Picture the holy life of an ordinary North Dakota farm girl who was passionate about nature, friends, fun and, most of all, Jesus.

That was the witness of Michelle Duppong, whose cause for sainthood was opened by Bismarck’s Bishop David Kagan on All Saints’ Day 2022.

Throughout her life, which included six years as a FOCUS missionary and then two years as director of faith formation for the Bismarck Diocese, Duppong led people to Jesus and witnessed what holiness looks like.

“I know it’s possible [to become a saint] because I knew Michelle Duppong,” said a student who knew Duppong as a FOCUS missionary at the University of South Dakota, according to Father Scott Traynor, a priest of Sioux Falls who served students during Michelle’s time as a missionary there.

In my new book, Michelle Duppong: Hope in the Depths of Suffering (Sophia Institute Press, 2026), these memories, along with those of many others, capture a moving portrait of Duppong, who died on Christmas Day 2015 at her home in rural Haymarsh, North Dakota, at age 31, after a year-long fight with cancer.

Following her death, letters poured in describing graces obtained through her intercession. As the bishop states in the book, it was noteworthy that most people shared experiencing a deep peace and trust in God’s will after praying for Michelle’s intercession, which was exactly how she lived her life. Michelle once wrote: “I don’t just want to be a saint, I want to be a great saint.” But she also wanted everyone around her to become saints.

Here are seven lessons that Michelle imparted during her life.

1. Avoid gossip. Even as a young schoolgirl, former classmates reported that Michelle walked away or changed the subject if gossip began. A co-worker at the diocese noted that Michelle was not blind to tensions or disagreements but turned to God in all things: “She put together a retreat for the diocesan staff to provide the opportunity for them to be fed spiritually. Maybe it was her way of bringing the tension to him.”

2. A personal relationship with Jesus is life-changing. After college graduation, she came to understand what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus after following the advice of her spiritual director.

As she explained on a diocesan podcast in February 2014: “He [the priest] asked me, ‘Michelle, have you told Jesus about that?’ and I was kind of startled. ... I realized, no, I hadn’t told Jesus about what was going on in my heart. Then Father said to me, ‘Michelle, you need to ask Jesus for a real lived experience of his love for you. And you need to ask the Holy Spirit for a real lived experience of his love for you. Share with him what is going on in your heart.’ As I started to share my heart with him and asked him for a real lived experience of his love for me, things changed. My life changed.”

3. One person can make a difference. Michelle was part of her college dorm government at North Dakota State University. There was a meeting to plan activities before Easter during her junior year. Her friend Beka (Miller) Martin recalled a suggestion that Michelle found repugnant.

“How about instead of an Easter egg hunt, we have a condom hunt?” someone volunteered. It was brought to a vote. “All in favor, say aye,” the president directed. There were a few muffled votes in the affirmative. “All opposed?” the president asked.

“No!” Michelle’s single voice resounded, loud and clear. The president quickly announced, “Well, the noes have it.” And that was the end of it.

“Michelle was the only ‘No,’ but she was louder than all the Yeses,” Martin explained. “Michelle believed that one person can make a difference, and she lived her life that way.”

4. Trust in Jesus through disappointment. Michelle was initially turned down as a FOCUS missionary. Perhaps her quiet temperament did not stand out among the more boisterous personalities. She proceeded with trust, asking her parents if she could help at the farm while exploring backup options. Father James Cheney, the Newman Center chaplain, intervened on Michelle’s behalf, insisting that FOCUS was making a mistake. “Michelle is a stand-out in our program,” he said. “She should be offered a position with FOCUS.” Michelle was eventually offered a position. She was ecstatic. The desire in her heart to help others know Jesus was about to come to fruition in a new way.

5. Evangelization can be as simple as an invitation. In her missionary work on campus, Michelle began with prayer, a smile and an invitation, trusting that it would be God who would do the heavy lifting. She understood that she could not control anyone’s mind, but by bringing them to Jesus, she trusted that he would draw them in. Michelle invited people to book studies, fun activities at the Newman Center and to Mass. Sometimes these were people who had slipped away from practicing the faith; some were not even Catholic. And her witness worked: Through her invitation, many were drawn into the Catholic faith.

On a Nov. 25, 2014, podcast about “The New Evangelization,” Michelle explained: “Evangelizing doesn’t have a 10-step process or a complex formula or an explanation that you need to memorize. Nor by evangelizing does it mean you are responsible for whether or not a person chooses to convert their lives to follow Christ. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. You need to give yourself a break! In a nutshell, evangelization is simply giving others an opportunity to encounter Christ, and the ways that you can do this are endless. It can be as simple as smiling at someone or picking something up off the ground, to making the ultimate sacrifice of dying as a martyr, and everything in between. God gives each person the grace they need in the present moment, nothing more and nothing less. So we aren’t to dwell on the past nor are we to worry about the future. We are to live in the present moment in the here and now.”

6. Suffering is powerful. Her spiritual director, Msgr. Thomas Richter, described Michelle’s final year as a “12-month Holy Week” — a period in which illness and suffering did not interrupt her evangelization but instead fulfilled it. United to Christ, her cross became a channel of grace for others. Caregivers who did not share her faith were moved by her peace. Friends who came to console her left consoled. People saw in her another Christ.

Her mother shared a poignant story with the Register: “Toward the end of her own earthly journey, Michelle’s dear aunt, Jean Wanner, was dying of brain cancer. ‘They cried and held each other,’ Mary Ann [Duppong] recalled. ‘Jean told her that sometimes she didn’t feel Jesus with her. Michelle told her, ‘Sometimes, I don’t feel him either. Tell Jesus how you feel. He wants to know everything. Just turn to him.’ ‘That’s what Michelle did,’ Mary Ann said. ‘She told Jesus everything.’”

7. Live the Gospel call to love one another. Many people shared their memories in the book, and all loved Michelle and felt loved by her. Dr. Leo Taiberg, an intensive care doctor, said, “When Michelle asked how you were, she really meant it. She would remember what you told her and ask about it the next time she saw you.” Abbey (Heidrich) Nagel, a co-worker at the diocese, recalled walking to Michelle’s apartment for lunch and how Michelle spoke with a woman in the parking lot. “I could tell they had spoken the day earlier,” Nagel explained. “The lady was at a low point and Michelle cared about how she was doing and let her know she was available. It didn’t matter who you were, Michelle totally wanted to bring Jesus to whoever was in front of her.”

Michelle’s family found a letter to Jesus that Michelle had written two months before she died. She wrote it for an audience of one — God. But now, her audience is the world, and her example is achieving her life’s mission — to lead others to God.

(Found in a notebook after Michelle’s death):

October 21, 2015

My Dear Sweet Jesus,

Thank you for the gift of my life — for your all-consuming

love and mercy, for the gift of the Catholic Faith, for the

treasure of my family and friends, and for all the experiences

you’ve allowed me that have shaped me into the woman I am.

Jesus, I not only want to be a Saint, but I want to be a great

Saint that leads others to You all for Your greater honor and

glory, of course!!”

Servant of God Michelle Duppong, pray for us!