Faith guides Wayzata parishioner to Miss Minnesota title

By Dave Hrbacek The Catholic Spirit

Does God get involved in beauty pageants? As in helping a young woman win a crown?

Angelina Amerigo of St. Bartholomew in Wayzata thinks so. She points to a Scripture verse she read in 2021 while competing for the title of Miss Minnesota, a verse from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah that she embraced as a promise from the Lord for her success.

“I wrote it down on a sticky note. It said, ‘When the time is right, I, the Lord will make it happen’ — Isaiah 60:22,” said Amerigo, 22, who attended St. Bartholomew School, in addition to being a member of the parish with her parents, Melinda and Victor, and older sister, Isabella. “I looked at that verse every single day leading up to Miss Minnesota 2022.”

After preparing for months, which included going to Eucharistic adoration weekly, she finished as first runner-up. She tried again this year, and on June 23 at Treasure Island Resort and Casino in Welch she won the crown and an opportunity to spend a year traveling the state to make public appearances and serve as an ambassador for the Miss America organization. She will compete in the Miss America pageant in January.

As she participates in parades and other civic events in the coming months, she plans to infuse her faith into conversations and interactions with the many Minnesotans she will meet. In a culture that can sometimes be hostile to God and the Catholic faith, she has no fear or hesitation to bring the Gospel wherever she goes. Visible expressions of her Catholic beliefs are the cross ring and Miraculous Medal she wears along with her Miss Minnesota sash and crown.

“My faith has definitely been a firm foundation of everything and anything I’ve done,” she said. “People who were watching my journey who I’ve never even met before have messaged me and just said really sweet words about how inspiring it was that I brought my faith along on my journey.”

Just days after she captured the crown, she got a chance to put that faith into action when she visited patients at Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul.

“It was Gillette’s annual carnival for the firefighters of the Local 21st,” she said. “We had the opportunity to visit some rooms, so I prayed over some kids.”

Before doing so, she asked families for permission, and met a father who was “really surprised that someone in a crown and a sash” would bring faith to this encounter.

“I go back to this value of the crown and the sash not defining me, but I define the role,” she said. “Miss Minnesota is going to look different for every single person that steps into this role, and they’re going to bring their own personal values and convictions. And I think with the opportunity comes the availability to just pour who I am into the organization while I have the title.”

Amerigo’s quest to become Miss Minnesota began in 2019 right after she

FUNERAL CHAPELS, INC.

Robbinsdale • Plymouth • St. Louis Park

Please cut out form below and mail to: 3888 West Broadway • Robbinsdale, MN 55422

Name

Address City State Zip o Please mail information regarding pre-need funeral arrangements. o Please have a funeral director call me with information regarding prearrangements. My phone number is graduated from high school. She had been doing competitive dance since she was 5 years old and was looking for a new way to use those skills. She had heard about the Miss America organization when she was a junior but didn’t follow up until after graduation. That summer, she found out about a local competition in northern Minnesota and decided to enter.

While in Florida with her family at a national dance competition, she filled out the necessary paperwork in a hotel lobby just days before the pageant. During that trip, she took a walk on a beach and noticed “a bunch of trash.” That led to research and the eventual selection of her service initiative, which is one component of pageant competition, along with other things like talent, which is where she applied her background in dance.

As she travels throughout Minnesota, she will try to raise awareness of the issue she spoke about during the Miss Minnesota competition — reduction of one-time-use plastics. Her theme is “One bottle, one straw, one bag at a time.”

“(In) the Miss America organization, one of our core values is service,” said Amerigo, who will be a senior this fall at Minnesota State University Moorhead majoring in digital media relations. “So, my service initiative is all about the reduction of one-time-use plastics and promoting the sustainable nature of our oceans, lakes and rivers, and, furthermore, creating sustainable roadmaps for … companies and businesses.”

She may try to pursue a career in this field after she graduates and is considering a master’s program in supply chain management to help achieve that goal.

One of the unexpected blessings of pageant participation for Amerigo has been the friendships she has formed with other competitors as well as previous winners of the Miss Minnesota title. Among them is Kathryn Kueppers, a fellow Minnesota Catholic who won the title in 2019 and has attended some of the pageants Amerigo has competed in, including the finals of this year’s Miss Minnesota event, which took place over four days. Amerigo was blessed by and joyful about the outpouring of support.

“I got so many text messages of Scripture verses and (people) praying for me,” said Amerigo, who teaches at DelMonico Dance in Lakeland, along with her sister. “I think (Kueppers) even mentioned she was praying a Hail Mary when I won. And my best friend was actually praying a rosary all the way in New York. … There was definitely a lot of faith support.”

As she looks ahead to the Miss America pageant in January and the rest of her time as Miss Minnesota, her focus will be on “having an open mind and open heart to how I’ll be used and what that will lead to.”

“I was walking around the house the other day and thinking about goals for Miss America,” she said. “And, I just said, ‘You know, Lord, whatever you want to do and however you want to use me, let’s do it.’”

2023

• WI Shrines (Fr. Grundman/Fr.Mischke) Sept 18 20

• Midwest Shrines (Fr. Todd) Sept 25 Oct 2

• WI Shrines Solemnity Day (Deacon Dan) Oct 8 11

• Branson Miracle of Christmas Nov 30 Dec 3 2024

• Guadalupe MEX/El Salvador (Fr. Omar) February

• Ireland Pub/Pew (Fr. Peter/Fr. Popp) April 2 12

• Holy Land (Fr. Fitz/Fr. Clinton) April 11 22

• Eucharistic Revival/IN (St. Cloud Diocese) July 17 21

• CA Mission/Wineries (Fr. Binsfeld) October

Fitz

• Poland & Prague October

1 877 453 7426