Winter Olympics Provide Opportunity for Promoting Religious Vocations

A Catholic Seminarian and a Franciscan Sister use the Olympic Games as an invitation to evangelize and share their response to the call of the Lord to serve Him in His Church.

VANCOUVER, B.C. (Catholic Online) - News reports during the first weekend of the Winter Olympics included inspiring stories of Catholics responding to the call to religious life and the priesthood. In an article dated February 14, Yahoo! Sports reported on Kirstin Holum, a former Olympic speedskater now known as Sister Catherine of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. The daughter of Dianne Holum—an Olympic gold medalist and coach of the legendary Eric Heiden—Kirsten seemed destined for similar glory when at age 17 she finished sixth in the women´s 3000 meters at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. Yet a trip to Fatima soon changed those plans for this devout Catholic. "Speedskating was such a huge part of my life," Sr. Catherine told Yahoo! Sports. "I still loved the sport, but I had this incredibly strong calling that it was time to move on and take a different path in life." When she joined the Franciscans Sr. Catherine was first sent to the Bronx, New York, to minister to some of the city´s most underprivileged children in an area heavy with gang activity. Her superior in the Bronx was quoted as saying Sr. Catherine showed "the compassion of an angel." Last year she was sent to England where she now serves from St. Joseph´s Convent in Leeds. She told Yahoo! Sports that her experience as an Olympian has given her credibility with skeptical street kids. "When I give 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 said. "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." Sr. Catherine has not looked back on her decision. "It is strange for me to think that things could have been different for me and I could have been at the Olympics again, but it wasn´t the Lord´s path for me and I have no regrets." In a story dated February 15, the British Columbia Catholic told of Noel Oco, a Catholic seminarian from Vancouver who participated in the final leg of the Olympic torch relay on February 10. Oco is just a few months away from becoming a member of the Carthusians; he won the chance to carry the Olympic torch after winning an essay contest. He wrote: "No matter how powerful the Olympic flame is and what it represents, the flame inside each of us is greater than that flame. What the Olympic flame does is reflect off each of us and inspire us to live up to the ideals of the Olympic movement. Oco told the British Columbia Catholic that his message to the world concerns vocations—he wants to inspire others to discern their own vocations, whatever they may be. The Olympic torch bears special meaning for him in this regard. "Everyone who competes in the Games goes into strict training," he said. "They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." We congratulate Sr. Catherine and Noel Oco for responding to God´s call, and for using the Olympics as a platform to spread the Good News. ----- James Penrice is a contributing writer for Catholic Online and the author of numerous books. He is also a writer for the Catholic Athletes for Christ website.

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