Joyce Coronel is a Catholic journalist who shares stories of incredible faith and hope. After she interviewed a Catholic priest leading a community of those who have been violently persecuted for the their Christian beliefs, Joyce found her own faith reignited. From real stories of modern-day martyrs to the crucial role of the rosary in bringing loved ones home to the Catholic Church, Joyce evangelizes her audiences with heart and humor.
As an author, journalist, speaker and evangelist, Joyce's work has appeared widely in the Catholic press, including Together Magazine, ONE Magazine, The National Catholic Register, Columbia Magazine and Our Sunday Visitor. As manager of evangelization and sacramental life for the Diocese of Phoenix, the second-largest diocese in the U.S., she is devoted to sharing the love, truth and hope of the Catholic faith. Her award-winning novels include “A Martyr’s Crown” (2013) and “Cry of Nineveh” (2016). She's traveled to the Holy Land three times with the Catholic Press Association and covered the papal visit to Philadelphia in 2015. Joyce has spoken at retreats, seminars, parish missions and organizations like the Knights of Columbus and the National Council of Catholic Women. The mother of five adult sons, Joyce’s faith underwent a series of painful trials, but she found healing, grace and strength in her effort to draw attention to the plight of persecuted Catholic Christians.
In her role for the Diocese of Phoenix, she co-hosts The Bishop's Hour and A Seat at the Table vodcasts; writes articles for the diocesan publication, The Catholic Sun; helps form seminarians and candidates for the diaconate; teaches others how to evangelize; assists those who want to become Catholic connect with their parish; and offers workshops on organizing small Christian communities rooted in God’s Word.
Joyce has several talks in her speaking repertoire, including "Never Give Up," which details seven steps she undertook that helped her five adult children return to the Catholic Church. “Fearless Faith” outlines her conversion experience after interviewing a priest whose cousin (also a priest) was martyred for the faith; “You Can Do It: Sharing the Good News with Confidence,” in which she offers pragmatic tips and illustrations about how to evangelize; and “Faithful Motherhood: A journey from darkness to light,” in which she shares some of the struggles of motherhood as well as the amazing, healing miracles experienced in her family. At each presentation, she invites the audience to venerate a first-class relic of St. Lucy that has been linked to two separate healings, including one from complete blindness.
Speaking Topics:
-Never Give Up: Ask most priests and they'll tell you that the number-one heartache adults share is that their grown children have left the Catholic Church. Joyce shares how one by one, many of her children did the same--until they started coming home. The road back has brought joy and hope in the midst of pain. And it all began with a commitment to pray the rosary daily. Joyce motivates her audience to NEVER, EVER give up hope and to keep pounding on heaven's door.
-You Can Do It: How to share the Good News with confidence: How do we get people excited about being Catholic and sharing their faith confidently? With pragmatic teaching illustrated by anecdotes that are both humorous and touching, Joyce Coronel shows Catholics the basics of evangelization. When we grow in personal holiness and learn to entrust everything to Jesus Christ and His loving Mother, the Virgin Mary, a peace takes root in our hearts that overflows into the rest of our lives. Joyce takes listeners through her personal journey of conversion and how God lifted her out of a deep valley and propelled her into a speaking career that has taken her around the country to share the beauty of Catholicism. With energy and enthusiasm that's sure to ignite audiences, this wife, mother of five sons, journalist and catechist has a story that will touch your heart and motivate you to go deeper in your faith life and share it in simple ways with friends, loved ones, neighbors and yes, even strangers. The first class relic of St. Lucy that was given to her in 2012 accompanies Joyce on every talk and has been linked to several healings.
-Fearless Faith: What happens when a Catholic journalist is confronted with a story so explosive she is forced to reexamine her faith and what she’s living for? Following a series of crises and tragedies in her family, Joyce came upon the story of a Catholic community that has endured 2,000 years of persecution. For the first time in her career, she realized there was more at stake than merely reporting the news: God was calling her into action and evangelization! Joyce takes audiences through the powerful encounters she continues to have with Catholics who have been discriminated against, mistreated and persecuted for their faith in Christ. In taking on the cause of the persecuted Catholics of Iraq who now make their home in the U.S., Joyce found healing and peace in her own life. She tells listeners about how God’s loving providence through it all led to an amazing series of blessings, including her sister-in-law's miraculous healing. She concludes each presentation by praying the Our Father or Hail Mary in Aramaic, the liturgical language of the Chaldean Catholic Church. She also provides an opportunity for audiences to venerate an authenticated, first class relic of St. Lucy, a fourth century martyr.
-Faithful Motherhood: An Unexpected Journey through Darkness and into the Light: A mother of five sons, Joyce Coronel had left behind a promising career to stay home and nurse babies, read Bible stories to preschoolers, volunteer at the children's Catholic school, and yes, teach teenagers how to drive. Well, that and write articles for the local Catholic newspaper. "We owned every YMCA jersey ever made from 1994 through 2010," Joyce tells audiences. "The George Foreman grill at our house never quite cools off and we're on a first name basis at Costco and the urgent care center." As the children grew, her beloved parents grew older. Joyce describes what so many mothers can relate to: the challenges of balancing children, aging parents, Church commitments and work. What happens when one of the teenagers is in the midst of serious rebellion while the youngest is still in second grade? And Joyce's sister suddenly dies? "There were days I didn't want to get out of bed. I wondered if the world might not be better off without me," Joyce tells listeners. Then, in an unexpected turn of events, she found healing, peace and a deeper faith.
Testimonials:
“Joyce speaks with a prayerful fervor that deeply touches people. She is an incredible witness of perseverance through pain, hope through humility, commitment through crisis, patience through pressure, and through it all, finding joy in the journey. Beautifully transparent about her faith, God has given her the strength to share the deep personal struggles in her life with courage, vulnerability and humor. Her strong faith and authentic character are the reflections of a life refined through fire.” - Dee Gray, director of adult formation, St. Clare Parish
“She is articulate, thorough and incisive as she answers questions. But she brings more than her gift of communication. She shares her passion for these people. Through her written and now her spoken words, Joyce paints indelible pictures of a faith community whose very existence is threatened. Listen to her and you will never again take your faith for granted.” - Michael Dixon, Immaculate Heart Radio, KABC, KCBS, KMOX
