholic priest
editIn the summer of 2007, the vocation director for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, sent him an extensive application packet. He had to write a 20-page autobiography and submit responses to a series of essay questions, in addition to a background check and fingerprinting. In December, the day after he returned to the U.S. following the end of the soccer season in Chile, he went through an entire battery of testing. He took five written exams in one day, and was evaluated by three psychologists.[2]
Hilgenbrinck retired from soccer on July 14, 2008, to enter the Catholic Mount St. Mary's Seminary at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland in order to become a priest.[3] He was ordained a priest in the diocese of Peoria on May 24, 2014.[4] He served as a parochial vicar for St. Anne's Catholic Church in East Moline, Illinois,[5] as well as one of the chaplains at Alleman High School in Rock Island, Illinois.[6]
On June 8, 2016, Fr. Chase was assigned to St. John's Catholic Newman Center in Champaign, Illinois. At St. John's Catholic Newman Center, Fr. Chase combined sport and faith with the Stations of the Cross Workout he coordinated for parishioners.[7]
On September 13, 2020, Fr. Chase celebrated his last mass as Assistant Chaplain at St. John's Catholic Newman Center, as he had been appointed as the new vocation director for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Illinois.
References
edit- ^ Dell'Apa, Frank (March 3, 2008). "A header: Revolution's Parkhurst a brainy, not brawny, defender". The Boston Globe.
- ^ "Darcy: A new season - ESPN Page 2".
- ^ Hughes, Rob (July 15, 2008). "New England soccer's loss is the priesthood's gain". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on August 3, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
- ^ "The Catholic Post : Featured Article - Meet the four who will be ordained priests on May 24". Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ^ "Contact Us".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Campus Ministry - Alleman High School". Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ^ Virtue=Strength [@sportsleaderusa] (September 18, 2018). "@CatholicIllini Fr Chase leads the SportsLeader Stations of the Cross Workout, 14 Stations 14 exercises, every Friday morning at 8 AM at the Univ of Illinois with anyone. Breakfast follows. Awesome way to integrate our faith, exercise, Catholic Identity, Virtue & Fellowship https://t.co/cZBrTrtx8y" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Twitter.
