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.

Personal life

Ruth Van Kooy 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

Love Story

-Other:*Love Story , a 1970 romance novel by Erich Segal*Love Story, a 1933 play by S. N. Behrman*Love Story , a 2010 stage musical inspired by the novel*Love Story , webtoon by Kang Full...

. 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

Peter Kreeft

Peter John Kreeft, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and The King's College, and author of numerous books as well as a popular writer on philosophy, Christian theology, and specifically Catholic apologetics. He also formulated together with Ronald K. Tacelli, SJ, "Twenty...

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.