Women of Grace® Event Details
Opening soon! Fall Course: Formed to Lead: The Marian Way of Catholic Women's Leadership Benedicta Institute for Women
Benedicta Institute for Women Fall 2026 Course
5 weeks, October 5 - November 8, Meeting weekly on Wednesdays, 7pm -8pm ET
Formed to Lead: The Marian Way of Catholic Women's Leadership
Instructors: Dr. Donald Wallenfang, OCDS and Johnnette Williams
3 equivalency credits
What happens when a woman, understanding who God created her to be, permits herself to be formed after the heart of Mary and then brings that Marian way of being into her sphere of influence?
She begins to embody the Marian way of Catholic women’s leadership—a way of leading that flows from who she is in Christ, is shaped by the virtues and dispositions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and finds its fulfillment in mission.
Formed to Lead: The Marian Way of Catholic Women’s Leadership is a five-week foundational course that explores this distinctly Marian vision of women and leadership through the five characteristics of true devotion identified by St. Louis de Montfort: interior, tender, holy, constant, and disinterested.
Rooted in the principle agere sequitur esse—action follows being—the course begins with the conviction that authentic leadership flows from who a woman is and who she is becoming in Christ. Participants will explore the Christian anthropology of woman—her nature, dignity, gifts, and mission in God’s plan—and consider how these realities inform and shape her particular capacity for leadership.
Looking to the Blessed Virgin Mary as the preeminent exemplar of womanhood and faithful discipleship, participants will study how the five characteristics of true devotion, together with Mary’s principal virtues, provide a pattern for the interior formation of the Catholic woman leader. The lives and witness of women saints will demonstrate how this Marian way of being can take flesh in different personalities, vocations, circumstances, and forms of leadership, with particular attention given to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) and her profound insights into the nature and vocation of woman.
Integrating Catholic theology and spirituality with practical principles of leadership, the course will consider how a woman shaped after the heart of Mary leads from an interior life grounded in God, a character formed in virtue, a steadfast fidelity to truth and mission, and a generous gift of self for the good of others.
Ultimately, the course invites each woman to consider not simply how she leads, but who God is calling her to become as she leads—a woman shaped and formed after the heart of Mary, whose leadership flows from a Marian way of being and draws her more deeply into Mary’s mission: to bring Jesus Christ to the world and the world to Jesus Christ.
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Johnnette Benkovic Williams
Johnnette Benkovic Williams is Founder and President of Women of Grace®, a Catholic apostolate for women featuring a number of outreaches including conferences, media, study groups and more.
After years of being a non-practicing Catholic, Johnnette experienced a deep conversion back to her Catholic faith in 1981. Her conversion sparked a new vocation: sharing the Gospel message through the utilization of media. She has been an inspiring and consistent presence on EWTN Catholic radio and EWTN Catholic television for over 30 years. -
Donald Wallenfang, OCDS, PhD
Donald Wallenfang, OCDS, PhD is a Secular Discalced Carmelite, Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, and Academic Advisor for the Benedicta Institute. He received his MTS from St Norbert College and his PhD in systematic theology from Loyola University Chicago. He has published twelve books as well as numerous articles and book chapters on a variety of topics in Catholic theology and philosophy. His areas of expertise merge at the intersection of Carmelite spirituality, phenomenology, metaphysics, and sacramental theology. Wallenfang served in full-time Catholic youth and young adult ministry for nine years. He has been married to his wife, Megan, for twenty-three years and has six children.
