Name Ruth Pakaluk Died September 1998 | Education Harvard University | |
 | ||
Books The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: The Story of Ruth Pakaluk, Convert, Mother, and Pro-life Activist | ||
Ruth Pakaluk was a Catholic convert, mother, housewife and pro-life activist who lived in Worcester, Massachusetts with her husband, Michael Pakaluk, and their children.
Contents
Personal life
Ruth Van Kooy was born in 1956 and met Michael Pakaluk when both were Harvard undergraduates, which has caused some to compare them to the famous couple in the book and movie Love Story. She died of cancer in September 1998 at age forty-one.
Activism
The head of Massachusetts Citizens for Life (MCFL), Ruth had her own television show which focused on opposition to abortion and other socially conservative issues.
Legacy
After her death, her husband compiled the letters she had written to family and friends throughout her adulthood and published them in a book called The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God. In an introduction to the book, Boston College professor Peter Kreeft writes that "people in Worcester wished to consider opening her cause for sainthood" soon after she died. Her cause for canonization as a Catholic saint is now underway.