Study. Encounter. Sisterhood.
Mary’s Women of Joy is a sisterhood that celebrates our beauty and dignity as beloved daughters of God and honors the feminine genius perfectly expressed by our Mother Mary.
Entrusted to the heart of Mary and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, MWOJ seeks to encounter Jesus Christ more deeply through prayer and worship and the Catholic study of scripture and Church teachings. This relationship bears fruit in our devotion to Eucharistic Adoration, the spiritual motherhood of priests, and the sanctity of life. Journeying together in faith, MWOJ fosters holy friendships, growth in spiritual maturity, and greater love of God and neighbor through, with, and in Jesus.
Founded by Jean Whelan in 1997 as a gathering of six women from St. Mark Parish, MWOJ continues to flourish and has grown to more than 400 women from North Carolina and South Carolina.
All glory to God and His beautiful Mother!
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We are Mary's Garden. In unity with our Mother Mary's Fiat and with faith and humble obedience, Mary's Women of Joy prayerfully and actively follows the Magisterium of the Church and is receptive to the work of the Holy Spirit. We are united in our Catholic faith.
Jean Whelan, MWOJ Foundress
Mary's Women of Joy Encounters Christ in 3 Ways
Prayer
Mary's Women of Joy join our voices in Catholic prayers of protection, praise, petition, and thanksgiving. We start with the Unity Prayer, followed by the Litany of Praise, a special prayer from Our Lady, Intercessory Prayers, and end with a Divine Mercy Chaplet. We raise our voices in song and pray in solitude in front of our Lord in Adoration.
Study
Our Sisterhood is Anchored in Our Lady, the Holy Spirit, and Saint Faustina. Each week during the semester, we read and share from the Diary of St. Faustina before starting our Semester Study Teaching followed by small group table time, and end with WOW moments where sisters exchange their hearts with one another in prayer and affirmation.
Service
We serve in 3 ways:
Pro-Life: We stand for all life, from conception to natural death
Eucharistic Adoration: We lovingly sit at our Lord's feet.
Spiritual Motherhood for Priests: We pray and fast and gift our Priests with material needs as the spirit directs.
Eucharistic Adoration: We lovingly sit at our Lord's feet.
Spiritual Motherhood for Priests: We pray and fast and gift our Priests with material needs as the spirit directs.
Join Us
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Through their prayers and fasting, miracles have happened with Mary's Women of Joy. If you're a woman who is looking to enrich your faith, to learn more about your faith, but also to be around other women who you can socialize and pray together with, Mary's Women of Joy is for you. I really hope you can join us.
Father Timothy Reid, Pastor
Spring Study 2026
Freedom In the Spirit
Kathleen Lewis is a longtime St. Ann parishioner with decades of ministry experience as a DRE, Youth Minister, homeschool educator, and study leader. She's co-authored Catholic curricula, created history courses for TAN Academy, and co-hosts Joyful Echo. Her greatest joy is helping others discover how God works through the smallest offerings of the heart.
Join us for a journey into deeper trust and interior freedom guided by Father Jacques Philippe's Interior Freedom and In the School of the Holy Spirit. Kathleen Lewis will lead us as we learn to recognize and respond to the movements of the Holy Spirit, growing together in Faith, Hope, and Charity
Space is limited, so register early.
Mornings include hospitality, prayer, song, sharing, study videos, and small group discussion.
Space is limited, so register early.
Mornings include hospitality, prayer, song, sharing, study videos, and small group discussion.