Guest Speakers, April 1, 2017

Joy Pinto
"From Ordinary to Extra-ordinary"

Joy Pinto and her husband Jim co-host EWTN’s popular weekly marriage and family show, At Home with Jim and Joy.   She has also co-anchored EWTNs coverage for the West Coast Walk for Life, and the March for Life Canada.   Joy also serves as a EWTN Media Missionary.
 
She is the Executive Director of Her Choice Birmingham Women’s Center where she mobilizes every possible resource to encourage mother’s to choose life, protect children at risk and to offer post abortion healing.  

Joy was born and raised in Guttenberg, New Jersey and is one of eight children. Married to Jim Pinto for 39 years; they are blessed with four children and sixteen grandchildren.

Joy is a cancer survivor and has experienced joy in the midst of suffering.  It has been a difficult journey, but one she would not have missed for anything. With the depth of her faith strengthened, she is more in love with her grooms, Jesus and Jim. Joy is a Christian optimist and lives in the assurance that, the best is yet to come!

                                           www.jimandjoypinto.com

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Susan Conroy
"Mother Theresa's Lessons of Love and Holiness"
 
Susan Conroy is an author, speaker, television host. She first journeyed to India between her junior and senior years at Dartmouth College after being inspired by Mother Teresa’s efforts there on behalf of the Poorest of the Poor.
 
She journeyed alone to Calcutta with the dream of helping Mother Teresa to care for the destitute in children’s orphanages and in the Home for the Dying.

She developed a friendship with Mother Teresa which lasted throughout the course of eleven years, and her experiences are chronicled in her first book: Mother Teresa’s Lessons of Love & Secrets of Sanctity, which was written with Mother Teresa’s own blessing and approval.  It was published in 2003.  
 
Susan has made numerous television appearances, for local as well as worldwide audiences.  She hosted a 13-part full-season series called “Speaking of Saints” on EWTN, a global television network that reaches over 200 million households worldwide.  She welcomed EWTN to Maine to tape a new series about finding Jesus Christ in the world today and thus finding eternal salvation.  These new episodes were filmed along the Coast of Maine as well as in view of Maine’s tallest peak, Mount Katahdin.  It is called “Coming to Christ,” and it began airing in 2014.  Susan was asked to host five additional shows about “Coming to Christ” geared to young adults and incorporating young adults in each new episode; it debuted on EWTN in 2016.
 
Susan travels across the United States and to other countries to speak of her experiences, to share our Faith, and to encourage joy-filled service to those who are in need of mercy.
 
In addition to touring and speaking about Mother Teresa’s lessons of love and holiness, Susan translates books from French into English.  The most popular of all is the translation of a book written in 1881 about The End of the Present World & the Mysteries of the Future Life.  This book had a profound influence on the life and spirituality of “the greatest saint of modern times,” Saint Therese of Lisieux, a Doctor of the Church.  Saint Therese said that reading this book was one of the greatest graces of her life.
 
Susan recently published a book based on the new television series and sharing its title: Coming to Christ: Resting in His Love.  She also released a very personal story about her kind, loving and gentle mother: a large coffee-table picture book titled A Legacy of Love.  It contains over 600 family photos and the nearly-500-pages are filled with her parents’ own “lessons of love and secrets of sanctity” for family life.

 
   Most recently, in 2016, Susan released a treasure
   entitled Praying with Mother Teresa, filled with beautiful
   quotations by Mother Teresa and various other saints,
   some never-before-published photographs of our newly-
   canonized Saint, as well as prayers that Mother Teresa
   herself prayed.

“I am praying for you that in you and through your works God be glorified.” 
– Mother Teresa, M.C.
 
www.susanconroy.com

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Judy Landrieu Klein
"Holy Hope:   Is There Any Other Kind?"

Judy is an author, theologian and inspirational speaker. 

She was busy raising five children and studying for a PhD in Bioethics when incredible tragedy and miraculous glory simultaneously struck her life. It happened when her late husband Bernie suffered a massive heart attack and had a near death experience—then came back from “the dead” to tell her about it.  His long stay in the ICU, profound conversion and beautiful, holy death—and its impact on her own spiritual life–prompted her to write the book, Miracle Man.  The spiritual memoir was awarded the Catholic Writers guild “Seal of Approval” and was an Amazon Kindle Bestseller in Catholicism.  That opened up a new path in her life as a writer, blogger and inspirational speaker.  Who knew???  Well…. God did! 

A “revert” to Catholicism, Judy received a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas in the Jubilee Year 2000. She carried out post-graduate doctoral studies in Bioethics at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athanaeum in Rome. Judy served as an adjunct professor of Theology at Our Lady of Holy Cross College in New Orleans for seven years.   She received the mandatum from Archbishop Alfred Hughes in 2004.

Judy’s most recent book, Mary’s Way: The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God, was published last August by Ave Maria Press and CatholicMom.com.  Judy’s other published works include  Living Water: Understanding The Gift Of New Life Through Baptism and Sez Who: Why Church Authority Established By Christ Is So Important To Us Today.  She's also a featured writer in a book of 2016 daily meditations recently published by CatholicMom.com and Ave Maria Press.

Judy served as co-host of Radio Maria’s Apologetics Live program for 4 1/2 years. Additionally, she has appeared on numerous  television and radio programs, including EWTN’s Women of Grace, Focus Worldwide Television’s Focus, Ave Maria Radio’s Kresta In The Afternoon and Teresa Tomeo’s Catholic Connection.  A featured speaker at many faith-based events, including Magnificat Women’s Ministry Breakfasts, Legatus dinners, and Theology on Tap meetings, Judy was a keynote speaker at the St. Louis Marian Conference and the Fullness of Truth Conference in 2016.

Judy is the founder of Memorare Ministries, which is dedicated to bringing a message of hope and encouragement to those who are suffering. She is married to Dr. Mark Gelis, a Pastoral Counselor, and is the proud mother of five children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Judy’s blog, Holy Hope, can be found at www.memorareministries.com. She also blogs at Aleteia, CatholicMom.com, for the Catholic Writers Guild, and at Catholic365.com.

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 Music and ministry for the feminine heart.
                  www.behisown.com

They are musicians with a focus on women's ministry. Through music, speaking, blogs and videos they hope to inspire women to become all that God has created them to be.

His Own was formed by three friends who wanted to combine their love for Jesus, passion for music and desire to proclaim the joy of the feminine heart. In a world where women are exploited, misused, and misguided, they desire that their music and ministry will inspire women to come before the Lord as they are, to encounter His unique love for them, and to be reminded of the eternal measure of their feminine dignity and worth.


Kara, a native of New Orleans, LA, has spent over 10 years traveling the globe, sharing her testimony and music. She has released 5 original albums, won 6 Unity Awards by the United Catholic Music and Video Association, and has appeared on four international television programs. Encountering countless women with the same struggle to find their true identity in Christ lit a fire in her heart to help found His Own, which she hopes will inspire many throughout the world to seek, know and discover the unconditional love of Jesus.


Maria was born in Kentucky and began singing, playing piano and writing music by the age of six. In college she led worship for venues such as Steubenville conferences and World Youth Days, and traveled internationally playing a variety of genres including jazz, classical, country and classic rock. Maria has always been passionate about health and wellness, and when she discovered the teachings of Saint John Paul the Great’s Theology of the Body, she became ever more passionate about sharing the dignity, worth and beauty of the human person.


Christine is proud to be one of the few native Nashvillians and the fourth of ten children. After college, she began singing at faith rallies, Youth 2000s, Ignite Your Torch and Glory Nights in Nashville, but felt a call to do a ministry where women would be uplifted, inspired and affirmed in their femininity. Through understanding the gift that we are as women, she felt like she has found a joy to living—and longs to share it!