Services
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Event Speaker
Hire Claire to speak at a retreat, Parish event, or conference. She values writing and delivering her talks with your audience in mind so you will be able to meet with Claire beforehand to share needs that you see in your community and hopes for the event. Gender Theory vs. Gender Reality, Sexuality, Contraception and Natural Family Planning, Dating and Discernment, Marriage, The Need for Evangelization, Prayer, the Mass, Healing, Intimacy with God, and God’s Mercy
Bible Studies & Discussion Guides
Purchase resources written and curated by Claire that are proven to inspire transformation in Christ and vulnerability in community. From the atheist to the fervent parishioner, these curriculum are evangelistic in nature because they are ideologically based on the truth that “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.” (CCC 27)
Curriculum Design Consulting
Trained in curriculum design, teaching methods, and public health behavior change models, Claire has an eye for program improvement. If you have a program that you want to take to the next level at your parish, school, or student center, send your materials over to Claire and she would love to help pinpoint potential areas for flourishing and give you the space to workshop your discussions and questions.
Professional Bio
Catholic Speaking
Claire Batalla grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and received her Bachelor’s in Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a minor in Spanish from Tulane University in New Orleans. She was heavily involved in the Tulane Catholic Center after having a conversion away from Tulane’s party culture and experiencing the mercy of Jesus Christ in Confession. She loved leading the music and skits for retreats and served as the publicity chair of Catholic Relief Services and President of the Student Leadership Team.
Claire additionally spearheaded university programs such as education on the addictive nature of pornography, interventions for sexual assault prevention, and decreasing depression and anxiety via authentic peer relationship building. While pursuing her masters in Public Health, Claire felt the Lord calling her to even more deeply tend to the health of college students by introducing them to the person of Jesus Christ. Convicted that behavior change (which occupies the efforts of most public health programs) and conversion are only possible through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Claire dropped out of her graduate program and became a missionary with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).
Claire has served as a missionary at UT for the past 7 years, 2 of which were spent as the Team Director. Working in ministry Claire has had the opportunity to speak for college retreats and conferences on a variety of topics: Gender & Sexuality, Intimacy, Dating, Evangelization, Prayer, the Mass, and God’s Mercy (to name a few). In FOCUS, Claire has been a speaker at missionary trainings and Recruitment Weekends. Outside of FOCUS, Claire was a keynote speaker at the Pro-Life Conference in Philadelphia in 2019. More recently she and her husband Ben designed and facilitated a weekend-long retreat at Saint Albert the Great Catholic Church which focused on entering more deeply into the Mass. Last year Claire and Ben delivered compelling talks on Sexuality and Intimacy in Marriage for SATG’s Called to Be One Marriage Preparation for engaged couples.
Claire’s speaking style is at once deeply vulnerable and highly persuasive, delivered with the experiential authority of a sinner who is daily experiencing the Mercy of God. Her speeches are informed by truths found in her public health background - especially research on the flourishing of human beings and how they point to the need for relationship with God and His Church. She artfully intertwines theological truth with sociology and relays each point with memorable stories and anecdotes. Claire’s talks are carefully curated for each audience along with input from her point of contact and inspirations from the Holy Spirit in prayer - she never ends up delivering the same talk twice.
Ministry initiatives and curriculum design
Claire has accompanied over 60 students in intentional discipleship during her time as a missionary and has developed valuable insights into the art of evangelization. She has been able to watch God transform students from agnostics, atheists, and luke-warm Christians into vibrant, all-in Catholics. 12 of the students she has worked with went on to become full-time missionaries after graduating.
Pulling from her background in public health behavior change models, Claire has developed strategies for teaching others key evangelization skills that dynamically engage those who have not yet encountered God and intentionally help encourage them into their next threshold of conversion (referencing Sherry Wendell’s 5 Thresholds of Conversion).
In addition to forming leaders, she has also developed discussion guides, Bible studies, and curriculum for the Catholic-curious and unevangelized. Claire’s curriculum does not just tell her audience facts but it addresses underlying beliefs, experiences, assumptions, motivations, and potential misinformation that currently inform their views. Upon encountering each person’s subjective human experience, the curriculum points to places of objective truth within their story (a cue taken from St. John Paul II) which drives them towards an encounter with Jesus Christ who is The Truth. These curriculum are also scaffolded, meaning they reference and build on previous weeks, months, and even years of formation in order to reinforce habits and concepts and expand on their complexity.
Examples of her work include:
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Participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: A guide to enter more fully into heaven on earth
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A resource for parishes, schools, and student centers to provide those attending Mass
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The Holiness of Marriage: Marriage Preparation Discussion Guide
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A series of readings and discussions to be completed during engagement in small groups or with mentor couples or a priest
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Catholic Wedding Booklet
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Helps audience follow along with the Mass and aims to evangelize those in attendance
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Jesus, I Trust in you: Women’s Healing Retreat
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A weekend-long retreat introducing participants to integrating the whole person and story work
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“Forming Intentional Disciples” – Discussion Guide for Launching Evangelists
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Teaches practical evangelization skills to Church leaders through readings, small groups discussions, and workshop-style practice
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“Upstream Approaches to Sexual Assault Prevention”
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Secular college small-group based program for curbing sexual assault rates through body respect and awareness
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The John15 Freshman Experience: Make your first year of college an adventure
Currently Claire is in the process of designing a curriculum to teach toddlers some basic faith concepts in interactive and engaging ways. Check back here next June when her first son turns 5 for the completed curriculum!
