By Jay Sorgi • Posted October 2, 2025

Legendary former Villanova men’s basketball head coach Jay Wright is listed among the speakers who will appear at the Friendship Celebration Oct. 8 at St. Norbert Church in Paoli.

But the event’s organizer says that the two-time NCAA champion and Hall of Fame coach is not the most important voice to listen to that evening.

It’s the voice of God through him, through the presence of a glove worn by St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), through music, and through others who will take the microphone and offer their testimony of faith.

They will include event organizer Ed Morris, an Archbishop Carroll High School alumnus, commercial real estate developer, and the father-in-law of late South Jersey native and NHL star Johnny Gaudreau.

“We invite Jesus into the room. I feel He’s right next to me,” said Morris. “I think we expect anywhere from 300 to 500 people. That’s a pretty amazing number when you imagine calling all your buddies up and saying, ‘Hey, I want to go pray,’ and then 300 to 500 people show up. It’s just a special night.”

The Friendship Celebration, scheduled for 7 p.m. next Wednesday, will invite Wright to share the ways that God works within and through his life and coaching career.

That stellar resume includes coaching a pair of Catholic universities in Hofstra and Villanova where he led the Wildcats to national championships in 2016 and 2018.

“Many of my friends know him very well, and they all said he is just a regular guy, normal as you and me. He’ll walk in there, just like one of our friends. He’ll get up there and talk about stories about how he really wanted to develop his players, how he certainly kept faith in the forefront of the success of their teams,” Morris said.

“A famous night was on Holy Thursday 2016 when he washed a player’s feet before an NCAA tournament game against Miami. Instead of warming up, they all sat there and he and team chaplain Father Rob Hagan, O.S.A., washed players’ feet. Then they went and played and kicked some tail.”

Villanova blew out Miami, 92-69, on the way to winning the 2016 Men’s Final Four.

“That’s a commitment to his faith, and that’s bringing religion into the team and keeping it in the forefront for the kids,” Morris added.

“He just wants to develop people. Winning is important, but he wins when the whole body, the whole mind, (and) spirit is involved, and I think that’s what we’re going to hear.”

It will also include a tribute to late Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame goalie Bernie Parent, a regular attendee at these ministry events.

“Bernie would come all the time. He came to 20 of them,” said Morris. “Many people have texted me, ‘Hey, Ed, I got to know Bernie because I came to your event.’”

Morris hosts these Friendship Celebrations through his ministry, Team Hope. It is deeply centered on relationality, on building strong networks of prayer support like what God offered through him for a friend named Lefty who attended a Man Up Philly men’s faith conference years ago in the area.

“The day after, he had an aneurysm. I said to our friends, ‘I think we need to get to a church.’ The next day, 300 people showed up,’” said Morris.

“Some guys came up to me and said, ‘Can we do this again?’ We did it again, and 400 people showed up. A great friend of mine, Tony, was there. He had a heart attack two days later and died, all while my friend Lefty is in a coma. We’re sitting in Bryn Mawr Hospital, and I asked God, ‘You want me to do something with this?’ He said, ‘Keep it going.’”

Morris said Team Hope has grown to 6,000 members, all giving people a place to go when they are in spiritual pain and trauma, and need prayer support.

“If you have a family member, someone very sick, you’ll go to your good friends and your family. But outside of that, there’s really no place to go. Team Hope becomes a place where people can go when anybody needs a prayer,” said Morris.

His prayer platform includes a relic of Padre Pio — a glove that the Italian saint wore – to invoke the healing power of God through devotion.

“It’s probably had 400 personal visits to people with a couple of great victories,” Morris said.

He relates the story of a boy with Down syndrome who had difficulty breathing “and his mother didn’t think he was going to get through a week. We got the glove and placed it on his chest. In one week, he was standing up doing great,” said Morris.

Such stories at the Friendship Celebration join testimony and speeches from dignitaries like Wright along with individuals Morris has met in Kensington who have overcome addiction, all through the power of God’s healing love.

“We’ve had 230 different speakers over the years,” said Morris. “Everybody knocks it out of the park.”

There are no tickets or reservations for the evening, but seating at St. Norbert Church, 6 Greenlawn Road in Paoli, is first-come, first-served.