You are a coach. You are a teacher. You are a tutor. 

How can we know this to be true? Because everyone is a coach, a teacher, and a tutor. And behind all legendary figures, there are two things in common:

1. They all had great coaches.
2. They all loved to be coached. 

Perhaps God wanted to instill this message into Saint Tutilo from a young age by inspiring his parents to give him a name so close to “tutor.” In fact, the Latin word “Tutilo” simultaneously means “watcher,” “protector,” and “guardian.”

This is what all great coaches, teachers, and tutors do. They watch and protect the potential of their students.

Saint Tutilo was an amazingly gifted man, crafting poems, songs, paintings, and sculptures that have been treasured through the ages, though many have been lost to war and disrepair. Tutilo’s greatest contribution to the world, however, and the reason he is the patron saint of speech therapists, is that he was an amazing tutor.

Saint Tutilo recognized and nurtured individual talents, understanding that education's true power lies in its capacity to shape character, form minds, and nurture spirits. He helped transform his students into dynamic individuals by teaching them the Benedictine tradition of balanced work, prayer, and study. He was deeply invested in building up the human person.

You are also a coach, a teacher, and a tutor. Struggling to see yourself as one? Maybe this Hall of Fame speech by Shannon Sharpe, one of the greatest Tight Ends in football history, will make you think again. In the 26 minutes that Sharpe spoke, he didn’t thank his agent or football coaches. He thanked his grandma:

"My grandmother didn't teach me how to throw a ball. She didn't teach me how to catch a ball. She didn't teach me technique, how to run fast. She didn't teach me anything about sports. She taught me how to be a man."

How to live, how to be, how to become—more, greater, better. This is at the heart of what it means to be a coach, teacher, and tutor.



Feast Day: March 28

Feast Day Shared By: Saint Joseph Sebastian Pelczar and Saint Stephen Harding

Patron Saint of: Speech Therapists