Barb Szyszkiewicz

New Jersey

Founder and Blogger at FranciscanMom

Married mom of 3 adults, Secular Franciscan, semiprofessional intercessor. Editor @CatholicMomCom, author: https://t.co/yqHVlTvRgw and https://t.co/z2yArah1wk.

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Articles

Real Life with Mary Book Club: Week 3

5 days ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

Our Book Club selection for May 2025: Real Life with Mary by Kelsey Gillespy. Watch the Week 3 video!Our May 2025 Book Club selection is a book honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary! Kelsey Gillespy, in her new book, Real Life with Mary: Growing in Virtue to Magnify the Lord, encourages moms to grow in friendship with Mary and learn from her how to walk the daily path to holiness.
Real Life with Mary Book Club: Week 2

1 week ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

Our Book Club selection for May 2025: Real Life with Mary by Kelsey Gillespy. Watch the Week 2 video!Our May 2025 Book Club selection is a book honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary! Kelsey Gillespy, in her new book, Real Life with Mary: Growing in Virtue to Magnify the Lord, encourages moms to grow in friendship with Mary and learn from her how to walk the daily path to holiness.
Meatless Friday: 5 Dishes to Bring to a Picnic

2 weeks ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

Here in the USA, it's a holiday weekend! If you're attending a picnic (or hosting one), here are five meatless options complete with printable recipe cards. It's the unofficial start of summer, and the perfect time of year for a picnic! Whether you're hosting the event or bringing a dish along, having a meatless option is always helpful. Here are five choices shared by our writers! You can click on each photo to go straight to the recipe.
Real Life with Mary Book Club: Week 1

2 weeks ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

Our Book Club selection for May 2025: Real Life with Mary by Kelsey Gillespy. Find out why Kelsey wrote this book!Our May 2025 Book Club selection is a book honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary! Kelsey Gillespy, in her new book, Real Life with Mary: Growing in Virtue to Magnify the Lord, encourages moms to grow in friendship with Mary and learn from her how to walk the daily path to holiness.
Meatless Friday: Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

3 weeks ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

For an easy Meatless Friday meal, Barb Szyszkiewicz recommends adding pineapple and shrimp to fried rice. Download our printable recipe card!I cook a lot with shrimp because it's quick and relatively inexpensive; I can get frozen shrimp for about $5 a pound, which is a bargain compared to most seafood and even most meat these days. Fried rice is also an inexpensive meal. It lets me use up cooked rice left over from another meal, as well as all kinds of produce I might have around.
Pray for the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV

1 month ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

The newly elected pope, Robert Francis Prevost, has chosen the name Leo XIV. How will you pray for the new pope, and how did you hear about the election? Shortly after noon Eastern today, white smoke was seen from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, and the announcement was made a little more than an hour later that the new pope, Robert Francis Prevost, has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV. The pope was born in 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, and has dual citizenship in the USA and Peru.
Meatless Friday: Lemon Tilapia with Broccoli Slaw Stir-Fry

1 month ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

Barb Szyszkiewicz shares a simple fish dish made even simpler with pre-shredded vegetables. Download our printable recipe card!What can you do with a bag of broccoli slaw? Turns out, a lot more than simply making slaw. It's great in stir-fries, so if you've opened a bag and didn't use it all, this is a great way to serve the rest. If you prep your vegetables while the oven preheats, you can cook the stir-fry as the fish bakes, and it will all be done at the same time.
Two Ways to Pray for the Upcoming Conclave

1 month ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

The conclave to elect a new pope will begin Wednesday, May 7. Here are two ways to keep the cardinals and the Church in your prayers. It was announced this morning that the conclave to elect the new pope will begin Wednesday, May 7. The College of Cardinals will meet in the Sistine Chapel for prayer, meditation, and voting. We can all pray for the upcoming conclave, that the cardinals will be guided by the Holy Spirit as they elect a new pope.
Join the Real Life with Mary Book Club

1 month ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

CatholicMom.com announces the Book Club selection for May 2025: Real Life with Mary by Kelsey Gillespy. We're excited to announce that our May 2025 Book Club selection is a book honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary! Kelsey Gillespy, in her new book, Real Life with Mary: Growing in Virtue to Magnify the Lord, encourages moms to grow in friendship with Mary and learn from her how to walk the daily path to holiness. What's the book about?
Funeral Date Set for Pope Francis

1 month ago | catholicmom.com | Barb Szyszkiewicz

As Catholics around the world learn of the death of Pope Francis, we are called to unite in prayer. Following the death of Pope Francis on Monday, April 21, Vatican officials have been working to schedule the events of the papal funeral. What Has Already Happened? On the evening of April 21, the formal verification of the pope's death took place in a prayer service in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lived. The papal apartment was then sealed. What Happens Next?