During the Summer 2024 Paris Olympics, thousands of athletes inspired us with their performance on and off the track. And now that it is over, another Olympic champion has been in the news for a more unusual reason.
Former three-time Olympian Dominique Dawes has been open about her conversion to the Catholic Church not long after her Olympic career ended. The Olympic gold medalist and mom of four recently gave a fascinating interview with Catherine Hadro for EWTN that you can see below.
In the interview, which is definitely worth watching in its entirety, Dawes gives a little more insight into her conversion story, and what she feels Olympians should strive for.
Inspirational women
She explained that a moment of silence in St. Patrick's Church in Rockville fueled her desire to convert from life as a non-denominational Chrisian to Catholicism. And interestingly, Dawes felt this pull towards the Church came from her Catholic grandmother, who'd been unable to practice her Catholic faith.
In a touching tribute to her grandmother, who was a Piscataway Conoy Native American , the former champion explained that she chose St. Kateri Tekakwitha to accompany her during her conversion.
She went on to talk about Mother Angelica -- the founder of EWTN -- whom Dawes had previously said that she felt an affinity towards, admiring how she, too, had to juggle both a private and public life. In fact she'd famously said that she'd love to have had a meal with her.
Life away from the medals
Now, as mother of four young children and devoted wife to a former school teacher, Dawes hopes she can plant "seeds of inspiration in other people's lives."
And this can come directly from her morning prayer routine, which she explained as follows:
Before putting my feet on the ground , I drop down immediately on my knees... I ask for His will to be done because I know that He knows what's most important for me to pursue in my life. And I ask Him to open my eyes, open my ears, and to control my tongue because I know how powerful words can be..."
She goes on to share how far removed she is from the life of striving for a perfect 10. And she has advice for today's Olympians, which is something all perfectionists could adhere to:
... What I think Catholic Olympians should strive for, it's not to strive for perfection. It's not to make this great difference... you can make the great difference in your household."
To her, far away from the crowds and the applause, her children are her gold medals, and they are the reasons she wants to be a better person.
"Be open to God who desires to surprise you"
Speaking of medals... Dawes took the opportunity to have her coveted gold medal blessed by Fr. John Paul Mary Zeller of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word while she was at the EWTN studios.
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The priest shared how it felt to be a part of Dawes' medal history:
“In a small way, I felt as if God was smiling at me. I watched Dominique receive that medal on television in 1996, and now in 2024, had the chance to hold that medal as a priest and call down the blessing of Almighty God on Dominique and her Olympic Gold Medal.Watching her so many years ago, I never thought Dominique would be a part of ‘my story.’ Our stories are more connected than what we realize. Be open to God who desires to surprise you.”
