Westminster: Olympic skater to speak at Towards Advent festival

Sister Catherine Holum

A young Olympic speed-skating star will be special guest speaker at the 2012 Towards Advent Festival at Westminster Cathederal Hall this Saturday. Sister Catherine - born Kristen Holum - was an American speed-skater at the 1998 Olympics. She was born into a distinguished sporting family - her mother was a gold medal winner at the 1972 Olympics.

She loved speed-skating, and took part in the winter Olympics at Nagano, Japan. But as she reached the end of her teens, she began sensing a call to something quite different. Beginning with a childhood visit to the shrine at Fatima, and continuing with the unforgettable 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto with Pope - now Blessed - John Paul II , she felt a call to the religious life. Now Sister Catherine is a Franciscan Sister of the Renewal, and lives and works with a community based in Leeds.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols will open the festival at 10.30am. Another special guest, Marcus Grodi of EWTN fame will be leading a workshop and doing a TV show at the Festival. A team from the Centre for Faith and Culture will be running a workshop celebrating Blessed John Henry Newman's Second Spring. There will also be stalls and displays by Catholic organisations, workshops, food and refreshments, music from the choir at St Benedicts School, Ealing and much more.

This is a good place to do some Christmas shopping. Admission is free. All are welcome. tickets for workshops are £2. For more information see: www.towardsadvent.blogspot.com