Newsletter

November 2025

In the News:

Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Walking with Moms

Rebekah Ott

The Catholic Telegraph

October 7, 2025

"Walking with Moms in Need, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is spreading throughout the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The ministry’s goal is to support moms in obtaining their basic needs.

'It is a call from the bishops to each parish to do this,' said Chris Tonnis, chairperson of the Walking with Moms chapter for the Mary Queen of Heaven Family of Parishes. 'We’re serving the women right in our neighborhood. It’s meant for each parish to be known as a place to go and for every parishioner to know how to serve the moms in need.'

'A parish has to evaluate what is available to women in their neighborhood and to determine [the gap],' continued Tonnis. 'What we have are these families who live month to month, and they just need a little extra help.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish first brought the ministry to Cincinnati, when then Father (now Bishop) Earl Fernandes was pastor. Tonnis, a parishioner of St. James the Greater, White Oak, brought it to her parish family after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

'I thought, this is a watershed moment,' Tonnis said. 'We have to do something different. I found the USCCB’s Walking with Moms in Need [ministry], then emailed [Father Jim Wedig, our pastor] … . He said, ‘Yes, we need to do this, and not in two years. We need to do this now.’

The parish ministry consists of a volunteer group dedicated to donating every month. Among its larger initiatives is a baby shower for a referred mom, three of which are typically held annually in a parish center.

'We contact the mom, meet with her, get to know her a little bit, and set up a baby registry,' said Gina Schrand, head of the Mary Queen of Heaven baby shower team. 'We shower her with gifts, love, support, blessings and prayers, and all kinds of goodness.'

The ministry matches invitations and decorations to the mom’s chosen baby shower theme, and all parishioners are invited, along with the mom’s family and friends. A separate parish ministry sponsors the shower by providing food, drinks, and gifts.

'Lots of gifts. Lots of diapers,' said Schrand. 'The Knights of Columbus have blessed each shower with a huge assortment of diapers for these moms. [Parishioners donate] their baking talents, so we always have beautiful cupcakes, a cake, or cookies.'

A priest usually attends the shower to give the family a blessing, and the mom receives a memento photo.

'We ask the moms if we may stay in touch after the shower,' said Schrand. 'So far, all of them have said ‘yes.’ We touch base throughout the year to see how they are doing and send a birthday card to the baby when they turn one year old.'

When the St. Vincent de Paul Society learned of the parish’s Walking with Moms ministry, we began collaborating, Tonnis said.

'They frequently run into families who have young children [and need help], so we [established] a diaper care package team. When St. Vincent de Paul contacts us, one of my team members … buys a case of diapers and wipes. We’ve served about 40 neighbors now in the last year and a half,' she said...

'It just brings me joy to give someone the basic needs of life, and then some, of course,' said Schrand. 'Every single one of the moms has been overwhelmed and filled with appreciation and gratitude for what we have offered them. It’s truly heartwarming to see that.'"

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Archdiocese of Louisville: Walking with Moms in Need ministry comes with blessings and challenges

Marnie McAllister

The Record

October 22, 2025

"Volunteers from several parishes who accompany pregnant women in need shared the blessings and challenges they face in their ministry during a gathering on Oct. 18.

A baby born to a grateful mother who had considered abortion, a struggling mother seeking baptism for her baby, a mother who called her baby “it” throughout pregnancy but rejoiced in her child’s birth.

Record Photo by Marnie McAllister

These were among the blessings shared by those who serve in the Walking with Moms in Need initiative. The parish-based ministry is run by a group of volunteers at their parishes. They provide emotional, prayerful and personal support to mothers in difficult circumstances.

Among the challenges they shared were encounters with moms interested only in financial help and experiences with clients who stopped responding without explanation.

Stuart Hamilton, the pro-life activities coordinator for the Archdiocese of Louisville, said these challenges are common.

'If you’re involved in this ministry, you have to understand your part to play,' he said, asking the volunteers to acknowledge for themselves, ‘I’m not responsible for saving everyone. I did what I could in my ministry.’

Success comes down to one thing, he told them: 'Did we show them the face of Christ in walking with them in our ministry?'

The gathering at St. Francis of Assisi Church in the Highlands also included a talk by Danna Dandurand, who helps run programs for moms through the Little Way Pregnancy Resource Center.

Dandurand shared the mission of her ministry, called The Rose, which helps moms 'to the next phase, to help them break the cycle' of poverty and trauma.

The Rose takes critical clients, she said, those who are leaning toward abortion, who may have an unstable home life.

One mom, she explained, was already a mother of five in an unstable marriage. And she was 16 weeks pregnant with twins.

'We tried to offer our support; she went back and forth,' Dandurand said. 'We started to pray a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe.'

'Then she called to say she was on her way to get an abortion,' said Dandurand, noting that women often stay in touch, even if they choose abortion.

But then something changed.

'They had started the procedure, and she felt strongly prompted to leave. She said she audibly heard, ‘Don’t do it; I’ve got your back.’ It was so evident the Lord was in this,' said Dandurand.

The mother continued her pregnancy. Volunteers delivered meals and sat with her as she spoke to them about her past trauma.

'Those babies were born on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe,' Dandurand said, telling her listeners to pray for the intercession of Our Lady when they receive a new client. 'We can be the hands, the feet and the face of the Lord to them.'...

Dandurand offered the volunteers encouragement, adding, 'What you all do is what Mary did at the Visitation.'

'No one takes the time to listen to these girls,' she said. 'Most of them don’t have friends; they don’t have trusting relationships.'

'They need someone to listen without judgment and meet them where they are,' she said. 'It’s about being present, encouraging, being a cheerleader—letting her know someone is there for her.'"

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Diocese of Erie: Respect Life Conference

Features Walking with Moms in Need

The 2025 Respect Life Conference, "Be a Sign of Hope," was hosted by the Catholic Charities Office of Social Justice and Life on November 1 in the Diocese of Erie.

The conference featured a presentation on Walking with Moms in Need in which attendees were introduced to the initiative and provided examples of how to get started in their parishes.

The presentation was followed by a small group discussion with parish leaders of ongoing Walking with Moms in Need efforts in the Diocese of Erie.

Parish-based initiative by the USCCB connects mothers with key resources

John M. Grondelski, Ph.D.

The Catholic World Report

November 10, 2025

"Walking with Moms in Need is a nationwide, parish-based initiative by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to connect pregnant and parenting mothers with resources they need to address their challenges.

Launched in 2020, Walking With Moms In Need is a Catholic version of faith-based initiatives seeking to address the needs of women...

Kat Talalas, who helped start Walking with Moms in Need, is Assistant Director for Pro-Life Communications in the USCCB’s Pro-Life Secretariat. She spoke with Catholic World Report about the initiative...

CWR: Walking with Moms in Need aims at getting to know the “lay of the land” in a local parish, inventorying what resources are locally available and where there are gaps. Why is this important?

Ms. Talalas: The inventory is key! There are so many wonderful resources out there: Catholic hospitals offering free or low-cost care; maternity homes offering housing; organizations like St. Vincent de Paul providing material assistance, to name a few. We need to know about them and have that list on hand so that we can be prepared and confidently offer genuine options when we do encounter a woman facing a challenging pregnancy.

As you said, the inventory is also a useful tool to see what isn’t available, so we can think and pray about how our parish can help fill gaps in services...

CWR: The USCCB is the “home” of Walking with Moms in Need, but its work has to be done in local parishes. How do we bring this “up-top” idea down to local parishes and implement it? What is the role of laypeople in achieving that?

Ms. Talalas: Walking with Moms in Need is led by regular Catholics who want to serve Christ and save lives! We pray that individual people, even if they have never volunteered at their parish before, will be inspired to bring this idea to their priest and offer to get it started. All the tools and guidance they need to get started are available for free on the Walking with Moms in Need website..."

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