Marcus Freeman Converted to Catholicism After Taking Notre Dame Job

Head coach Marcus Freeman made a meaningful change in his personal life after his professional journey took him to Notre Dame. 

Less than a year after becoming the head football coach at the South Bend, Indiana university in December 2021, Freeman, 39, made the decision to convert to Catholicism.

During a media call in September 2022, Freeman called it “a family decision, a personal decision.”

According to the South Bend Tribune, Freeman was raised in the Christian and Korean church traditions — Freeman’s mother, Chong, was born in South Korea — and his wife, Joanna Freeman, and their children were already practicing Catholics. 

Marcus and Joanna, who got married in 2010, share six kids: son Vinny, 17, daughter Siena, 12, son Gino, 11, son Nico, 9, daughter Capri, 7, and son Rocco, 6.

“I tried to keep it as private as I could,” Freeman said of his religious conversion. “Obviously, when you’re head coach at Notre Dame, nothing is private.”

The development was first announced in the bulletin of Freeman’s church, Saint Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, Indiana. 

“Welcome to our newest Catholic, Marcus Freeman,” the bulletin read, which was obtained by the Tribune. “[Father] Bill recently concelebrated in a Mass where Marcus Freeman was received into the Catholic Church. After preparing with [Father] Nate Wills,  C.S.C., chaplain of the Notre Dame football team, Marcus made a profession of faith, was confirmed, and received his First Holy Communion.”

The message added, “Please pray for Marcus, and his family, as they celebrate and continue this journey in faith!”

Before he converted, Freeman reinstated the tradition of pre-game Mass for the Notre Dame football team for the first time in 11 years. 

“What better time is there to go have Mass?” he asked the National Catholic Register in August 2022. “What better time to be able to really be on the edge of your seat to get every word that comes out of the priest’s mouth and to be as close to God as you can?”

Freeman added, “That’s important for me. I want our guys to wonder about what it means to embrace Jesus Christ.”

The coach and his program are currently preparing to face The Ohio State University in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, attempting to secure Notre Dame’s first national title since 1988.

After Freeman’s squad defeated Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Thursday, January 9, securing their place in the title game, Freeman became the first Black coach to ever lead his team to the National Championship — but he had no desire to hog the spotlight. 

“I’ve said this before, I don’t ever want to take attention away from the team,” Freeman told ESPN’s Molly McGrath. “It is an honor, and I hope all coaches — minorities, Black, Asian, white, it doesn’t matter, great people — continue to get opportunities to lead young men like this. But this ain’t about me. This is about us. We’re going to celebrate what we’ve done because it’s so special.”

Notre Dame and Ohio State battle in the National Championship game on Monday, January 20 at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN.