ATLANTA—Donna Brisse will be the guest speaker at the Magnificat gathering for women on Saturday morning, Aug. 21, as the ministry looks forward to gathering again in person for the first time since March 2020.

The Magnificat meal will be held at Holy Cross Church in Atlanta from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. All women are invited to attend.

Inspired by the Visitation account in Luke’s Gospel of Mary and Elizabeth sharing their faith joyfully, Magnificat is an opportunity for women to share a meal and a time of praise and worship and to hear the speaker’s testimony of God’s actions and presence in her daily life.

Donna Brisse is a cradle Catholic, born and raised in Pittsburgh, who became an Atlanta resident early in her marriage to her husband, Patrick. They have three children and two grandchildren and are parishioners of Holy Cross.

She has been active in the Catholic charismatic renewal for many years and is a longtime member of the Servants of the Lord prayer community at Corpus Christi Church in Stone Mountain.

Brisse will share how the Holy Spirit has been active in her life, often in ways that she failed to perceive until much later. The sixth of seven children, her devout Catholic mother died when she was 3. God sent people to help her and her siblings along during the rough times, “angels of mercy” to provide guidance and encouragement.

In college, she met Patrick while studying in France. After they married, they spent two years in Algeria. When they finally settled in Atlanta, the Lord began tugging at Brisse’s heart to become more than a lukewarm Catholic. Her spiritual life changed dramatically when she was baptized in the Holy Spirit. She has always been drawn to the Lord through Spirit-filled music, and praise and worship continue to fill her life with joy.

A retired reading teacher and homeschool mother, she tutors refugee children and seeks to use the gifts of the Spirit in healing and intercessory prayer, eucharistic adoration, and service to the body of Christ.

Magnificat is a Catholic women’s ministry that began in the United States in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and has spread throughout the world, including Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. Chapters are under the guidance of the local bishop. The Atlanta chapter has been active since 1992. Until the pandemic, the chapter hosted four Magnificat meals each year. Three virtual events were created during the months when meals could not be held.

Magnificat’s purpose is to help women open more to the Holy Spirit through a deeper commitment of their lives to Jesus as Lord and to impart the Holy Spirit to one another by their love, service and sharing the good news of salvation.

Reservations for the meal are $20 and are made in advance. No tickets are returned. Check-in is at the door for those with reservations only.

Those who have provided contact information to the ministry will receive an invitation by email and can register online. To be added to that list and receive an invitation by email, please send a request to joyfulvisitation@gmail.com.

To register by mail, please send your name, address, parish if applicable, contact information, and a check made payable to Magnificat Joyful Visitation to Debbie DuPont, 315 Rose Court, SW, Lilburn, GA 30047. Registration closes on Saturday, Aug. 14, and mailed reservations must be received by that date.

At this time, the guidelines of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, which are based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, say that those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are not required to wear masks during parish activities. The unvaccinated are required to wear a mask.

The doors open early. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m. Holy Cross is located at 3773 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, less than a mile from the Chamblee Tucker Road exit on Interstate 285.

Priests and religious are invited to attend free of charge, but reservations are still requested to plan for the meal. Since the morning is designed to speak to the hearts of women free of distractions, it is respectfully requested that young children not attend.