A priest might have helped save the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season after blessing an Acrisure Stadium end zone with holy water before Sunday night’s winner-take-all battle against the Baltimore Ravens. At least that’s what Monday morning quarterbacks are arguing on social media.
TV cameras caught the Rev. Maximilian Maxwell of Saint Vincent Archabbey near Latrobe, sprinkling holy water across the turf of the end zone in Acrisure Stadium during pregame warmups, an MSN article reported.
Hours later, the blessed end zone became the site of what was the game’s decisive moment — Ravens rookie kicker Tyler Loop shanking his 44-yard attempted field goal wide right as time expired.
The botched kick — what some fans are referring to as the Immaculate Protection — sealed the Steelers’ dramatic 26-24 win, a playoff berth — and the AFC North crown.
Maxwell, who could not be reached for comment, actually was the substitute priest at the game. Those chores would have been handled by the Rev. Paul Taylor, president of Saint Vincent College in Unity, but he was out of town for the game, said Kim Metzgar, a spokeswoman for the archabbey.
“They’ve been doing this every game since (Heinz Field opened in) 2001,” Metzgar said.
Taylor is one of the chaplains for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have held their summer training camp at the college since 1966.
Maxwell, who is a priest and monk, is the prior of the archabbey, making him second in command of 150 monks, according to its website.
An interesting twist to the story is that Maxwell is a Philadelphia native, who has switched his sports allegiances to Pittsburgh since coming to the Archabbey in 2007, Metzgar said.
The spokesperson said that Saint Vincent alumni who recognized Maxwell began tweeting Sunday night when he was seen on television.
X lit up after Barstool Sports posted video of the blessing shortly after midnight Monday.
The Steelers had a priest bless the field with holy water pregame
The blessing took place in the exact same endzone that the Ravens missed the kick
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) January 5, 2026
