Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Freeman is the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, and now his religious faith matches the school’s faith.

The St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger, Indiana, shared in an announcement on Sept. 11 that Freeman was the church’s newest Catholic.

The announcement said 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.”

Freeman was raised in the Christian and Korean church traditions. His wife and six children were already practicing Catholics prior to Marcus’s conversion.

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

Freeman, 36, is from Dayton, Ohio, and was a star linebacker at Ohio State. He became a defensive coordinator under Luke Fickell at Cincinnati from 2017-2020. Freeman joined Notre Dame last year as defensive coordinator. He was named the head coach after Brian Kelly left for LSU.

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