With the kickoff of the second Gratia Plena Institute summer camp, founder Kelly Marcum, parishioner at All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, sought to provide a unique Catholic camp experience for high school girls. Throughout the week of July 5-12 in Leonardtown, Md., high school campers had the opportunity to learn about and discuss the role of Catholic femininity in the modern world.
Founded in 2020, the Gratia Plena Institute seeks to educate high school girls on the role of women in the Catholic Church. Marcum said that she focuses on educating high school girls to prepare them for a future in the secular world. If high school girls do not have the opportunity to go to a supportive Catholic college, Marcum said, they may be misguided by the world’s distortion of femininity. Marcum’s mission is to arm these young women with the church teaching on femininity and the faith.
With the assistance of four female counselors from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and Christendom College in Front Royal, Marcum led the 13 girls through a busy schedule of talks, small-group discussions and prayer. Throughout the week, campers studied the lives of saints and theologians from the 20th century, including St. Edith Stein, Pope St. John Paul II and Alice von Hildebrand. The girls additionally listened to speakers Jessica Kramer, Rachel Harkins Ullmann and Marcum discuss the dignity of womanhood.
Camper Teresa Kelly, 16, said that after attending this camp twice, her life has been changed: “I’ve learned that by living a life of virtue here on earth, I have the power to lead both men and women to live lives of virtue and happiness to lead others to heaven.”
Each day teaches campers how to embody Catholic femininity within their own lives, ending with a “call to arms.” Marcum said that the camp is grounded in the sacraments, with Mass, adoration and confession available daily.
Camp counselor and Christendom student Kathleen Thomas, 19, said that the camp was a perfect way to create fellowship, as well as learning “more about how we can bring Catholic femininity into the world we live in.”
While the 2022 Camp is the Institute’s cornerstone program, the organization also hosts both public and private soirees throughout the year at schools and parishes in the diocese of Arlington. At these soirees, Marcum or a guest speaker gives a talk on the dignity of Catholic womanhood.
Find out more
Go to gratiaplenainstitute.com.
