A ‘gift for the Church and beyond’

After 31-year-old Michelle Duppong died in 2015, her parents started receiving cards and letters, quickly amassing about 500.

“Two hundred of the cards, probably, had significant stories about how Michelle impacted their life, bringing them into the Church, conversion, reversion, just her friendship, her joy, and they were profound,” her mother, Mary Ann, said. “We ended up with these from all over the country.”

Those testimonies were an indication of the path the Lord would set for their family in the years since, sharing the story of Michelle’s holy life as she moves along the path to sainthood.

Ken and Mary Ann Duppong spoke about their daughter, named a Servant of God in 2022, in early October at several locations throughout the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The Duppongs share miraculous stories about Michelle with a mixture of Upper Midwest farm family matter-of-factness and a lingering sense of awe at God’s providence.

“She was a gift not only to us, but we know for the Church and beyond,” Mary Ann said.

The hope of heaven

Michelle grew up on the family farm in Haymarsh, North Dakota, working in the vegetable gardens, bottle-feeding lambs and doing her part of the rest of the farm chores.

It’s hard to pinpoint any childhood indications that Michelle was especially holy or exceptionally virtuous, Mary Ann said. Faith was simply a daily priority for the entire family of eight.

The Duppongs prayed together. Both parents were involved in teaching religious education classes at their parish. The whole family pitched in for Knights of Columbus events, pro-life rallies and presentations, taking care of the small country church near their farm and hosting after-Mass potlucks.

“It wasn’t an option if you wanted to go — we’re a family, and we would do these things. But then they had other good families they met there and became friends and to this day they still have that connection,” Mary Ann said. “So it was family praying together, playing together.”

Michelle studied horticulture at North Dakota State University, where she was involved in the Newman Center and was introduced to the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. After graduating in 2006, she became a full-time FOCUS missionary on college campuses, including the inaugural team at the University of Mary in Bismarck.

“She was always bringing people out to the farm. She was always finding an excuse to share faith, family and farming with her peers, and they loved coming,” Mary Ann said.

After six years with FOCUS, Michelle started a new position as Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck. She began experiencing abdominal pain in 2014 and was initially diagnosed with ovarian cysts. The pain worsened, though, and in December 2014, she was found to have stage 4 colon cancer that had spread throughout her abdomen.

The last year of Michelle’s life was a time of intense physical suffering, her parents shared, but because of her deep relationship with Jesus, she was able to offer up the pain for others’ intentions. She also used her time in the hospital to reach out to others, striking up conversations with the doctors, nurses, housekeeping staff and fellow patients, they said.

“Instead of focusing on her own pain, she had roommates in the hospital. She’d meet people out in the waiting rooms, in the procedure rooms. She would engage in these conversations of asking them, ‘how are you doing?’ because she knew not all of them had the faith she had,” Mary Ann said. “It was such a gift for us to witness how she could evangelize all those people she came in contact with.”

Michelle was brought home on hospice in early December 2015. She died at home on Christmas Day at age 31.

After her death, Ken and Mary Ann learned just how far their daughter’s influence had reached, hearing story after story of people she shared the Gospel with and seeing firsthand how many individuals were impacted by her life. People also started telling them that they had received visions of Michelle appearing to them in prayer, they said.

Those testimonies, and their own family experiences, have led the Duppongs to believe that Michelle is indeed in heaven, they said, which has been one of the biggest blessings of her cause for sainthood.

“(Heaven) is what we hope for all our family,” Mary Ann said.

Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck, North Dakota, celebrated Mass on Nov. 1, 2022 to mark the opening of Michelle’s canonization cause. During the Mass, the postulator’s petition was formally accepted and published; the diocesan phase of the investigation began and Michelle was granted the title “Servant of God.”

Michelle is buried in the cemetery of St. Clement Oratory, about a quarter-mile from the family farm. Individuals and groups, including college students, frequently make pilgrimages to visit and pray at her grave.

Without their Catholic faith, Michelle’s death would be a much harder burden to bear, Ken said.

“But being a Catholic, we know what suffering is worth, and suffering means a lot to God, and He uses it for helping others,” he said. “Just knowing what Michelle went through, it still brings tears, but knowing what happened after she passed away, seeing what He’s doing — it’s so comforting. We’re humbled by it.”

The Duppongs are not professional speakers but “simple farm folk from western North Dakota,” Mary Ann said, but that won’t stop them from sharing Michelle’s story — which is really the story of God’s love for us.

“All I know is I have a short window of time before I won’t be able to do it, and I just know so many people need hope,” Mary Ann said. “They need to know Jesus is real. He’s with you. He puts people in your path to help you carry your cross. He never expects you to carry it alone. All those things are there to draw you closer to Him, and His promises are to lift you, not to take you down. That’s what we’re praying for — the next life, not this life.”

A saint in our day

Catherine Burg, a parishioner at Our Lady Help of Christians in Weingarten, first learned about Michelle from a magazine story and felt an immediate kinship as a “sister in Christ.”

“This beautiful girl just touched my heart — her story, her courage, her example, her love for Jesus and Mary, her radiant joy,” she said. “I wanted to share her life with everybody I could find.”

Burg met the Duppongs in May at the annual St. Louis Marian Conference and invited them to come back to the St. Louis area to share their family’s story with even more people. The Burgs hosted the Duppongs for several days as they spoke around the archdiocese.

“As a mother, you think, oh gosh, to go through that suffering with every presentation — it’s like it never goes away. And that has to be hard,” Burg said. “But they have hope, and they know that their daughter’s life was something special and they have to share it. It wasn’t just meant for them.”

Patty Ford, who attends St. Anne Church in French Village, was invited to the Duppongs’ presentation by Burg.

“It’s just great to have somebody that we can see as an example that’s a saint in our day,” she said. She was struck by “all the hope that’s there, even through all the suffering. This life is not it, and joy just totally came off of her, knowing she was living for the next life.”

Mike Whelan, a parishioner at St. Raphael the Archangel in St. Louis, drove down to Bloomsdale to listen to the Duppongs’ presentation. Whelan previously underwent treatment for kidney cancer and recently started a new set of treatments for a possible recurrence.

As he shared the news with his siblings, his brother let him know that a priest was praying for his healing through the intercession of Michelle Duppong. Whelan started reading about Michelle on the internet and had begun making tentative plans to make a pilgrimage to her grave when he found out that her parents would be in his own neck of the woods.

Hearing about Michelle’s life, especially her own response to the suffering of cancer, has inspired Whelan to be more intentional with his prayer. He’s asking for her intercession and has felt her encouraging him to have endurance for the journey, he said.

“I’m blessed because I’ve never really had a lot of pain or anything else like that,” he said. “But whatever small thing it is, I can offer it up to Jesus, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Servant of God Michelle Duppong

Learn more about Michelle Duppong’s cause for canonization, see her videos and writings, and sign up for updates at michelleduppongcause.org.

Watch the documentary “Radiating Joy: The Michelle Duppong Story” at: seekreplay.com/video/296

Prayer for the intercession of Michelle Duppong

Jesus, I praise you and thank you for the life of Your servant Michelle Duppong. In her life and suffering, she joined You in Your thirst for souls and embraced the cross offered to her. Following her example, I ask for the special grace of…and, if it brings you greater glory, that she be honored by Your church. Jesus, I ask this in Your Holy Name. Amen.

Please report any special favors granted to duppongcause@bismarckdiocese.com.

Canonization process

Servant of God: Five years must pass from the time of a candidate’s death before a cause may begin. The local bishop investigates the candidate’s life, writings and reputation for holiness after their death. The person’s cause is presented to and accepted by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The title Servant of God is given to a candidate for sainthood whose cause is still under investigation.

Venerable: Once approved, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints declares that the person has heroically lived the Christian virtues.

Beatification: The dicastery recognizes that the person is in heaven and is given the title Blessed. This requires that a miracle has taken place through the intercession of the person.

Canonization: A second miracle typically is needed to declare someone a saint. The pope confers with the cardinals of the Church, and a date for the saint’s canonization ceremony is determined.

To read more about the Church’s process of canonization and history of declaring saints, visit www.usccb.org/offices/public-affairs/saints.