The Cosmo Girl and the Cardinal

I came across this piece by Dawn Eden about Helen Gurley Brown, the woman who revolutionized "Cosmo."  Although I found the entire article a good read, I would have to highlight the portion that most struck me -- an encounter that the late Mrs. Brown had with now-Cardinal Dolan.

Although she attended Protestant church services during her youth, Helen Gurley Brown as an adult dismissed religious faith. She was fond of saying that “good girls go to heaven; bad girls go everywhere.” All the more surprising, then, that two years before the end of her life, she was moved to donate $1 million of her bad-girl fortune to a heavenly cause. Instead of writing yet another check to NARAL, she opted to give the seven-figure sum to Cardinal Hayes High School, a Catholic school for boys in the Bronx.

For Brown, the gift led to an invitation that must have been unusual even for a celebrity used to high-ticket events: an opportunity to attend a special Mass and ceremony at Cardinal Hayes in honor of another donor, Regis Philbin. And so it was that on an autumn morning in 2010, the 88-year-old widow, who by then required the support of a cane, was drawn into a most unexpected waltz.

To learn what happened, read the rest.