By Francesca Pollio Fenton

AIIC Staff, November 12, 2024 / 6:00 a.m.

Servant of God Michelle Duppong was 31 years old when she died of cancer on December 25, 2015.

A young woman filled with joy and fire for the Lord, she was born in Colorado and raised on her family farm in North Dakota, after which she served as a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary before become director of the adult program. faith formation for the Diocese of Bismarck.

Duppong’s inspiring life has now been documented in a film released for one day only in theaters nationwide on November 12 titled “Radiant joy: the story of Michelle Duppong.”

The documentary includes actual video footage of Duppong throughout his life, up to the time of his death, and includes comments from his parents, siblings, friends, co-workers and Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary in North Dakota, who worked with Duppong to establish FOCUS at the university.

CNA spoke with Jessica Navin, executive producer of the film and head of spiritual formation for FOCUS, and Stephany Anderson, senior director of alumni operations for FOCUS, about Duppong and the film.

Navin explained that the inspiration for the documentary came from internal videos created for FOCUS staff on the virtues using Duppong as a role model. A FOCUS team visited Duppong’s home in North Dakota to interview some of his friends and family, but while they were there, more and more people contacted him to share their stories about Duppong.

“We ended up getting 30 hours of video testimony,” Navin said.

With this content, a 45-minute documentary was produced for FOCUS staff on missionary discipleship. Shortly after the documentary was shown to FOCUS staff, Bishop David Dennis Kagan officially opened Duppong’s cause for canonization on November 1, 2022.

“We realized we could no longer just share Michelle’s story with our own staff. We had to share it with the world and so we partnered with Anderson Arts to create the current documentary, “Radiating Joy: The Michelle Duppong Story.”

Navin and Anderson knew Duppong personally. Anderson met Duppong when she was a freshman at South Dakota State University (SDSU). This was the first year FOCUS was on the SDSU campus. Anderson, who had just attended a FOCUS conference, was on fire and wanted to know the Lord more deeply.

Duppong invited Anderson into his “discipleship chain” – a term used in FOCUS to describe when a missionary “disciples” a few other students and teaches them how to teach the faith to others. Anderson was part of Duppong’s group of disciples during his freshman and sophomore years.

Anderson remembers visiting Duppong’s family home to take part in what was dubbed “the Duppong Experience.” The small group of students drove four-wheelers around the farm, attended Mass at St. Clement Catholic Church — a small, old church that Duppong loved — and spent time together.

“It was simple and beautiful and invigorating,” Anderson recalls.

Of all the memories she has from her time with Duppong, Anderson shared that the one thing she continues to carry in her heart “is his laugh.” I just say my name and laugh. It was actually pretty special watching the documentary and they have audio clips of her, and it made me cry to hear her voice.

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Navin spent a year working with Duppong at FOCUS before Duppong left to work for the Diocese of Bismarck. However, even that year, Duppong left a lasting impact on Navin.

Navin shared that when Duppong was ill, she contacted her to ask her to pray with her before a major surgery in which Duppong’s uterus had to be removed.

Testifying to her incredible grace in suffering, Navin said: “She was definitely an example for me of incredible holiness both in the ordinariness of her life but also in the extraordinary confidence she showed in amid his suffering. »

Anderson also witnessed these incredible qualities in their friend. She told CNA about a dance held for Duppong (who loved to dance) several months before his death. The school gymnasium was filled with people all waiting to see Duppong, but no one was sure she would make it because at that time she was in great pain from her battle with cancer.

“She comes and she just sits in her chair and waves to this endless line of people just wanting to take a moment with her. And with every person, she’s receptive and she smiles and she’s so loving and she was my Michelle that I knew over the years,” Anderson said. “Even in the midst of so much pain and so much discomfort; it wasn’t about her.

“As soon as I walked up to her to hold her hand, I couldn’t say anything because my heart was broken to see someone I loved so much in so much pain and she just said, ‘Oh Stephany, how are you?’ And she did this with every person who came near her.

Navin and Anderson emphasized what a great role model Duppong can be, especially for young people.

“She went to school, she was exposed to technology like we all do, she had to do chores,” Anderson said. “For the average person today who is living right now, who is a young person right now, they have been exposed to a lot of the same things as them, lived a similar life and found in that life a path to heaven and to the world Lord, and she had a special love for her peers who were searching for what is truth, who is God and what am I made for?

Navin added: “I think today, in the digital age, we see evangelists on YouTube and we think, ‘Oh, I could never do that.’ And yet we are all called to accomplish the great mission. So every young person has the same calling to bring people to Jesus. And when they see the example of Michelle, she was someone ordinary and evangelized by friendship.

“And for young people, but for everyone, they can also look at Michelle’s example and say, ‘I don’t need to have a theology degree and I don’t need to have a channel YouTube to bring people together’. to Jesus. I can just be friends with them, walk with them on their journey and tell them what Jesus has done in my life, then teach them how to teach others to do the same.

As for what she hopes people take away from the documentary, Navin emphasized two things: “Holiness is available to every person – holiness is nothing more than openness to God. Saying “yes” to God… And the second thing is that we are all called to evangelize, and it doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be as simple as reaching out to another person and telling them what Jesus has done in your life.

Anderson said she hopes “people who haven’t yet heard that they were made for heaven, I hope that pierces their hearts.” Let them hear, if they have not already done so, for the first time, and believe it – that they were made for intimacy with the Lord and that it is possible for them.

“For those who have heard this, I hope they will hear that their role in this life is to share this with others and to bring as many souls with them to heaven and that we are all called to evangelize.”

Francesca is the Social Media Manager for the Catholic News Agency. She received her degree in communications with a concentration in digital media from the University of Colorado Denver.