Praying with the Popes

Founded in 1865 by Fr. Edward Sorin, CSC, Ave Maria Press is an apostolate of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers. Ave is a nonprofit Catholic publishing ministry that serves the spiritual and formative needs of the Church and its schools, institutions, and ministers; Christian individuals and families; and others seeking spiritual nourishment.

Ave remains one of the oldest continually operating Catholic publishing houses in the country and a leader in publishing Catholic high school religion textbooks, ministry resources, and books on prayer and spirituality.

In the tradition of Holy Cross, Ave is committed, as an educator in the faith, to help people know, love, and serve God and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ through books and other resources.

Ave Maria Press perpetuates Fr. Sorin's vision to honor Mary and provide an important outlet for good Catholic writing.

Katie Prejean McGrady is host of the Ave Explores podcast and The Katie McGrady Showon Sirius XM's The Catholic Channel. She is an international speaker, the author of Room 24: Adventures of a New Evangelist and Follow: Your Lifelong Adventure with Jesus, and the coauthor of Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, Advent and Christmas: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens, and First Reconciliation and Beyond: A Family's Guide for Learning and Living Forgiveness.

Prejean McGrady also serves as host of the Like a Mother podcast and cohost of Family Mass Prep on the Hallow app. She writes for several outlets, including Blessed is She, Our Sunday Visitor, and Aleteia, and contributes coverage on the Vatican and Church news to CNN. Prejean McGrady has spoken at the National Catholic Youth Conference, Steubenville Youth Conferences, and the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, as well as in dioceses and parishes throughout the world.

Prejean McGrady earned a theology degree from the University of Dallas.

She lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with her husband Tommy and their children.

Shannon Wimp Schmidt is the content director of the ecumenical youth ministry collaboration TENx10, coauthor of Fat Luther, Slim Pickin's: A Black Catholic Celebration of Faith, Tradition, and Diversity, cohost of the Plaid Skirts and Basic Black podcast, and a founding member of Catholics United for Black Lives.

Schmidt earned a bachelor's degree in theology and Italian from the University of Notre Dame and a master's degree in pastoral studies from Catholic Theological Union. She has more than a decade of experience in youth and pastoral ministry and has served in various capacities, including director of OCIA, adult faith formation coordinator, diversity educator, interfaith ministry leader, and theology teacher.

Schmidt is a regular contributor to FemCatholic and U.S. Catholic magazine. Her work has been featured in the Catholic Standard, in the National Catholic Reporter, and on CatholicTV's This Is the Day.

Schmidt lives with her husband and their four children in the Chicago, Illinois, area.

Eileen M. Ponder is executive editor of ministry resources at Ave Maria Press.