Denver, CO (October 1st, 2024) –  “Radiating Joy: The Michelle Duppong Story” is coming to theaters across America for a one-day screening on November 12th, 2024. Michelle’s life and death bore witness to heroic suffering and the transformative love of Christ; which led to her being declared a Servant of God in 2022 and now she’s currently on the path towards Canonization.

Michelle was a vibrant young woman who sought to share the love of Christ with every person she encountered. Michelle served as a FOCUS missionary for six years and then as the Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Bismarck, North Dakota, until she passed away from cancer on December 25, 2015, at the age of 31.

On June 15th, 2022, Bishop David Kagan, Diocese of Bismarck, N.D., announced the opening of the diocesan investigation which could lead to the Beatification and Canonization of Michelle. The Diocesan investigation, which involves a gathering of evidence about Michelle’s life and deeds, includes witness testimonies and the compilation of private and public writings. When the full investigation is completed, the evidence will be presented to the Vatican by the Diocese, the next step in the Cause for Beatification and Canonization.

Tickets for “Radiating Joy: The Michelle Duppong Story” are on sale now through the Fathom Events website and participating theater box offices. For a complete list of theater locations, visit FathomEvents.com (participating theaters are subject to change).

The film, directed by Danny Anderson, tells the inspiring story of Michelle – highlighting especially her suffering following her cancer diagnosis and throughout her treatment. The film also features stories about the lives she touched. The documentary includes first-hand accounts of Michelle’s life and legacy and premiered during FOCUS’s annual SEEK Conference in January 2024. There have been additional private showings in North Dakota, Denver, Colorado, St. Louis, MO, and Washington D.C. ahead of the national release on November 12th, 2024.

“Michelle was a radiant, joyful woman with the heart of a true servant,” said Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary. “For the students on our campus, she was an inspiration and a treasured mentor, teaching them by her example the transformative power of friendship with God.”

For more information about the film, and future screening dates and locations, please visit Fathom Events or focus.org/michelleduppong or contact the FOCUS media team at [email protected].

A special release trailer of the documentary is also available here.

 

About FOCUS

FOCUS Catholic is an apostolate whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the Gospel. FOCUS missionaries encounter people in friendship, inviting them into a personal relationship with Christ and accompanying them as they pursue lives of virtue and excellence. Through Bible studies, outreach events, mission trips and discipleship, missionaries inspire and build up others in the faith, sending them out to live out lifelong Catholic mission wherever they are.

For the 2024 – 2025 academic year, over 1,000 FOCUS missionaries are serving at 255 locations, which included 210 college campuses, 29 Church parishes across the U.S., nine international campuses and seven digital campuses. FOCUS alumni, now nearly 76,000 strong, are living and serving in parishes and communities across the country. An important blessing that FOCUS has seen is an increase of individuals pursuing religious vocations. Since 1998, more than 1,300 people have entered the seminary or a religious life formation after involvement with FOCUS in a parish or on a college campus.

 

About Fathom Events

Fathom Events is a recognized leader in the entertainment industry as one of the top distributors of content to movie theaters in North America. Owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC); Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK); and Regal, a subsidiary of the Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L), Fathom operates the largest cinema distribution network, delivering a wide variety of programming and experiences to cinema audiences in all the top U.S. markets and to more than 45 countries. For more information, visit FathomEvents.com.

 

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