Marie S. Corrigan, visionary and founder of Sophia Academy in Atlanta, will speak at the next Magnificat breakfast, set for Saturday, April 30.

Corrigan will speak about the many providential events that have influenced her life. After the premature birth of identical twin daughters, she embarked on a long journey of medical care for the surviving daughter, Caroline. When she could not find an appropriate educational setting for Caroline, she founded Sophia Academy in 1999. The only Christian school in the United States devoted to students with learning disabilities, the school offers a challenging multi-sensory academic program, along with Judeo-Christian teachings and principles. Not intending to start her own school, as she searched, she “found other families in need of a similar environment.” The philosophy of Sophia Academy is that “every child is a unique gift from God.” Corrigan serves as the director of the school.

Corrigan, who is a parishioner at the Cathedral of Christ the King, has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Medical College of Georgia and has worked at the Crawford Long Hospital in the open heart and vascular surgery intensive care unit. She and her husband, who is an invasive cardiologist at Saint Joseph Hospital, Atlanta, have four children.

In addition to her work as mother and educator, Corrigan also volunteers at Saint Joseph Hospital, the Cathedral and various philanthropic organizations.

Her talk to the breakfast for Catholic women will be based on the Scripture from Jeremiah 29: 11: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.”

The breakfast will be held at Killian Hall, 908 Killian Hill Road, in Lilburn, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets for $10 apiece are available by mail beginning April 3.

Ticket requests must be postmarked by April 20. Please mail a ticket request, along with name, address, parish name and telephone number, and a stamped, self-addressed return envelope to Lynda Cupell, 2140 Briarwillow Drive, NE, Atlanta, GA 30345. Make checks payable to Magnificat Joyful Visitation. Tickets will be returned to the sender by mail.

Seating is limited, and no tickets will be sold at the door.

Magnificat is an international ministry to Catholic women which began in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and which now has chapters around the country and in the Caribbean and Europe. Based on the words of the Magnificat, which Mary spoke to Elizabeth, it is a gathering of women in a spirit of faith, prayer and gratitude to God.

The Magnificat includes a breakfast for women, a music ministry, time for intercessory prayer, and a speaker’s talk on the wonderful action of God in her life.

All women are invited to attend the breakfast and to bring others to hear the story of faith given by the speaker and to share in the time of friendship and prayer.

The Atlanta Magnificat chapter, which is more than 10 years old, is directed by a service team coordinated by Susie Goodrow of St. John Neumann Church in Lilburn.

Since the day is designed to speak to the hearts of women, free of distractions, it is respectfully requested that young children not be in attendance.