Catholic mom of 10 honored as ‘queen of mothers’ at New Orleans vigil Mass

 

CNA Staff, May 13, 2025 / 12:12 pm (CNA).

A Catholic mother of 10 and grandmother of 30 was honored by New Orleans’ Archbishop Gregory Aymond during a special vigil Mass on May 12.

Jeanne Vath Ory was selected as the 2025 recipient for the “Regina Matrum” or “Queen of Mothers” award, a decades-long tradition in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Established in 1947, the Regina Matrum Award is designed to honor a Catholic mother each year and to highlight the ideals of Catholic motherhood and family life.

Kim Roberts, the current chairman of Regina Matrum and former president of the Council of Catholic School Co-operative Clubs (CCSCC), said that every year when they give the award, the recipient is surprised.

“They’re all so humble, and they’re always so surprised,” she recalled.

This year’s recipient didn’t even get out of her pew when her name was called.

“She really didn’t know. She was looking around the church like, ‘Who are they talking about?’ Everybody knew it was her,” Roberts told CNA.

When Ory was selected at her parish on Palm Sunday, it brought tears to her eyes.

Over the years, Ory has served the local church in various committees, ministries, and outreach programs. She also co-founded the Rosary Congress at her parish — a ministry that has continued for more than a decade.

Ory even has a family connection to the award. She is the granddaughter of the sixth Regina Matrum recipient Florence Dunn Vath and niece of Theresa Vath Bourgeois, who received the award in 2000.

The special vigil Mass celebrated by the archbishop took place at Ory’s home parish, St. Joan of Arc in LaPlace.

Why an award for mothers?

“Regina Matrim, at its core, is just to highlight a woman from the archdiocese here in New Orleans who is a shining example of Catholic motherhood,” Roberts explained.

“It doesn’t always have to be the lady that’s out front all the time but the one who could be quietly in the background, supporting their parish, helping their children, going a little extra mile for God,” she said.

Award recipients come from “all walks of life” and socioeconomic backgrounds, Roberts said.

“A lot of them have 10 kids. Some of them have one child. Some of them have children with special needs,” she said.

There’s one thing they all have in common — but it’s hard to put into words.

“They all have this special glow where really Mary is at the center of everything they do,” Roberts said.

The “delightful ladies” who receive these awards raise their children with the Catholic faith as a “solid foundation” while also helping their local parish, Roberts explained.

The award helps serve as an inspiration and a reminder.

“We want to shine the light on these women and to have them as examples for all the rest of us,” Roberts said.

Their example carries through from the home to the parish to the community.

“This is just our way of highlighting the faithful women who are boots to the ground, doing the Lord’s work, and keeping Mary at the center of their family,” Roberts said.