U.S. speedskater took leap of faith (quit to become Franciscan Sister)

Yahoo! Sports ^ | 2/14/2010 | Martin Rogers

[markomalley]

Twelve years ago at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, a 17-year-old speedskating prodigy named Kirstin Holum was tapped for future greatness.

(snip)

The peaceful surrounds of the convent is where Holum, now known as Sister Catherine, devotes her life to religious service as a Franciscan nun. That calling had begun on a trip to Our Lady of Fatima, a holy site in Portugal famed for a series of religious visions that appeared nearly a century ago. It was outside the Fatima basilica where Holum decided that a path of religious dedication, not frozen skating lanes, would be her destiny.

(snip)

“It is funny now to think of how different my life is now,” she said. “I had the wonderful privilege of being able to compete as an Olympian, and now I am blessed to able to serve God and help those less fortunate.”

After completing an art degree, including a thesis on the Olympics at the Art Institute of Chicago, Holum joined the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, a faith with a mission “to work with the poor and homeless and evangelization.”

Based first in New York, Sister Catherine and her fellow nuns stepped on to the mean streets of the Bronx to work with some of the Big Apple’s most underprivileged children in areas steeped in gang culture. Such work and sacrifice in homeless shelters and soup kitchens gave her a deep-rooted sense of satisfaction that skating had never been able to provide.

[markomalley]

Rest of the article is well worth reading as well.

[waxer1]

It is funny where life takes you sometimes.

[mlizzy]

From the wife of a husband who has written about the tie-in between the Catholic faith and athletics, this is a wonderful read. I knew the name when I started reading, because I remembered her mom winning gold.

[Salvation]

No, not funny, thanks be given to God for her “Yes” answer to the call of a vocation as a nun!

Serious business!

[waxer1]

Relax!!! Just a figure of speech for cryin out loud.

let me translate: When you least expect it, sometimes life takes you down a path that you don’t expect.

:-)

[NYer]

Kirstin Holum of the USA at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

Kirstin Holum competes in the 500m race in Nagano, Japan.

“When I give my religious testimonies, it is fun to watch the reaction of the kids when I tell them I was in the Olympics,” she laughed. “Their eyes get really big and they start paying a lot more attention. It is a great thing to share with them and it gives me a lot of pleasure to think back and talk about it.

“It is not exactly something you would normally expect from a sister. But I think it is good for people to see that members of the religious order can come from any background and any walk of life. It is all about your commitment to the message.

[AnAmericanMother]

It's great. This is like having a priest who's a first-class basketball player or a marathon runner. The kids are ready to listen to what he has to say.

Same with an Olympian Franciscan Sister!

[Lorica]

It's great. This is like having a priest who's a first-class basketball player or a marathon runner. The kids are ready to listen to what he has to say.

Now that you mention it...

Top A's prospect enters priesthood