Many difficult events have been going on in the world today, and it struck me when I saw that Erika Kirk was able to forgive her husband’s murderer. It made me wonder, who are the women that young girls look up to in today’s age?
Kirk is a great Catholic model of how young women should live and what true religious values are. She exemplifies a lifestyle of forgiveness, love, and compassion. On stage, in front of thousands of people, she forgave her husband’s murderer and spoke about how God always forgives us, so we must forgive others. This is similar to St. John Paul II who went to visit the man who shot him, and even forgave him. To be able to forgive those who hurt us is a fundamental part of Catholicism, and to have people demonstrate it, is truly beautiful. But are we lacking more examples of this in our society today? And more specifically, do we as young women have other faith filled women to look up to as role models for us to emulate?
When asking around about who young women look up to, Ana Munley was named. She is an evangelist who uses Instagram to spread the truth and the Word of God. She posts videos on her Instagram about the beliefs of Catholicism and why it’s important to uphold them. Her audience ranges from people looking to join the Catholic Church, new Catholics, or those who have been a part of the Church for a while. She demonstrates love and respect for all, which is great for young women to look up to.
“I think of Ana Munley on Instagram. She is a great role model for young Catholic women because she has a great approach to living out Catholic beliefs and in many of her videos explains not only what we believe as Catholics, but also why we believe them, providing young Catholic women with increased knowledge in Catholic doctrine and inspiring them to live out their faith in Christ while being able to explain and dive deeper into Sacred Scripture and Tradition,” said Brielle Slenn (‘28).
Although many well known actors and singers are not religious and don’t speak about their faith, there are those, like Gwen Stefani and Nicole Kidman, who are more vocal about their faith and their actions demonstrate Catholicism. Kidman is currently a practicing Catholic, goes to Church, and is raising her children in the Church. Stefani has been more public about her faith, and even partnered with the Catholic app, Hallow.
“Nicole Kidman was raised in a Catholic family and considered her faith an important part of her daily life” said Sophomore Emma Brown.
John Marriott, the High School theology department chair, brought up how it’s always good to look up to Saints if you need someone to look up to. There are many Saints out there who are great to emulate. As mentioned by him, St. Edith Stein is a great woman Saint who found her faith through intellectual thought. She was born into a Jewish family, but was atheist for most of her adult life. She found Christ by critically and logically thinking. Marriott did not name any specific modern day women, but he advised looking to the Saints as role models.
After talking with Sister Lisa Perkowski, she brought up how it’s important to mainly look at people in your own life. Yes, it’s normal to look at people on social media, but you don’t know them personally, therefore it is impossible to know for sure if they’re being truthful. God places each person in your life for a reason, so it’s important to admire and watch those around you who you do know who exemplifies compassion and respect, not only in their words, but their actions.
“I firmly believe that your role models are those who God puts around you,” said Perkowski.
Although we don’t know women like Kirk, Munley, Stefani, and Kidman personally and it is important for us to step back and look at those who we do know well, it is promising to see some high profile women who are bravely speaking out and living out their faith publicly. The hope is that more well known women will be courageous about their faith to give young girls courage to do the same. There are young girls who don’t have people in their lives who demonstrate Catholic values, so it is important that we have prominent women speak out about Catholicism to guide them.
