Welcome to Fairest Love Families! This series highlights families throughout the United States who have a love for their Catholic faith and a devotion to the Blessed Mother.

Introducing Kristin and George Kocan! Here’s a little bit about them and how they met:

We are both from the Chicago area; I grew up in a northwest suburb and George grew up in the city.  George was born of WWII refugees in Austria; they migrated to Chicago when George was about 6.  George and I met at the University of Illinois in Chicago in my freshman and his senior year.  I was a practicing Catholic who had good formation from Catholic schools (this was in the 50’s and 60’s) and I was delighted that George was also.  We really hit it off and got married (in the Church, of course) the summer after my freshman year.  We had a string of children right away, but that did not stop me from getting my undergraduate and graduate degrees and George from getting his graduate degrees.  By the time we had those degrees we had 5 children and then were blessed with 2 more.  We now have 36 grandchildren with one more on the way.

Do you have any religious traditions that you keep as a family?

Quite a few. George’s dad was Polish, born in Poland.  Although he, himself, was not religious, his family kept the Polish customs for Christmas and Easter.  This was so very appealing to me that we pulled in customs for other holidays.  We celebrate all the Marian holidays that I know about!  Special attention is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (not Polish, but I was born on that day so my mom had me baptized Mary Christine, though my legal name remained Kristin Freya).

What role does your faith play in your family life?

My faith is my life… There is no separation for me.  Nearly every room in our house has some picture of our Lady and/or a Crucifix.  Work is prayer for me, rest is prayer for me.  I also am a “daily Masser”.  I am leaning heavily on Our Lord’s guidance to be optimistic and love others, leading them to Christ in some way.

What is your favorite family devotion?

Grace before meals, which also include a Hail Mary for special intentions.  Our children are grown, but our grace at meals includes many of them who visit for dinner on Sunday and/or Friday.

What was a moment, personally or within your family, that you felt Our Lady working in your life?

When I perceived that I had a vocation to Opus Dei.  She also helped me to understand the 3 day loss with the eventual finding in the temple in an unforgettable way.

Share a moment when the Blessed Mother has helped you through a difficult time or a challenge you faced as a family…

My eldest daughter died at age 45 (she also has 7 children and the youngest was 3 years old at the time) after struggling for over a year with lymphoma.  It is true as the old Marian hymn says “Oh, what peace to her children, mid sorrows and trials to know, that the love of their Mother is ever a solace for woe” and another hymn “how dark without Mary life’s journey would be!”

What about your faith do you hope to impart on your children?

Connect with saints you are drawn to and see them as true “helpers in heaven” for you.

How has Mary been a mother to you?

She let me sense the enormity of love she has for me. It is an amazing thing to have always known (though always discovering anew) that Christ’s mother is our mother and that His desire is to have it that way.