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October 4, 2019Speaker Spotlight: Avera Maria Santo
When Avera Maria Santo was a sophomore in high school, she experienced a tremendous conversion of heart, one that would impact her life forever.
“I started to make my faith my own,” she said.
However, at the same time as her conversion, she also began struggling with the temptation of same-sex attraction.
“Since then, I have been on a journey of accepting the Catholic Church's teachings on human sexuality, which I now see are so good, true and beautiful,” she said.
At the young age of 23, Avera Maria Santo has been blessed with a fervent desire to encourage others to embrace the Creator's plans on this issue, as well. Touched by God's mercy and love, she has since been traveling all over the country, sharing her powerful story with teens and adults. Avera will be giving a total of three talks at the Thirst Conference in Bismarck on Oct. 25-27; two geared for young adults, and one for parents.
“I have a real heart for young people, and I want to spare them from accepting the dangerous and deceptive beliefs on homosexuality that are so prevalent in our society today,” she said.
“I want to help people peacefully deal with the very serious and often terrifying topic of homosexuality, both inside and outside of the Church. I hope they can know that there are people struggling with it that still lead very joyful lives.”
This summer, the Mobile, Alabama native, gave the keynote address at the Courage Conference at Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. Avera is an active member of Courage International, also known as Courage Apostolate, which is an approved apostolate of the Catholic Church that counsels men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love. Through this apostolate, they find support as they journey towards holiness.