Kate Eberwyn was a lapsed Catholic who was "very negative about Catholicism", and although her family remained devout, she "thought they were all stupid."
But as she watched the Twin Towers collapse on T.V. on Sept. 11, she thought the world was ending. Flipping through the T.V. channels, she saw a nun talking to a friar - Mother Angelica and Fr. Benedict Groeschel.
"They said that in a time like this we should pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe who is the patroness of the Americas," she recalled.
"So, I said to (God), 'I don't know much about you, I don't even think I like you, but I'm going to pray.'"
She went back to confession and to Mass, and has been a devout Catholic ever since, she said.
Jean, a viewer from Chicago, said when she was about 11 or 12 she wanted to learn how to pray the rosary, so she started watching Mother Angelica's show every night.
"She taught me all of the prayers to the rosary, and I've prayed it daily ever since, so she really helped me foster my relationship with Mary and to learn to love the Blessed Mother," she said.
Throughout the weekend, many who knew Mother Angelica reiterated that it was her faith in Jesus, and her ability to draw others to him, that was and continues to be the legacy of Mother, more so than just simply being a T.V. personality.
"I can't say how many people I've met who have said I learned to pray the rosary by watching EWTN," said Michael Warsaw, CEO of EWTN.
During the family talk, Warsaw said if he could sum up the legacy of Mother Angelica, it would be with one of her own favorite phrases, which was: "Dare to do the ridiculous, so God can do the miraculous."
"Dare to do the ridiculous. We should all be willing to do those things which in the eyes of the world are ridiculous, so that we can assist God in accomplishing the miraculous That's what Mother Angelica did when founding EWTN 35 years ago."
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Mother Angelica, a cloistered nun, began the network out of her garage in 1981. It is now the largest religious media network in the world, providing Catholic media through television, radio, the internet, print services like the National Catholic Register and wire services like Catholic News Agency.
"She did something that in the eyes of the world was completely ridiculous but she knew that if she stepped out in faith, God would use her and her new network to accomplish the miraculous," Warsaw added.
"The stories we've heard tonight, what we've heard throughout this weekend is confirmation of that."
Mary Farrow worked as a staff writer for Catholic News Agency until 2020. She has a degree in journalism and English education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.