A Minneapolis church is getting quite the reaction to a Facebook post playing off the Vikings' improbable comeback win Sunday over the New Orleans Saints.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church took to Facebook with its own take on the 61-yard touchdown pass from Vikings quarterback Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs with 10 seconds left that gave the team its, er, miraculous, 29-24 win in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
"If you made any promises during the last 10 seconds, Sunday masses are at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.," the posting reads.
That is the day the Vikings play the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Championship Game and a trip to Super Bowl LII.
In the day since the posting went up Monday, it was shared more than 7,100 times.
"I think I already committed to confession … for the words I used during that last hour as well," wrote Nick Fritzen on the church's Facebook page.
Others called it a clever way to evangelize, while another called the posting "an infusion of grace."
The posting was the brainchild of Julie Craven, who used to handle communications for Austin-based Hormel and now does the same for the historic church just across the Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis. She was at the game and took in the delirium and thought, "There's a Facebook post in there somewhere. It was just crazy."
Of course, "we're fans," she said, but there also is an inside joke behind the posting.
The Rev. Dan Griffith, the church's pastor, is a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan known for making wisecracks about the Vikings at the end of his sermons. Recently, instead of wishing the best for the faithful who follow the purple, Griffith simply said he was "willing your collective good," Craven said.
"This has been hard for him," said Craven, giving another reason for the sassy post. "This has been delightful and it has been a blast watching the response."
The church dates to the 1870s and is one of the city's oldest churches.
"Looks like I will have to go there Super Bowl morning," Brian Patterson wrote.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768