I love watching the Olympics! It is one of my most favorite sporting events. Some day I’m going to find me a snowboard and ride a half pipe or do some snowboard cross.
Today we celebrate an Olympian who is now a Franciscan nun. Kirstin Holum was just 17 years old when she competed in speedskating at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. She took 6th place in the 3000 meter which was considered a great achievement and a sign for future greatness.
Kristin is now Sister Catherine and prayers, ministers, and lives in community at Saint Joseph’s Convent in Leeds, England.
Yahoo! Sports did a good article on Kristin’s journey and her life as a Catholic nun. Here are a few quotes from the article U.S. speedskater took leap of faith by Martin Rogers (February 14, 2010).
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 whose mission is “work with the poor and homeless and evangelization.”
Based first in New York, Sister Catherine and her fellow nuns stepped onto 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.
Last year, missionary work took Sister Catherine to England, where she has found her previous life as an athlete a useful tool in providing some “street cred” when dealing with skeptical youngsters.
“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.”
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Archived Comments
- February 18, 2010 at 8:57 am
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she’s very amazing. She inspired me so much.
- February 18, 2010 at 10:54 am
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Hi Sister Julie et. al. I think it’s great that Sister Catherine uses her positive experiences in sports to help deliver her message to youth. What a wonderful way to integrate you past and your present with someone else’s future. Very creative.
- February 19, 2010 at 9:31 pm
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If you are interested in connections between religious vocations and sports, here are 2 more suggestions. Andrea Jaeger was an extremely successful professional tennis player, who is now an Anglican Dominican sister. You might also want to read a book by Julie Byrne, “O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs” (Columbia University Press, 2003). The Immaculata “Mighty Macs” won the NCAA women’s basketball tournament 3 consecutive times in the 1970s. And not only were some of their teachers and biggest fans from the IHM Sisters who taught and sponsored Immaculata College (these sisters are “cousins” to the IHM community that Sister Julie belongs to), but some of the college players entered the community. It’s a fun read, and very good on women’s sports BEFORE Title IX.
- February 20, 2010 at 11:21 am
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that looks like a neat movie.. saw the trailer – brings back memories, ‘cos their uniform looks alot like the one I used to wear only mine was navy blue pinafore with matching belt and a peter pan white blouse buttoned to the top .. ahh the good old days
