Book proclaims Mach as extraordinary
By Renee Webb, Globe associate editor
Posted April 11, 2002

Thanks to a new resource book recently published by Saint Mary's Press, even more people will soon discover the extraordinary example set by a young Sioux City woman who died of cancer about 18 months ago.

At the age of 17, Carrie Mach died while a senior at Bishop  Heelan High School. The former parishioner of Nativity Parish is featured in the book titled Church Women: Probing History With Girls. The book outlines strategies for discovering the richness of women's contributions to the life of the church.

As far as women in church go, Mach is among some heavy hitters. Designed as a youth ministry resource for girls ages 10-19, the manual features women who lived long ago such as Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen and Saint Teresa of Avila as well as women of today including Sister Helen Prejean, the women martyrs in El Salvador and Dorothy Day. It is part of the Voices: Nurturing the Spirituality of Girls series.

"We were just shocked that she would be included when they told us about some of the other women," said Ann Mach. "I guess the purpose was to help people realize that we all have the potential. Carrie was so young and showed such great potential."

Rick Mach was humbled to have Carrie featured in the manual. When Carrie's inclusion was first proposed, the Machs acknowledged that they wondered why anyone would be interested. They saw her as a normal teenager.

Looking back and knowing all the lives Carrie touched, they now realize she was anything but average.

"I think it wasn't so much what her circumstances were, as what she chose to do with those circumstances," said Rick.

Diagnosed with cancer at the age of 9, she was angry and sad, as anyone would be with a serious illness. At some point she accepted her reality and became very spiritual and even more giving than she had been in the past.

Despite her own illness, Carrie's parents said their daughter always tried to make others feel good and was thankful for all of the blessings in her own life. Carrie focused on what she had rather than what she didn't have.

Voted homecoming queen just months before her death, Rick recalled how Carrie made a point to go to the school assembly when she wasn't feeling well because it meant so much to the other students.

"Carrie offered something different to so many different people. Some people admired her strength in dealing with this physical illness. Some people admired her courage. Some people admired her giving and some people admired her for making everyone else feel good about themselves," said Rick.

The Machs were impressed that their daughter never failed to mention the strength she found in her faith regardless of her audience - fellow students or the general public when promoting the Children's Miracle Network. She was one of the national spokespersons for the network.

Carrie's courage, positive attitude and strong faith inspired many including Father David Hogan, a retired priest living in Sioux City. Even though the priest had never met Carrie, he was prompted to mention her to the people at Saint Mary's Press.

Aware that the publishing company sometimes published poems of young people and thought he would approach them about Carrie.

As it happened they were not putting together any poetry books but quickly became interested in Carrie's story for the final chapter of the girls' manual, Church Women.

About a year ago the authors visited with the Machs and close friends of Carrie's. They watched videos of the young woman and read her journals and poems to become familiar with her story.

"It was out of the blue," said Ann. "It had to have come from God."

Laurie Delgatto, author of Church Women with Marilyn Kielbasa, explained that the book presents the stories of ordinary women who did extraordinary things. Each chapter offers glimpses into the lives of women who embraced their path as the center of meaning for them.

"We included the story of Carrie because we wanted to offer girls an opportunity to see how their own actions, wisdom and beauty make them just as extraordinary as the women they will learn about in the book," explained Delgatto. "Carrie's own story, her life in fact exemplify this notion and we couldn't think of a better example of how girls can take what life has given them and make the best of it."

The Machs would love to see Catholic schools and religious education classes use the book that is packed with activities and reflections to ignite discussions about the faith.

"When you lose a child, you don't want anyone to forget them. I think we are very blessed in that we have this opportunity. She will be remembered and that makes us very happy," said Ann.

The book is currently available at Saint Mary's Press Web site, www.smp.org, or by calling 1-800-533-8095.