Catholic Olympic swimmer awarded presidential Medal of Freedom
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&view=post&articleid=275653&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 2024. / Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty ImagesCNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).Katie Ledecky, Olympic swimmer, devout Catholic, and winner of 10 Olympic medals, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday. "Thank you Mr. President for this honor, and thank you to everyone at the White House for an incredibly special day!" Ledecky wrote in a post on X.Since she began her Olympic career in 2012 as a 15-year-old in the London Olympics, Ledecky has earned seven Olympic gold medals and three silver medals. She also earned 26 world championship medals, 21 of which are gold, and she currently holds two world records in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events. Ledecky finds herself among other iconic athletes including gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, and baseball star Babe Ru...
President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 2024. / Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
CNA Staff, May 6, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).
Katie Ledecky, Olympic swimmer, devout Catholic, and winner of 10 Olympic medals, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday.
"Thank you Mr. President for this honor, and thank you to everyone at the White House for an incredibly special day!" Ledecky wrote in a post on X.
Since she began her Olympic career in 2012 as a 15-year-old in the London Olympics, Ledecky has earned seven Olympic gold medals and three silver medals. She also earned 26 world championship medals, 21 of which are gold, and she currently holds two world records in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events.
Ledecky finds herself among other iconic athletes including gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Tiger Woods, and baseball star Babe Ruth in receiving the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom.
But between the excitement of the Olympics, Ledecky is a regular parishioner of the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda, Maryland.
Raised in Washington, D.C., she attended Catholic high school and practices her faith by praying before her meets, according to her local diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Standard.
Ledecky was a student at the all-girls Catholic school Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart when she flew to London for her first Olympic competition. The Olympian has since returned to Stone Ridge to visit with the students and share her gratitude for the community's support for her.
She's not the only Catholic to receive the medal this year. Jesuit priest Father Gregory Boyle, who founded a rehabilitation program for gang members, was one of 19 who received the Medal of Freedom this year.
Biden also extended the award posthumously to Jim Thorpe, who in 1912 became the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal, as well as to his political allies such as former speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrat Party leaders.
President Joe Biden is himself Catholic, though he has received criticism from Church leaders for his pro-abortion stance.
Ledecky will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will begin July 26, while her memoir, "Just Add Water: My Swimming Life" is set to be released on June 11.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=275948&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
A map of the Juan Diego Route which goes through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, ending in Indiana. / Credit: EWTN News In-DepthCNA Staff, May 18, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage will span the United States with four different pilgrimages starting in California, Texas, Mississippi, and Connecticut and meeting in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress."A cross-country pilgrimage of this scale has never been attempted before. All told, it will travel through 27 states and 65 dioceses, covering a combined distance of 6,500 miles on foot and with the help of support vehicles," said Tim Glemkowski, CEO of the National Eucharistic Congress, Inc. "It will be a tremendously powerful action of witness and intercession as it interacts with local parish communities at stops all along the way."The St. Juan Diego Route, named for the beloved saint who encountered Our Lady of Guadalupe, will start at the sou...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=275947&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year. / Credit: EWTN NewsRome Newsroom, May 18, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Construction projects are underway in Rome as the city prepares for the 2025 Jubilee Year (Dec. 24, 2024, to Jan. 6, 2026). According to the city's mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, the upcoming "Jubilee of Hope" is expected to draw in an additional 30 million to 35 million tourists to Italy during the Catholic holy year."The jubilee is an extraordinary global event with a great spiritual significance for which the city of Rome must be ready," Gualtieri told EWTN News Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser. "We are working to make it more welcoming so that pilgrims can live the experience of the Jubilee in the best possible way." The city of Rome's online portal Roma Si Transforma currently lists approximately 358 planned projects in the Lazio region in which Rome is located. Each project is categorized as either a culture, inn...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=275946&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
A view of the crowd and nearby waterfront at the opening Mass for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 1, 2023. / Credit: Arlindo Homem/JMJ Lisboa 2023ACI Prensa Staff, May 18, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Jimena, the young woman who regained her sight after receiving Communion at a Mass during World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, Portugal, in August 2023, told ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, about how she experienced that moment, her return home, and the details of a special meeting she had with Pope Francis during a pilgrimage she made with her family to Rome to thank the Virgin for that "miracle."For two and a half years, Jimena suffered from a loss of sight due to a myopia problem that left her with a 95% vision loss.She traveled to Lisbon from Madrid with a group from Opus Dei. During the days prior, relatives and acquaintances of the young woman organized a novena to pray to Our Lady of the Snows, whose feast day is commemorated Aug. 5, the same day she recov...