By Mary Kroner
For the Register
Duppong’s holiness touched many lives during her short time on earth, but those who knew her are confident that her influence will only grow as people learn about her life
The canonization cause has been opened for young FOCUS missionary Michelle Duppong who served on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL).
In June 2022, Bishop David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck opened an inquiry into whether Duppong should be recognized as a saint of the Church.
Born in Colorado in 1984, Michelle was one of six children and grew up on her family’s farm in Haymarsh, N.D. She went on to study horticulture at North Dakota State University in Fargo, where she graduated in 2006.
That same year, she joined FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) as a student missionary for six years, serving at UNL, South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, and the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.
After her time as a missionary, she became the director of adult faith formation for the Diocese of Bismarck in 2012.
According to her obituary, she loved farm life, working in the gardens and vineyards, and taking part in campfire singalongs.
Many friends from the Diocese of Lincoln
Duppong served as a FOCUS missionary at UNL from 2006-2007. During her time in that role, as well as her time as a college student, she met and became friends with a number of people from Lincoln.
Father Robert Matya, director of the Newman Center at UNL for 25 years, knew Duppong from her time at the Newman Center and spoke about Duppong’s character.
“Her holiness of life was pretty obvious, although I don’t know if any of us thought about her in terms of being a saint. She was a very beautiful soul, but not in a flashy kind of way. She was easy to engage, kind, loving, and in some ways reserved.”
Maria Benes, co-founder of Before Gethsemane and a member of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, was discipled by Duppong during her senior year at UNL through FOCUS. Discipleship is a one-on-one mentoring program where the mentor meets regularly with the mentee to discuss their faith lives and how to grow closer to Christ.
“Michelle had incredible humility and did ordinary things with extraordinary love,” Benes said. “In fact, so many of my memories with her are of us doing ordinary things together like cooking pasta, going for a walk around the track at the UNL rec center, or her teaching me how to waltz.
“Michelle challenged me to not be so concerned with the things of this world that I lose sight of my ultimate mission to go to Heaven. I still carry that reminder with me today, that worldly success is nothing compared to the treasure of eternal life with God.”
As mindful of heavenly realities as Duppong was, Benes pointed out that her friend still struggled with the same types of trials and insecurities that all people face. What set her apart was her ability to surrender those trials and insecurities to God in prayer.
Ashley Stevens, a member of St. Michael Parish in Lincoln, met the joyful missionary after the first Mass she attended at the Newman Center. Stevens shared that she wasn’t Catholic but wanted to learn more, and accepted Duppong’s invitation to a community event, where she was introduced to people who would accompany her on her faith journey and become life-long friends.
Stevens remembered that Duppong radiated goodness and joy in every encounter without exception.
“I have no doubt she is in heaven, rocking that same joy,” she said.
Duppong invited Stevens to meet with her every week to share her faith, but what began as intellectual discussions blossomed into true friendship.
“Without her investment and friendship, I wouldn’t be Catholic, or married to the man I am today,” she said. “But I truly believe her greatest influence on me is the reminder to be present, see the good in everyone, and never forget to be silly.”
Father Eric Clark, pastor of St. Peter Parish in Lincoln, met Duppong in 2004 at North Dakota State University in Fargo when she was a student and he was a FOCUS missionary.
“One word that described Michelle best is joy. She had so much joy of Christ that radiated through her smile, music, games, classes and skits. She loved to make people smile,” Father Clark recalled. “I will never forget when she, her sister Renae, and best friend Bekka did the Three Amigos skit, all dressed up. I know of many students at NDSU who were attracted to God through the joy of Michelle.”
Another FOCUS missionary Duppong befriended during her time as a student as NDSU was Dawn Raun, who is currently the art teacher at Cathedral of the Risen Christ School in Lincoln. After Duppong graduated and became a missionary at UNL, Raun became her mentor in the FOCUS discipleship program and spoke with her weekly on the phone, for two years.
Raun said, “In our conversations, I felt like Michelle was my mentor for my spiritual life, because she was so solid in her hope and faith. There were times in our conversations she would talk about missing her friends and family in North Dakota, or struggles of living a missionary life, but remained hopeful in bringing others that she encountered to Jesus.”
Raun was very encouraged by Duppong’s strong and unwavering faith.
“She was very genuine about sharing her knowledge of the faith with the girls in her Bible study and with her student discipleships. Even when I met Michelle as a student, she was very mature and not afraid to share her faith with others. She would go out of her way to invite new people she met to a Newman Center event, or a Bible study. She didn’t worry about what others thought of her but rather what Christ would want for them. I very much admired her selflessness, in that way.”
Reflecting on why Duppong’s cause has been opened, Raun said when people encountered her, they experienced the joy that she had in sharing the faith with them, her genuine love for Jesus and Mary and her desire for others to share in that love.
“We live in a time when people think a lot of themselves, when people can be very selfish, and care only for their own earthly wants and desires. Michelle lived in a countercultural way that she surrendered her desires to God’s will for her life. She thought of others first, she cared for others, she prayed for others, and she did all of this with joy, passion for life, and zeal to spread the faith, in the hope of getting more souls to heaven.”
In addition to her sincere love for Christ, Duppong was also known for her profound love for the unborn, the souls in purgatory, who she would pray for frequently, and of course, her friends, who all shared a sincere passion for serving the Church through various apostolates and vocations.
Father Matya discussed Duppong’s attraction to people who were also pursuing holiness of life. In addition to working with students struggling to answer that call, she surrounded herself with friends who were striving for sanctity.
“That’s a good thing to think about, because a lot can be said about ourselves by the people we surround ourselves with. It speaks a lot about who we are as Christians,” he said.
Joy, even in suffering
In December of 2014, Duppong was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, which she battled until 2015.
It was during this difficult time that the real sanctity of her life shone through.
Father Matya noted, “As a priest, I know when people experience suffering in their lives, they respond to it differently. They can be bitter, upset, and angry, or they can be resigned to it. Michelle was more than resigned to it; she really accepted it as her cross and offered it to God.”
Duppong displayed true heroism in how she responded to the diagnosis and how she offered up all of the suffering she had for the good of souls.
Benes said, “During her final year of life, she offered up all of her pain in her battle with cancer for others. I understand her parents didn’t hear one single complaint from Michelle as to why she was battling cancer at such a young age. She embraced her crosses joyfully, knowing that she was uniting her suffering to that of Jesus on the cross.”
Stevens recalled her last visit with Duppong during her last weeks in the hospital.
“In November of 2015 I visited her in the hospital—a month before she passed—when I learned she didn’t have long,” she said. “I lost it. To sit with someone who changed your life so deeply, hear countless nurses recount how interested Michelle was in their lives amidst her pain, to hold her hand and say goodbye was incredibly tough.”
Stevens was five months pregnant at the time of Duppong’s passing, and when her daughter was born, she gave her the name Emily Michelle, in honor of her beloved friend.
Raun remembered that Michelle “had a desire to continue living, and prayed for a miracle through Blessed Giorgio Frassati, but also accepted the Lord’s will in her life.”
Duppong passed away at the age of 31 on Christmas Day 2015.
As one of the attendees of her funeral Mass at the Cathedral in Bismarck, Father Clark said, “It was a grace-filled day which felt more like a wedding than a funeral. She truly is a bride of Christ!”
A holy friend to intercede for us
Father Clark expressed his gratitude to the Diocese of Bismarck for promoting sanctity through opening the investigation into her cause.
“I believe that every diocese has someone local who lived a life of faithfulness that is a model for others. Personally, I think that Michelle’s life shows us how an ordinary life can be lived extraordinarily well for God and others.”
During the diocesan stage of the investigation, evidence is gathered about Michelle’s life and deeds, and will include witness testimonies and the compilation of private and public writings. When this is completed, the evidence is to be presented by the diocese to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. From there, the cause could proceed at a steady pace.
Duppong’s holiness touched many lives during her short time on earth, but those who knew her are confident that her influence will only grow as people learn about her life.
Father Matya encouraged people to ask for her intercession.
“She is inspiring people by the way she lived her life, but she is also inspiring people who are facing challenges and suffering themselves, to respond to them as she did.”
Indeed, in her own words, Duppong offers encouragement for those facing any kind of suffering.
“But through Jesus’ Passion, death and resurrection, suffering has been changed. It has been redeemed, allowing it to carry meaning. No matter what suffering we may be facing, we must know that God is permitting this to happen as an act of love and that He will bring about a greater good from it, for our own good and others. If we choose to unite the pain we are experiencing to Christ, we can share in His work of salvation, meriting graces for others and ourselves.”
