ATLANTA—Marion Metz, who has a passion for working with families and the youth, will be the guest speaker at the Magnificat gathering for women to be held on Saturda, Nov. 12. 

The Magnificat meal will be held at Holy Cross Church in Atlanta from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All women are invited to attend. The Atlanta chapter of Magnificat hosts the gathering, which includes breakfast, a time of praise and worship with music and the speaker’s testimony. 

Marion Metz

The international Catholic women’s ministry is inspired by the joyful meeting of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, related in the Visitation account in the Gospel of St. Luke. 

Marion Metz is a cradle Catholic originally from Memphis, Tennessee. Her Catholic mother led their family in the faith, while her Methodist father supported her decisions regarding faith and the education of the children.  

Metz met her husband, Pat, in high school and they married right after college. They have 11 children and eight grandchildren and are parishioners at St. Monica Church in Duluth. 

Pat’s career in the Navy took them to Pensacola, Florida and then on to San Diego, California for nine years, where Marion was a special education teacher. When she was only 23 years old, her mother, the most influential person in her life, died suddenly. This caused them to stop and evaluate what they were doing with their lives and their plans for family and career. They made the difficult decision to leave the naval aviation community and move to Macon.  

“My story is not one of a big conversion, but a gift of having amazing people in my life to show me the way to say yes and to follow my faith!” she said.  

In Macon, God brought them to a great parish with a most holy priest who led them down a beautiful and fruitful path.  

Marion’s second son, Father Mike Metz, is an Army chaplain at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Gregory Metz, her fifth son, is a seminarian studying for the priesthood in Rome, Italy with the religious congregation, the Legion of Christ.  

“Having children discern religious vocations during the crisis in our church has brought joy and hope looking at the future of our faith,” she said.  

After moving to the Atlanta area, the family became involved in the Catholic lay movement, Regnum Christi, and Marion has planned mission trips, retreats, youth clubs and summer camps. She continues to be very active, always serving with the heart of Christ. 

The Magnificat ministry began in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and has spread throughout the world. Chapters are under the guidance of the local bishop. The Atlanta Joyful Visitation chapter has been active since 1992. The 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. 

Advance reservations for the gathering are required and can be made either online or through the mail. The cost is $25 per person. No tickets are sent. Check-in is at the door for those with reservations only. 

To register online, visit https://tinyurl.com/MagnificatNov. Those who have provided contact information to the ministry will receive an invitation by email. To be added to that list, 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. Online registration closes on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Mailed reservations must be postmarked by Oct. 31. 

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. For information, contact Debbie DuPont at 770-696-6216.