Blessed John Paul II said, "Each believer in Christ has the supreme duty to proclaim Christ to all peoples." As women, we have been created in a special way to do this, and as women in the New Evangelization, we find our vocation and mission in using this beauty bestowed on us in our creation to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. This talk will utilize the words of Pope Francis as laid out in his first apostolic exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium) to look at how we, as women, can joyfully fulfill our vocation to evangelize and it will show us how we have been given the ultimate model, the Star of the New Evangelization, Mary, to lead us. Not only is Mary the model disciple; she is the model evangelizer too.

Biography: Kelly Wahlquist is a dynamic and inspiring Catholic author and speaker whose gift of weaving personal stories and Scripture together with practical advice allows her audience to enter more fully into what Pope Francis has called us to do—to live the joy of the Gospel with missionary zeal.

She is the Assistant Director for the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, a popular 2-year program that serves Catholic adults in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota.

Kelly is the founder of WINE: Women In the New Evangelization, a women’s ministry that invigorates Catholic parishes through inspiring, supporting, and nurturing women in the faith and by equipping and mobilizing women as intentional disciples of Christ.

She is a contributing writer for CatholicMom.com and The Integrated Catholic Life —an eMagazine about integrating faith, family, and work. Her new book, Created to Relate: God’s Design for Peace & Joy, encourages and inspires women to live fully their beautiful God-given gifts for building relationships and shows how doing so can draw others into a relationship with Christ and lead to a life of peace and joy.

Kelly travels the country speaking on the New Evangelization in an effort to encourage all to spread the message of Jesus by living the joy of the Gospel. She enjoys speaking to all groups, but has a special affinity towards speaking at Catholic women’s conferences. She resides in Minnesota with her husband, Andy, and their three children.