Hello everyone! My name is Mary, and I am so excited to be a missionary with Con-solatio! I am from Lake Elmo, Minnesota, and I have been going to Catholic School my whole life long. I recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Theology and minors in Philosophy, Studio Arts, and Catholic Social Tradition. Since high school, I have thought about becoming a missionary, but it did not seem to be a reality until my last semester of college. Each path of employment that I was discovering did not seem to have the right fit for me. I realized that my true desire for my first post-grad year was to be a missionary. I heard about Con-solatio through a friend who is currently a missionary—Molly in India! As I was looking into various missionary programs, Con-solatio stood out because of its beautiful prayer life, intentional community, and commitment to being with those who are most vulnerable. I can tell that the Lord particularly curated Con-solatio for my heart, or rather, my heart for Con-solatio.

During middle school and into high school, I realized that I wanted to be poor with Christ who came poor to this world. I wanted to live a radical life for Him, and He kept increasing this attraction to a different way of life. As I entered college, I immersed myself in opportunities to serve the Church. In one significant way, I spent two months living with the Missionaries of Charity in Memphis, TN that changed my life. That summer brought about some beautiful changes in my heart. I realized that Christ was thirsting for me, and I was thirsting for Him. The women and children that I was seeing everyday changed me by showing Christ to me. They are the faces of Christ.

I leave on mission to be with Christ in His people—to let Him love me and to return His love back to Him. I go to understand that everything is a gift from Him, and to learn to give everything back to Him. I am so excited to invite others to join with me in giving everything to Him, whether that is by a financial or spiritual contribution. Thank you so much for your support, as I rely completely on the Lord working through you. I will be praying for all of you as I go! Thank you!