Angelina Amerigo, a parishioner of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata, was crowned Miss Minnesota in June and will represent the state in the Miss America pageant in January. She said her faith has been a firm foundation of everything she’s done.
Amerigo said there are many misconceptions about the Miss America organization. “It took me a long time to just really understand what the core values of the organization were and how to align that with my personal values and viewpoints,” she said. “So, it has been a really exciting journey and, of course, my faith has been (with me) right along the way.”
Amerigo recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss the world of pageant competitions and how she stays rooted in her faith.
The world of pageants brought fluctuating emotions, Amerigo said, with some days “super fun” and others difficult when seeing “hard things,” such as praying with families at Children’s Miracle Network. She’d ask herself “What am I doing this for? Why am I doing it? And just continuing to put one step … forward, one step in front of another, and just really trusting that God was guiding me in one way or another and that, somehow, in some way, this was all for his good.”
Asked how she stays rooted in her faith and in God, Amerigo said one way is being rooted “in a really good community of people that are holding you accountable,” she said.
To learn more about Amerigo, including her faith and her experience with pageants — and to learn about her service initiative, “One Bottle, One Straw, One Bag at a Time” — listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Aug. 11 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Aug. 12 and 2 p.m. Aug. 13. Her website is AngelinaAmerigo.com.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an interview with three parishioners from Guardian Angels in Oakdale who describe the parish’s refugee resettlement program; and Father Tim Tran, associate pastor of St. Stephen in Anoka and archdiocesan “point person” for the National Eucharistic Revival, who discusses the revival and next year’s National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
