Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (July 17, 1990 – June 22, 2004), known as Mattie J.T. Stepanek, was an American
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
(or, as he wanted to be remembered, "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played") who published seven
best-selling books of poetry and peace essays. Before his death at the age of 13, he had become known as a peace advocate and motivational speaker.
Life and career
Matthew Stepanek was born on July 17, 1990. Stepanek's parents divorced when he was a child.
He was raised in
Upper Marlboro, Maryland and later lived in
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
.
His hero was former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
, who described Stepanek as "the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known".
Stepanek suffered from a rare disorder,
dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy
Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy of ...
. His three older siblings died from the same illness. The condition was unknown until his mother was diagnosed with
mitochondrial disease in 1992, after all four of the children had been born.
Stepanek was a poet and speaker, penning six volumes of bestselling Heartsongs poetry books, and a collection of peace essays that also became a bestseller.
He was the lyricist for
''Music Through Heartsongs''. The album was produced by
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, was released in 2003 and performed by
Billy Gilman, and which debuted at number 109 on the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
and at number 15 on
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
.
Death
Stepanek died at age 13 at
Children's National Medical Center
Children's National Hospital (formerly Children's National Health System, DC Children's Hospital, Children's National Medical Center) is a nationally ranked, freestanding, 323-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Washington D ...
in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2004. He was interred at
Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Roman Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is b ...
in
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...
.
Legacy
Shortly after Stepanek's death in 2004, the non-profit Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation was established by a group of citizens in Rockville, Maryland where he lived.
In 2008, the
We Are Family Foundation
The We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by musician Nile Rodgers in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Its mission is creating and supporting programs that inspire and educa ...
hosted the first annual international Three Dot Dash 'Just Peace Summit' based on the message Stepanek offered in his book "Just Peace".
On October 21, 2008, the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Park was dedicated in
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...
at an event attended by
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
,
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...
,
Billy Gilman and others. Pepper Choplin set words from Stepanek's final peace speech to music, and a 100-voice choir performed the debut of "Look Up Way Down". Central to the park is the "Peace Garden", which was designed based on the peace imagery Stepanek used in his essay book, ''Just Peace: A Message of Hope''. In the Peace Garden there is a life-size bronze statue of Stepanek and his service dog, Micah, surrounded by chess tables. Throughout the park are quotes and soundbites from Stepanek.
On June 6, 2010, a performance of "Heartsongs" took place at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, featuring Stepanek's poetry set to music by composer Joseph Martin, and performed by a 200 voice combined Children's Choir and other members of the Distinguished Concerts Singers International under the direction of conductor Stephen Roddy.
In 2011,
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
named Stepanek as one of her all time most memorable guests in the 25-year history of her show. Mattie convinced Oprah not to retire from the show on its 20th anniversary through an email, saying that "it's good for the world and good for
prah" During the final studio audience taping, Stepanek's mother and Oprah shared memories of Stepanek, discussed his life story in the "Messenger" book, and Oprah called him "a messenger for our times."
In 2013, the National Catholic Partnership on Disability posthumously honored Stepanek with the Youth/Young Adult Leadership Award.
At the behest of the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation, in 2013,
Barbara Mikulski, a
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from Maryland, sent a letter to US President Barack Obama, wanting to declare July 17 (Stepanek's birthday) a national peace day in Stepanek's honor. In July 2014,
Ben Cardin, a
junior United States senator from Maryland, joined Mikulski in introducing a House Resolution (#509), which was approved by the Senate and honors Stepanek's life and peace legacy. In 2017, the city of Rockville, Maryland voted to declare Mattie's July 17 birthday as "Peace Day" at a local level in perpetua, as a statement of support for the National Peace Day Campaign.
Cause for canonization
On September 21, 2012, the feast of
Matthew the Apostle
Matthew the Apostle,, shortened to ''Matti'' (whence ar, مَتَّى, Mattā), meaning "Gift of YHWH"; arc, , Mattai; grc-koi, Μαθθαῖος, ''Maththaîos'' or , ''Matthaîos''; cop, ⲙⲁⲧⲑⲉⲟⲥ, Mattheos; la, Matthaeus a ...
, the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Guild was officially initiated. The purpose of the guild is to gather information and investigate Stepanek's life for the possible cause of
canonization
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...
in the Catholic Church.
On June 22, 2014, a Memorial Mass at the
Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. commemorated the tenth anniversary of Stepanek's death. It was con-celebrated by several priests from the
Archdiocese of Washington
The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, P ...
.
Awards
* 1999 Melinda Lawrence International Book Award for inspirational written works from the Children's Hospice International, 1999
*2004
Nu Skin Enterprises's Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award
*2007 Independent Publisher's 'Peacemaker of the Year' Award
References
External links
The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation websiteInterview on public radio show "Humankind" by David Freudberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepanek, Mattie
1990 births
2004 deaths
21st-century American poets
American child activists
American child writers
Deaths from muscular dystrophy
Poets from Maryland
People from Rockville, Maryland
People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Silver Spring, Maryland)
20th-century American poets