In suburban Chicago, a minor league baseball team is making a major league statement of faith:

As any athlete will tell you, it’s always good to have God on your side before a big game. Tonight, the Kane County Cougars will go one step farther, holding a full-fledged Catholic Mass before facing off against the South Bend Silver Hawks.

The “Mass on the Grass” will take place right on the field, with an altar set up near the center field wall. Fourteen churches will come together for the service, some from the Tri-Cities, some from as far away as Virgil and Genoa.

The Mass will be celebrated by the Rev. Paul Fasano of Holy Cross Church in Batavia, and the Cougars are expecting about 700 people to attend.

And a randomly selected youth pastor and priest will get to throw the ceremonial first pitches of the game.

According to General Manager Jeff Sedivy, the Mass was the brainchild of Shawn Touney, the team’s media relations coordinator. It’s the first time in Cougars history that Elfstrom Stadium has been put to this particular use, but Sedivy hopes it won’t be the last.

“I think this is cool as a first-time event, and hopefully something we can build on,” he said. “It would be great if we could do it monthly.”

Sedivy said the team chose a Catholic Mass simply because Touney is Catholic, but they’re open to any other denomination which might want to coordinate something similar at Elfstrom Stadium. He said the response from the public has been good so far.

Mass begins at 5:30 p.m., with the game against the Silver Hawks set for 7. When asked if part of the Mass will involve asking the man upstairs for a victory, Sedivy laughed.

“First thing, we’ll pray for no rain,” he chuckled. “Then a victory.”

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