LADY LAKE | On early Saturday mornings, Sandra, and sisters Aurora and Rosario, can be found making their way to St. Timothy Parish in Lady Lake, sacrificing sleep and free time to be with friends and attend the weekly three-hour long Young Women of Grace study program. For these local high schoolers it’s an easy decision to make those sacrifices.
“It’s a good way to deepen your faith and really connect with other people your age and get to know more about what it is to be a woman,” said Sandra, age 16, who is going through the program for a second time. “I wanted to come back because I wanted to keep connection with Dr. Darlene because she is a very nice guide. She provides good guidance for me in my faith.”
The Young Women of Grace Study program is an adaption of the Women of Grace Study Program designed to “help young women and girls ages 12 to 17 discern their purpose and mission and find true fulfillment.”
The Women of Grace study has been implemented in parishes across the country for more than two decades, leading women in learning about “authentic femininity” modeled on the Blessed Virgin Mary while forming lasting friendships. Darlene Drazenovich attended one such group at St. Timothy’s in 2020 and soon found herself not only parish coordinator of the program, but regional facilitator for Central Florida as well. It was in that role that the idea of beginning a Young Women’s chapter came to her, an idea she initially resisted.
“I thought, ‘Oh gosh, I can’t do this. What do I know about teenage girls?” Drazenovich said.
When attending the annual Women of Grace conference, she told her objections to some other attendees and their response was surprising – they laughed at her.
“It was in a good way, like the Holy Spirit has other plans for you,” Drazenovich said.
When she returned, she felt driven to take action, to create the group she wishes she had as a young woman. The group is now in its second year, with a small but devoted group meeting weekly to discuss everything from their identity as daughters of God, different types of prayer, evangelization to the challenges they face as young people today. This year, a group for young men, Pathfinders, has also launched, with the goal of providing a similar setting for the boys in the parish.
“With my experience in education, I see teenagers and young people, young adults, leaving the church in droves. They’re just walking away. And for many, many, many reasons,” explained Veronica Timmons, youth director at St. Timothy. “I think that our culture in the U.S. current day very much is pushing a self-serving agenda. And if they do not feel that they’re being served by the Church, they’re leaving. That’s my observation. So, my hope is that the young people find a home with the Church and that they find community there because even if they leave, they’ll come back. That’s my hope.”
That desire for community is precisely what attracted Aurora to Young Women of Grace who soon began bringing her sister to meetings.
“I didn’t have an outlet to talk about my girlhood, nor my religion, and Women of Grace really provided that space for me,” said Aurora. “I think the discussions we have impact me the most, not just including the book that we’re given, but with each other, the adults that help us, the women that help us.”
Sandra described a similar experience, saying “I feel like there’s a better sense of community now because I get to know other people my age who are Catholic. It’s been helpful when sharing because they have similar issues and questions. It’s a good way to deepen your faith and really connect with other people your age and get to know more about what it is to be a woman.”
Timmons and Drazenovich would love to see Young Women of Grace and Pathfinders grow and even spread to more parishes, noting the importance of providing this type of support and formation to equip the teens to face the unique challenges and competing influences facing young people today.
“You know why I want to do this and why I feel so compelled to do this, even though it’s a challenge? It’s because I want to give those teenagers the opportunity to know and love and serve the Lord and fall in love with Jesus,” Drazenovich said.
“I just really feel the Holy Spirit working in the parish,” Timmons added. “I feel like the children and the youth are really finding a home there. In addition to these classes, they want to come and volunteer. They want to altar serve. And I think that’s just such a blessing for the parish, but also for those teens to really find a home there and find a love of God in the Church.”
By Elizabeth Wilson, Special to the Florida Catholic, January 15, 2026