TORONTO — When Tammy Peterson heard Pope Francis had died on Easter Monday, the timing was significant. It had been one year since she was confirmed and entered the Catholic Church at Toronto’s Holy Rosary Church the previous Easter – with Francis as pontiff.
As Catholics around the world reacted to news of his death in a range of ways, from grief to anticipation, Peterson reflected on what her response should be. She decided to write a prayer for the Pope.
“Heavenly Father, we come before you with hearts full of gratitude for the life and service of Pope Francis,” says Peterson, reading the start of the prayer.
“We thank you for his commitment to humility, compassion, and the message of love that he courageously spread across the world,” Peterson continued.
Peterson shared the prayer, published in its entirety at the end of this story, for the first time during an interview with Canadian Catholic News from Scottsdale, Ariz.
Peterson, host of the popular Tammy Peterson Podcast, also wrote a prayer for the cardinals choosing the next Pope. The prayer asks God to guide the College of Cardinals and “help them to discern wisely and to choose a shepherd who will uphold the teachings of Christ, inspire the faithful and stand as a beacon of hope and mercy to the world.”
It ends, “Unite them in their deliberations, ensuring their decisions reflect your boundless love. May their choice honour the legacy of those who came before and lead your people with righteousness and compassion. Amen.”
It’s no surprise that Peterson was inspired to write a prayer for the late Pope. They both shared an important spiritual connection: the anchor of Mary and the Holy Rosary.
Pope Francis called the prayer of the Rosary “in many ways, the synthesis of the history of God’s mercy, which becomes a history of salvation for all who let themselves be shaped by grace.”
That grace from God was behind Peterson’s desire to become Catholic after recovering from a serious illness following several weeks of praying the Rosary, said acquaintance-turned-friend Queenie Yu last year.
Yu, a fellow convert, said in a previous interview that Peterson saw her illness as a “gift” because she found God while she was carrying the cross of cancer and debilitating illness. Yu recalled how Peterson had to walk with a cane at the Easter Vigil because of intense back pain, yet still managed to stand up during her Confirmation.
“God brings good out of everything,” Yu said.
It was Yu who six years ago gave Peterson the rosary, which had been blessed by Pope Francis. Peterson was in hospital after undergoing cancer surgery that led to the removal of half of a kidney. She was down to 90 pounds and was battling a mysterious, debilitating disease. During her visits, Yu taught Peterson how to pray the Rosary, then prayed it with her every morning for five weeks.
Last year, the story of Peterson’s conversion went viral as news spread of the miracle she had received: outliving her doctors’ prognosis of 10 months to live from terminal kidney cancer.
In the year since, Peterson said she continues to be inspired by miracles of faith and healing, and feeling called to speak publicly about matters that are important to her, including faith.
Those close to her know the central role that her faith plays in her daily routine and new life’s mission. And since the Virgin Mary and the Rosary drew Tammy to the Catholic Church, it was fitting that she was confirmed at Holy Rosary Church in Toronto.
The Rosary continues to play an integral role in Tammy’s faith journey, and she now shares her Marian devotion with her granddaughter.
In the fall, after one of Peterson’s 6 a.m. morning meetings, she noticed that seven-year-old Scarlett had already awoken. Peterson asked her if she’d like to learn to pray the Rosary.
“She said, ‘Sure,’ and so I introduced (the Rosary) to her. We did the First Mystery,” Peterson recalled.
Scarlett now sees the importance of the Rosary to her grandmother and makes “very sure that I pray,” said Peterson.
That “is what grandmothers can give their kids,” she said. Prayer “is the most precious thing they can give them.”
The centrality of her faith, and the positive transformation it has brought in her life, are evident in the new woman she has become, says her husband, best-selling author Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, in an interview last year on the day of the Easter Vigil at midtown Toronto’s Holy Rosary Church.
“What is happening to her,” said the Canadian clinical psychologist, “has provided me with more examples of the consequence of spiritual transformation.” He shares those accounts in his lectures, which are the foundation of the world tour that he and his wife have embarked upon since last year.
Based upon Peterson’s latest bestselling book We Who Wrestle with God, the lectures are opened by Tammy, whose faith experience has “given her more of a voice, and a personal voice that enables her to participate in our tour enterprise,” he said.
In her role as mediator between her husband and the audience, she opens the lectures with reflections on topics such as the meaning of sacrifice. She then fields audience questions for her husband to respond to.
Since her Confirmation, Tammy, 64, keeps up her daily practice of prayer, which serves as a source of strength for her new public role hosting her podcast. There she discusses the moral, ethical, and personal choices that women face in a secular world that favours moral relativism over objective truth. Countercultural conversations take place on topics such as abortion, women’s health, family versus career, femininity versus radical feminism, and the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.
“The Church is known as the body of Christ, and women in the Bible are attending to his feet,” she said.Women are in effect “the body of Christ,” and in this day and age “have the responsibility to go back to church and bring their families there,” Peterson said. “And I pray for that to happen.”
Peterson brings that conviction about her faith to her public speaking engagements, where she shares her knowledge and experience as a stay-at-home mother.
Although a newly transplanted Canadian now living in the United States – her husband announced their move in December during a podcast interview with their daughter Mikhaila – Peterson returned to her home province on April 17 to deliver the keynote speech for the Provincial Prayer Breakfast at the Edmonton Convention Centre, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in attendance.
Peterson began her speech by remembering her hometown of Fairview, Alta., where she and her husband had been childhood friends since Grade 3.
She also spoke of her father, who worked as a telegrapher for Northern Alberta Railways. Just as prayer brought her consolation during her extended hospitalization and painful tests years ago, she was consoled during her grief when her father, William Waddell Roberts, passed away at 92, two weeks before Christmas in 2023. On the same day, her grandson George Waddell was born.
Since becoming Catholic it has been a season of loss and grief, as well as birth and new life. Her husband lost both his beloved parents last year and one of Tammy’s sisters died in December. Yet the Petersons’ son Julian and his wife recently welcomed a new baby, and daughter Mikhaila is expecting and due to give birth in a few weeks.
She told the audience at the prayer breakfast that she continues to find strength in her faith after the gift of conversion last Easter and being called to her new role of public speaking.
A stay-at-home mother for many years, her childhood home was not particularly religious, although both her grandmothers went to church. “My grandmother, my dad’s mom, played the organ in the church.”
The public speaking role is still new to her, but it’s one she feels called to.
“When I go on stage, I still ask for courage and strength to go out there. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said. “People say, ‘How do you do that?’ And I say, I ask for courage and strength. That’s how I do it.”
Prayer for Pope Francis by Tammy Peterson
Heavenly Father, we come before you with hearts full of gratitude for the life and service of Pope Francis. We thank you for his commitment to humility, compassion, and the message of love that he courageously spread across the world. May your eternal light shine upon him and may he find peace in your embrace. Free from the burdens of earthly life, we ask that he be remembered for his compassion and his efforts to bring about unity among your people. Grant us the strength to carry forward the values he cherished, that we may continue to build your kingdom here on earth. Amen.
Prayer for the College of Cardinals choosing the next Pope by Tammy Peterson
Lord of wisdom and light, we implore your guidance upon the College of Cardinals as they gather to select the next leader of your Church. Endow them with clarity of mind and purity of heart, that they may be open to your divine will. Help them to discern wisely and to choose a shepherd who will uphold the teachings of Christ. Inspire the faithful and stand as a beacon of hope and mercy to the world. Unite them in their deliberations, ensuring their decisions reflect your boundless love.
May their choice honour the legacy of those who came before and lead your people with righteousness and compassion. Amen.
