As many Relevant Radio associates prepare for the Walk to Mary and its sold-out Tenth Anniversary celebration, producer and co-host Maggie Groeschl prepares for her wedding, exactly one year after she met her soon-to-be-husband… one of her intentions for the Walk to Mary in 2022.
The temporary Park Ridge office in which Maggie worked sat across the street from a Catholic church at which she attended daily Mass before producing The Drew Mariani Show. At these Masses, she noticed a handsome young man in the front pews. He became a fixture of her mornings, dubbed “Mr. Handsome Front Row from Church.”
The week of the Walk to Mary came and Maggie found herself almost short of a pilgrimage companion for the journey. She prepared to enjoy the solitude of a pilgrimage by herself, open to everyone she was going to meet and present to the journey. Then two days later, a church acquaintance invited her to join a rented Airbnb in Green Bay with other young pilgrims. The group planned fellowship after the Walk to Mary, including a grill, yard games, and other fun.
“That sounded like Heaven to me,” Maggie beamed, “and I jumped at the chance to take part.” The day before the Walk, she chose three intentions: the safety of the Supreme Court Justices, as a leak of the Dobbs decision had surfaced, the conversion of hardened hearts, and that she might meet her future husband.
“I was 33 at the time and really starting to wonder if the desire to be a wife and mother were in the cards for me,” she recalled. “But I was happy with my life and the path God had me on… so really, it was just another chance to pray about it and keep listening for God’s will.”
After writing down her prayers, she put them in Our Lady of Champion’s hands and drove up to Green Bay. To her surprise, the first face she saw in the Airbnb was “Mr. Handsome Front Row from Church!”
Maggie quickly learned that his name was Joe Carrozza, and the two walked the first leg of the Walk to Mary together the next day, praying and getting to know one another. They attended Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help (now Our Lady of Champion) and returned to the Airbnb for a night of celebration with their friends.
A year later, they are giving thanks to Our Lady of Champion for her hand in their relationship; every roadblock ironed itself out with a handful of Memorares, and they are excited to see what is in store for their future together. The couple plans to join the eleventh Walk to Mary in 2024 to celebrate their first anniversary with joyful prayer, songs, and new friends along the way to Mary.
Stories like Maggie’s remind us that anything is possible through the help of Jesus and Mary – we simply have to ask!
Our Lady of Champion, pray for us!
In the words of Fr. Rocky, “need a house, a spouse, or a baby? Go on the Walk to Mary!” There’s still time to join this pilgrimage of over 5,000 attendees with your intentions, big and small. Learn more and register today at WalktoMary.com.
