Upcoming Courses

What happens when a woman, understanding who God created her to be, permits herself to be formed after the heart of Mary and then brings that Marian way of being into her sphere of influence?

She begins to embody the Marian way of Catholic women’s leadership—a way of leading that flows from who she is in Christ, is shaped by the virtues and dispositions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and finds its fulfillment in mission.

Formed to Lead: The Marian Way of Catholic Women’s Leadership is a five-week foundational course that explores this distinctly Marian vision of women and leadership through the five characteristics of true devotion identified by St. Louis de Montfort: interior, tender, holy, constant, and disinterested.

Rooted in the principle agere sequitur esse—action follows being—the course begins with the conviction that authentic leadership flows from who a woman is and who she is becoming in Christ. Participants will explore the Christian anthropology of woman—her nature, dignity, gifts, and mission in God’s plan—and consider how these realities inform and shape her particular capacity for leadership.

Looking to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the preeminent exemplar of womanhood and faithful discipleship, participants will study how the five characteristics of true devotion, together with Mary’s principal virtues, provide a pattern for the interior formation of the Catholic woman leader. The lives and witness of women saints will demonstrate how this Marian way of being can take flesh in different personalities, vocations, circumstances, and forms of leadership, with particular attention given to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and her profound insights into the nature and vocation of woman.

Integrating Catholic theology and spirituality with practical principles of leadership, the course will consider how a woman shaped after the heart of Mary leads from an interior life grounded in God, a character formed in virtue, a steadfast fidelity to truth and mission, and a generous gift of self for the good of others.

Ultimately, the course invites each woman to consider not simply how she leads, but who God is calling her to become as she leads—a woman shaped and formed after the heart of Mary, whose leadership flows from a Marian way of being and draws her more deeply into Mary’s mission: to bring Jesus Christ to the world and the world to Jesus Christ.

Participants will read required texts, view weekly instructional videos, respond to weekly posts based on readings, and attend Zoom sessions each Wednesday from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM ET to discuss insights gained through the readings and have questions answered.