Madisonville mother to receive 2013 Regina Matrum Award
Valerie Englehardt will receive the 2013 Regina Matrum Award on May 13 at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mandeville. (Photo by Sarah Bonnette)
on May 04, 2013 at 1:00 PM, updated May 04, 2013 at 1:07 PM
Valerie Englehardt always dreamed of being a mother, and she got what she wanted in the six sons and one daughter she and husband, John, have had during their 40 years of marriage. All are married, except for her youngest, 18-year-old David, who will graduate from St. Paul's School in Covington this month. Pictures of her 13 grandchildren, 6 months to 12 years old, line a kitchen countertop in her Madisonville home. Her eldest son, Greg, has four children, as does 37-year-old Michael and 31-year-old Stephen. Her 34-year-old son, Eric, has one child. More photos soon will be added when two grandhildren - the first ones for her 28-year-old son Mark and 25-year-old daughter, Mary - are born this summer.
Now the 61-year-old is getting something she didn't expect: The 2013 Regina Matrum Award.
The annual honor is presented by the Council of Catholic Schools Cooperative Clubs in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to an outstanding Catholic mother who possesses the ideals of motherhood and family life.
The award will be presented to Englehardt by Archbishop Gregory Aymond at a special Mass on May 13 at 7 p.m. at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mandeville.
Englehardt had no idea she had been nominated for the award by Mary, Queen of Peace's pastor, the Rev. Ronald L. Calkins. The announcement that she had been chosen from among other nominees across the archdiocese was made during a Sunday Mass in April.
"I felt stunned in the beginning and in some sense a little bit uncomfortable to have so much attention focused on me, because I feel like it's not about what I've done. It's about what God has done through me ... or even in spite of me," she said.
The Engleharts, natives of Denver, Colo., moved nine times in the first 17 years of marriage thanks to his job. They moved to the north shore in 1990.
They first attended Our Lady of the Lake parish in Mandeville, and have been parishioners at Mary, Queen of Peace for the past 12 years. They coordinate the marriage preparation ministry, where engaged couples spent time with married couples before their weddings.
Englehardt, a registered nurse, also has served as the parish nurse for the past five years.
"What I try to do is integrate faith and health," Englehardt said. "They're inseparable.
"That was a huge part of Jesus' ministry: to heal the sick. And he commanded the Apostles to go out and to teach and to heal. The origins of nursing and hospice and all that really originated in the early church," she added.
As parish nurse, Englehardt counsels people regarding their health and does advocacy work. She also educates the parish through weekly bulletin announcements and through the three health fairs she has coordinated. The fairs expose parishioners to a wealth of area healthcare resources, providers and basic screenings.
"Valerie as long as I have been pastor has been an outstanding example of Christian life in general and particularly in the role of motherhood. And, she has been so generous in church life," Calkins said.
"I many times call upon Valerie to help parishioners who could use her area of expertise, especially the homebound," he added.
Even with her involvement at Mary, Queen of Peace, Englehardt said her first priority is her children and helping direct their path to heaven.
"My children are a gift from God, and my responsibility is to do everything I can to return them to God. Now that they're grown that continues through prayer, for example, and through my interactions with my grandchildren."
Englehardt advises all mothers to "help their children to learn their capacity to love and to do good," as well as to pray for them.
"Pray in advance - for their marriages, for their college roommates, for everything," she said.
The Regina Matrum Mass will take place at Mary, Queen of Peace, 1501 West Causeway Approach, Mandeville. For more information on the church and its ministries, call 985.626.6977 or visit www.maryqueenofpeace.org
Now the 61-year-old is getting something she didn't expect: The 2013 Regina Matrum Award.
The annual honor is presented by the Council of Catholic Schools Cooperative Clubs in the Archdiocese of New Orleans to an outstanding Catholic mother who possesses the ideals of motherhood and family life.
The award will be presented to Englehardt by Archbishop Gregory Aymond at a special Mass on May 13 at 7 p.m. at Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mandeville.
Englehardt had no idea she had been nominated for the award by Mary, Queen of Peace's pastor, the Rev. Ronald L. Calkins. The announcement that she had been chosen from among other nominees across the archdiocese was made during a Sunday Mass in April.
"I felt stunned in the beginning and in some sense a little bit uncomfortable to have so much attention focused on me, because I feel like it's not about what I've done. It's about what God has done through me ... or even in spite of me," she said.
The Engleharts, natives of Denver, Colo., moved nine times in the first 17 years of marriage thanks to his job. They moved to the north shore in 1990.
They first attended Our Lady of the Lake parish in Mandeville, and have been parishioners at Mary, Queen of Peace for the past 12 years. They coordinate the marriage preparation ministry, where engaged couples spent time with married couples before their weddings.
Englehardt, a registered nurse, also has served as the parish nurse for the past five years.
"What I try to do is integrate faith and health," Englehardt said. "They're inseparable.
"That was a huge part of Jesus' ministry: to heal the sick. And he commanded the Apostles to go out and to teach and to heal. The origins of nursing and hospice and all that really originated in the early church," she added.
As parish nurse, Englehardt counsels people regarding their health and does advocacy work. She also educates the parish through weekly bulletin announcements and through the three health fairs she has coordinated. The fairs expose parishioners to a wealth of area healthcare resources, providers and basic screenings.
"Valerie as long as I have been pastor has been an outstanding example of Christian life in general and particularly in the role of motherhood. And, she has been so generous in church life," Calkins said.
"I many times call upon Valerie to help parishioners who could use her area of expertise, especially the homebound," he added.
Even with her involvement at Mary, Queen of Peace, Englehardt said her first priority is her children and helping direct their path to heaven.
"My children are a gift from God, and my responsibility is to do everything I can to return them to God. Now that they're grown that continues through prayer, for example, and through my interactions with my grandchildren."
Englehardt advises all mothers to "help their children to learn their capacity to love and to do good," as well as to pray for them.
"Pray in advance - for their marriages, for their college roommates, for everything," she said.
The Regina Matrum Mass will take place at Mary, Queen of Peace, 1501 West Causeway Approach, Mandeville. For more information on the church and its ministries, call 985.626.6977 or visit www.maryqueenofpeace.org
No comments:
Post a Comment