More than a month after Cathy Tenedorio’s son, Matthew, was killed during the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans, she’s relying on her faith to get through rapid waves of emotion.
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On Sunday, Tenedorio and her husband, Louis, were invited to the 2025 Super Bowl along with first responders and other victims’ family members to honor the lives of those lost.
She told CBN News that the scene was “very moving” to be part of.
“They honored the 14 victims,” Tenedorio said. “It was just beautiful.”
She said the entire experience was deeply “comforting” and made her and her husband “feel special,” as she recognized there are many other parents who face similar pain but who don’t get a lot of attention or help publicly in navigating such dynamics.
The families were joined by members of the New Orleans Fire Department, New Orleans EMS, and New Orleans Police, who held photos of the 14 victims during the coin toss.
“I’m very, very honored and blessed,” Tenedorio said. “I’m very humbled by it, and I just … wish this could happen for everyone — that everyone’s life was celebrated like my son’s life has been.”
She also shared how President Donald Trump, who was on-site at the Super Bowl, came down to meet with her and other victims’ family members. She called the experience “very awesome.”
“It was a quick moment, but he was very nice,” she said, noting how Trump shook her father’s hand and thanked him for his past military service. “It was very, very, very awesome.”
Tenedorio said she sensed that it was very important for Trump to be there with the victims and that he could have stayed up in the suites but took the time to take photos and talk with the families and first responders.
“I feel like it was very important to him,” she said.
Tenedorio also spoke about how she’s personally faring after Matthew’s death, noting she’s holding up as best she can and relying on her faith to navigate pain and uncertainty.
“I go to church every Sunday,” she said. “I read my Bible. I pray. I’m just … holding onto my faith.”
While she and her husband are back to work and adjusting to a new normal, the trauma of what unfolded continues to sting. She’s finding peace and solace in her church and community though.
Tenedorio also expressed gratitude for finding closure as well, crediting God for connecting her with the policeman who was with Matthew before his death. She called her interactions with this cop a “miracle,” as she finally learned what unfolded and was given the details she previously sought yet did not have.
“We don’t have the autopsy report quite yet,” she said, expressing gratitude for the officer she said prayed for her son amid the unthinkable. “We were at least a wonderful man. He’s a Catholic, and he’s a very wonderful person, and he prayed for him … it’s just too beautiful.”
Tenedorio continued, “It brings me peace. I don’t need any more answers than that. The manner of his death is homicide. So that’s never going to change. … He’s at rest. He’s at peace and a wonderful, kind man was with him making that transition.”
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