The air was still thick with incense from the Ge’ez Rite Ethiopian Catholic Mass earlier on Sunday when a pair of women donning Nationals gear entered Saint Vincent de Paul Parish. They kneeled in the direction of the cross before sitting down near the front. More worshippers arrived at the high-ceilinged church in Navy Yard, holding Nats caps in their hands, until a sea of red and navy filled the pews. Even a man wearing a puffy Mets jacket took it off to reveal a scarlet button-down shirt underneath.

Welcome to the first Nats Mass of the season.

Saint Vincent de Paul is nestled on the corner of South Capitol and M streets in Southeast, with Nationals Park in spitting distance. Ever since 2014, the Catholic church has held a special Mass at noon on game days that have a 1:35 p.m. start time. It’s so close to the action that the congregants can hear the intermittent whistles from the cops directing traffic outside.

“While we are here, why not create a Mass to gather the people to come and pray together before they go to the game?” says Father Andy Gonzalo, the parish’s priest. “Everybody is welcome, but of course it’s called ‘Nats Mass’ because that’s the home team and we’re fans … Instead of [worshippers] missing the Mass because they’d like to go to the games, it’s combining the sports and the Eucharist.” He says the idea echoes Pope Francis’ call to “go where the people are.”

Gonzalo, who joined Saint Vincent in 2016, continued the tradition that began with his predecessor, Andrew Royals. “On game days we had thousands of people walking right in front of our church,” Royals told The Washington Post in 2014. “I was like, ‘Well, I’m sure some of these people would like to go to church.” Saint Vincent put up a huge sign on its exterior, easily visible when driving by on South Capitol, advertising the offering.

Five years later, Nats Mass is going strong. “I love it,” says Robin McEnerney, a Northern Virginia resident who has been coming to Nats games since 2012 and learned about Nats Mass from the Post. “It makes you feel good. It’s tough to get to church, but this makes it easy. It’s very low key and friendly.”

While the service is in many ways a typical Mass, Gonzalo peppers it with references to the baseball team. Alongside prayers for the grace of transformation and the wisdom of political leaders is one for the safety of Nats players and fans. He acknowledged that, with an 0-2 record going into Sunday’s game, the team “is still warming up,” to laughter from parishioners. The first Nats Mass happened to be scheduled on Laetare Sunday—the fourth Sunday of Lent that calls for rejoicing and has the priest wear a rose rather than purple robe. Gonzalo joked that his robes matched the ruby shirts of the worshippers, who numbered at least 80 and varied widely in age.

It was altar server Clifton Mastran’s first Nats Mass. “I think it was great that people still find time to make God a priority even on a game day,” he says, noting that the pews were more full than on a typical Sunday noon Mass. “It’s good to see people in church.” Gonzalo expects to see more than 100 in attendance as the season continues and worshippers get back in the groove.

About 40 minutes after the service began with “Amazing Grace,” it ended with another verse from the song. Attendees hustled out quickly to get in line for the stadium. Typically, the Knights of Columbus host a tailgate afterwards, donating the proceeds from their grilled hot dogs. Gonzalo has been known to wear a Nats jersey with the name “NATS MASS” emblazoned on the back. But on this first Nats Mass, concerns about the wind and cold scuttled the tailgate.

Gonzalo ended the Mass telling worshippers to “go home with a joyful heart,” regardless of the game’s outcome. “Maybe tomorrow we will win, maybe tomorrow we will lose, who knows,” he tells DCist. “But here we are. We pray for all of us to be safe and that all of us will go there and enjoy the game.”

The Nationals netted their first win of the season shortly thereafter.