North Dakota woman investigated for sainthood, first in state history

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Michelle Duppong lived a simple, yet extraordinary life. A life that has led the Diocese of Bismarck to open an investigation into canonization.

Michelle grew up on a farm near Haymarsh, N.D. She was called to work with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) and was placed at the University of Mary to work as a missionary.

After working six years with FOCUS, she joined the Diocese of Bismarck as the director of faith formation.

Bishop David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck said she had a “great and joyful faith that she shared with everyone.” This made her successful as she hosted retreats in parishes, wrote articles, and was very popular within the Diocese. She was a driving force behind the creation of the THIRST Eucharistic Conference held in Bismarck, which draws thousands of people.

In December 2014, she was diagnosed with cancer and spent the next year of her life in various hospitals and clinics receiving treatment. She passed away on Christmas Day 2015.

After her funeral, Bishop Kagan continued to receive letters and communication from people who knew Michelle, and even people who didn’t, who read an article she wrote, or attended a retreat she led. In these letters, they would share how the way she lived her life had impacted them. On June 16th, the Bishop announced the Diocese of Bismarck would begin to research her life and explore the process of sainthood.

“I just felt we had to begin to look at this and see is there a possibility, should we begin the church’s formal investigation into her life with the view of possible beatification and subsequent canonization,” said Bishop Kagan.

In this stage of the investigation the Diocese is seeking out writings from Michelle, such as letters or journals, and any experiences people may have had with her. Through the process, they are also hoping to encounter miracles which can be attributed to Michelle.

“A miracle isn’t just an answer to prayer, a miracle needs to be something, and the Church is very precise about this, a miracle needs to be something which cannot be explained in a natural way. In other words, a cure, for instance, of a disease which the doctors are throwing their hands up and saying, ‘This happens sometimes but there is not a way to explain it and in this case, it happened in a way that we really can’t explain it,’” said Monsignor James Shea, president at the University of Mary.

This part of the investigation has no timeline.

“Sometimes a process is put together to get to the answer that you want, that’s not what this is. This is a process which is put forward in an objective way to really weigh all the available evidence,” adds Monsignor Shea.

Bishop Kagan says before the investigation can be officially opened, he will first need to consult with the Conference of Bishops, contact local parishes to which Michelle would have belonged to collect information about her, and finally, the Bishop will issue a decree opening the Diocesan investigation into the life of Michelle Duppong.

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