Alex Trebek Discusses The Power Of Prayer In The Midst Of Battling Cancer

Jeopardy!’s longtime host Alex Trebek has always been a faithful man, having grown up in a Catholic school. However, his faith has taken on a whole new meaning to him in the past year as he has dealt with a major health crisis. In the spring of last year, Trebek was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. His chances of beating the disease are slim. Since then, he has relied on his faith to sustain him and learned about what he feels is the power of prayer, according to Aleteia.

Trebek was recently honored at Fordham University and received the Fordham Founder’s Award. This award is granted to someone who has dedicated their career to the advancement of learning. This is, of course, what the trivia show Jeopardy! is all about. As he stood and addressed the crowd, Trebek emphasized the value of prayer.

“If there’s one thing I have discovered in the past year, it is (the) power of prayer. I learned it from the Jesuits when I was a kid, I learned it from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate when I was in boarding school,” he recalled.

Trebek has long been supportive of Jesuit-run education, helping to establish scholarships for less privileged students hoping to attend such schools and even sending both of his children to Jesuit colleges. After Trebek had finished his acceptance speech, Father McShane from Fordham led those in attendance in praying the Our Father for Trebek’s intentions.

Even though Trebek’s cancer is said to have come back in great resurgence, the television host holds on to his positivity and intends to continue to host as long as his health permits. He hasn’t picked out a particular day for his final episode but has done some thinking about what that day will look like and how he will address his loyal fans, many of whom have watched him on television for many years.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, Trebek has no big speech prepared. In fact, he needs only 30 seconds at the end of the show to say his final goodbyes.

“I’ve kind of, in my mind, rehearsed it already, and what I would do on that day is tell the director, time the show down to leave me 30 seconds at the end. That’s all I want,” he said.

As of now, no one has been selected to replace Trebek when he does eventually retire. The new host will certainly have big shoes to fill.