Joyful Visitation Chapter

Saturday, November 15, 2025

9:30 am to 12:30 pm

Holy Cross Catholic Church

Social Hall

3773 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, GA 30341

Guest Speaker:

Maureen Smith

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm;  for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.  It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.  Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.”

Song of Songs 8: 6-7

Maureen Smith, who is the Chief Communications Officer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, will be the next speaker for our Magnificat Meal to be held on November 15, 2025.

Maureen Smith is the very rare Atlanta native, born and raised ITP (inside the perimeter) in a Victorian home her parents restored from absolute ruin in Inman Park. Her father, Rev. Mr. Wayne Smith, was the permanent deacon at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus downtown for 25 years. Her mother, Pat Smith, worked alongside him preparing hundreds of children and adults for First Holy Communion, Confirmation and marriage. 

Maureen attended St. Thomas More Catholic School in Decatur when the School Sisters of Notre Dame were still lovingly tending to the students there. She well remembers Sr. Rita, who could be a bit strict, and Sr. Rose, who is probably an unrecognized saint. She then attended St. Pius X Catholic High school, and graduated from Jesuit-founded Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL. She has an undergraduate degree in communications and theology and a Master’s in theology. 

She first started working for the Church in Jackson, Mississippi, when she took a job as a reporter for the newspaper, Mississippi Catholic. When she left, she was the editor and director of communications. She joyfully covered the opening of the cause for canonization for Sr. Thea Bowman, FSP, and mourned with the community of Durant when two Catholic sisters serving there were murdered in their home. Six years ago, she returned home to Atlanta and is now the Chief Communications Officer for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. She and her husband, Jeff Amy, have two daughters.

 Maureen loves a good story, from scripture and legend to the tales she joyfully collects as she encounters people around her. She has always wanted to be a storyteller in one way or another. Her college study of scripture and early church theologians awoke in her a whole new way to explore and deepen her faith. 

 Her work as a journalist and then communications director has affirmed her conviction that the stories we share have the power to heal, unite, inspire, spark forgiveness and, most importantly, convey the whisper of the Holy Spirit into our lives. If you would like to listen, she would love to tell you about her family, her work, her dog and her accidental garden pumpkin.