AMY Coney Barrett is one of the top picks to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the US Supreme Court.
Here’s everything we know about her life with her husband, their children and the family’s controversial religious associations.
Amy Coney Barrett is married to fellow Notre Dame Law graduate Jesse M. Barrett.
Her husband was a former federal prosecutor and assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Indiana.
Jesse Barrett currently serves as a partner at law firm SouthBank Legal in South Bend, Indiana.
According to his website, he specializes in commercial litigation, internal investigations, and defense of white collar crime.
The couple live in South Bend.
The couple have seven children ranging in age from eight to 19.
In order of age, they are Emma (19), Vivian (16), Tess (16), John Peter (13), Liam (11), Juliet (9), and Benjamin (8).
Two were adopted from Haiti and one child has Down Syndrome and special needs.
Jesse Barrett spoke of his children at a Judiciary Committee back in 2017, saying “Emma is 16. The first apple of our eye”.
“Vivian, directly next to Emma, is 13. Vivian is our miracle. Vivian joined our family… She was born in Haiti. She came home when she was 14-months-old, and she weighed 11 pounds and she was so weak we were told she might never walk normally or speak. Today Vivian is a track star, and I assure you she has no trouble talking.
“Tess, sitting next to Vivian, is also 13-years-old. Both in 8th grade. She’s one of the most compassionate and determined people that I know.
“John Peter is 10. He was born in Haiti. He joined our family in 2010 when he was three years old after the devastating earthquake.
“Liam is 8. Typically curious 8-year-old. And Juliet is our spunky 6-year-old.
“Benjamin, our youngest, is five. He has special needs. That presents unique challenges for all of us. But I think all you need to know about Benjamin’s place in the family is summed up by the fact the other children unreservedly identify him as their favorite sibling.”
People of Praise is a small, tightly knit Christian group.
The Barrett’s and their families are said to be life-long members of the group.
Members of the group swear a lifelong oath of loyalty, called a covenant, to one another, and are assigned and are accountable to a personal adviser, called a “head” for men and a “handmaid” for women, the New York Times reports.
These advisors are said to give direction on important decisions, including whom to date or marry, where to live, whether to take a job or buy a home, and how to raise children.
The group is also said to teach that husbands are the heads of their wives and should take authority over the family.
Founded in 1971, the community “grew out of the Catholic charismatic renewal movement that began in the late 1960s and adopted Pentecostal practices such as speaking in tongues, belief in prophecy and divine healing,” NYT reports.
The group’s website reads: “People of Praise is a charismatic Christian community. We admire the first Christians who were led by the Holy Spirit to form a community. Those early believers put their lives and their possessions in common, and there were no needy persons among them.”
