Sister Mary Jo Has Always Been A Sensation At Marian Catholic

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — Sister Mary Jo Sobieck's perfect strike of a ceremonial first pitch before a Chicago White Sox game last weekend has made her an instant celebrity on the national and even the world stage. But at Marian Catholic High School in south suburban Chicago Heights, the Dominican nun known as "Sister MoJo" to many students has been a celebrity for years.

"Sister Mary Jo teaches sophomore year theology, and if you are really lucky like I was, you get to have her as your teacher," said Michael Bohlen, a senior at the school. "It was the best class I've ever had. She is absolutely the most popular person at the school. There's not one person who dislikes her."

Marian Catholic Principal Steve Tortorello calls her "a wonderful representative who goes out of her way to make students feel welcome."

Sister Mary Jo has been at Marian Catholic since 2007, the same year her good friend Joe Fiaoni, the school's head of security, started working there.

"You cannot help but be close with that lady," said Fiaoni, a retired Chicago Heights police officer. "She is unbelievable."

The Sister's life went from a private one of caring for students and making special trips to the city of Chicago to help the homeless community during the winter months to the public stage and worldwide recognition in a single pitch. In less than three full days after tossing a perfect strike before the "Marian Catholic Night" game at Guaranteed Rate Field, she has already been visited by Good Morning America and has been flown out to New York City on a Fox Television private jet.

Tortorello, who was at the White Sox stadium just a few feet from Sister Mary Jo when she made the now famous ball trick and pitch, said he didn't expect it to blow up like it did. Until about the third or fourth inning of the game when the text messages and emails began to pour in.

"We saw she was all over Twitter, on Sports Illustrated and ESPN," Tortorello said, noting that the school's advancement team has "had about a year's worth of work in 3 days" in responding to the massive amount of media requests.

The decision to have Sobieck throw out the first pitch on "Marian Catholic Night," which also featured the school's marching band playing the National Anthem before the White Sox' game against the Kansas City Royals, came from the administration who wanted a Dominican sister to have the honors as the school celebrates its 60th anniversary of being founded by the order.

"We wanted someone who was in the classroom working with the kids," Tortorello said. "She was the perfect representative."

The pitch itself was a thing of perfection. One Twitter user even compared it to one of Los Angeles Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw's throws.

"Nobody could hit that pitch... it was perfect," Fiaoni said. "She walked on that mound with nothing but respect and threw from the rubber. Hardly anybody throws from the rubber. And it was a perfect sinker."

Tortorello knew the Sister was athletic, having coached volleyball in the past and to this day an avid runner.

"But I had no idea she had a breaking ball like that," he said.

Bohlen, a pitcher on the Marian Catholic baseball team, agreed that it was a thing of beauty.

"It was one of the best celebrity first pitches ever, I knew she could do it," he said, predicting that that same pitch would have gotten many of his Spartans teammates to pop out.

It was the Chicago White Sox platform that allowed Sister Mary Jo's story to be shared around the world, but Fiaoni says the nun is actually a fan of another American League Central division team.

"Sister is from Minnesota," he said. "She is a Minnesota fan. There's a rivalry between us, and I always brag about the White Sox winning the World Series in 2005. But who knows, maybe this will make her a White Sox fan."

While it has already been a whirlwind of a few days at Marian Catholic, the buzz is expected to explode come Wednesday when all students will be at school for the first day of the year.

"It's going to be electric," Tortorello said, while Bohlen expects Sister Mary Jo's room to be packed.

"Although it usually is anyway," he said. "She is that popular with the students."

Fiaoni calls his longtime friend "hilarious" and "always very protective of her kids."

"There's nothing she wouldn't do for her kids. She's constantly thinking of others before herself."

Both Fiaoni and Bohlen talked about Sister Mary Jo's passion for helping the homeless. Bohlen says she often takes groups of kids to the city with sandwiches to hand out to those in need.

"I had a feeling that one day her impact would be known around the world," he said.

Photo courtesy of Mary Compton