To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Kathleen Gilbert : Feb 19, 2010  LifeSiteNews.com

"I had the wonderful privilege of being able to compete as an Olympian, and now I am blessed to be able to serve God and help those less fortunate."

(LEEDS, England)—As America's team of Olympic women speed skaters compete in the Vancouver Winter Olympics this month, one prodigy once expected to shoot to stardom in the sport won't even be watching the broadcast.

Twelve years ago, while only seventeen, Kirstin Holum placed sixth in the 3,000 meter race in the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics—a remarkable feat in a competition usually dominated by older and hardier athletes. But Holum, 29, is now a Catholic nun known as Sister Catherine Mary, and her calling to the religious life has brought her to a convent where no TV or Internet will show the Vancouver Olympics. (Photo: LifeSiteNews.com)

Holum says that her conversion was sparked by an experience with the pro-life group Crossroads that she says changed her life.

Crossroads participants make a yearly pilgrimage on foot across the United States to witness against the killing of the unborn. Jim Nolan, a spokesman for the group, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that "the untold part of this story is that [Holum] bumped into the 2002 Crossroads pro-life walk across America ... and decided to finish the walk from there to D.C. with them," experiencing "a massive conversion due to her pro-life work that summer." This conversion brought her to the convent.

In a letter that Crossroads received in 2005, the former speed skating champ wrote: "Crossroads completely changed my life! I came onto Crossroads as a mediocre confused Christian and finished as a zealous Roman Catholic."

In a Yahoo! Sports column this week, Holum recounted for writer Martin Rogers the path that took her from the sport that defined her life from a young age—her mother was world-class speed skater Dianne Holum—to a life of working with the poor and homeless as a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal (FSR).

"It is funny to think of how different my life is now," she told Yahoo! Sports. "I had the wonderful privilege of being able to compete as an Olympian, and now I am blessed to be able to serve God and help those less fortunate." The religious sister also noted that she enjoys watching youngsters open up after she tells them she is a former Olympian.

In the correspondence that Crossroads received from the former skater, she explained that she "had a pretty rough time in college with my faith."

"So, when I graduated I had no desire to do anything. God saw an opportunity to work something amazing through Crossroads," says the letter. "I had never experienced such joyful, young Catholics and I was so inspired."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do for Crossroads and for your intense Pro-Life ministry. Without my Crossroads experience, who knows where I would be!" it concludes. "Crossroads is not only saving babies, it is raising up strong Pro-Life Catholics."

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

Israelis Remember Hostages, Fallen Soldiers, Terror Victims as Passover Begins

She Survived a Death Camp. Facing Biden DOJ Charges, She Is Prepared to Die in Prison

Planned Parenthood Committed 392,712 Abortions, Received $699.3 Million in Taxpayer Funding in 2023

Student Loan Forgiveness: Morally Reprehensible and Legally Invalid

Columbia Classes Go Virtual Before Passover Amid Protests

Hundreds Accept Jesus Christ in Poland at Franklin Graham Rally

Grammy-Winning Christian Artist Mandisa Has Died: Report

How You Can Send Letters of Encouragement to Jailed Pro-Life Heroes

'Americans Cannot Allow the Biden Administration to Sign Away Their Birthright': Congressmen Warn of WHO Pandemic Agreement

Illegal Immigrants Being Moved into Soldiers' Home Where Veterans Must Pay to Stay

House Democrats Vow to Codify 'Rights' to Trans Surgeries, Hormones, Puberty Blockers

18-Year-Old Female Trans Student Charged for Planning Two Maryland School Shootings, Manifesto Said She Wanted to Be 'Famous'

Israel Strikes Deep Inside Iran, Nuclear Facilities NOT Hit

An Important Message from Japan to the world about the WHO, Japan and the Next So-called 'Vaccine'

Rand Paul: Brave Marine Revealed that 15 US Agencies Knew COVID-19 Was Created in Lab in 2018; But They Kept It Secret from American Public (VIDEO)

Confirmed: Researchers Reveal COVID mRNA Vaccines Contain Component that Suppresses Immune Response and Stimulates Cancer Growth

Farmers, Truckers Warn California Emissions Mandates Will Cause 'Catastrophic' Supply Chain Crisis

Fed Court Overturns State Law Protecting Women's Sports from 'Transgender' Athletes

Furry Infestation: Middle School Students Walk Out in Protest after School Leaders Allow 'Furries' to Terrorize Them (VIDEO)

Biden's Education Secretary Vows to Shut Down the Largest Christian University in the US

Steve Shultz, Managing Editor
Founder and Owner

Aimee Herd, Editor