Kate Boyce, shown here with her husband, David, and their daughter, Galilee, loves teaching people about the Catholic faith. (Submitted photo)

Kate Boyce
Holy Name of Jesus/Sheboygan North Catholic Parishes
Quote: “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.” — St. John Paul II
Family: Husband, David, and 5-month-old daughter.
Summer favorite: Cranberries. “When I moved to Wisconsin, I was ecstatic to learn that it is like the biggest producer of cranberries.”
Dream for the future: People in Sheboygan will find a home in the churches here and they’ll encounter Jesus in the Church.
Work world: Director of Religious Education at Sheboygan North Catholic Parishes until May 2025, Boyce is now a stay-at-home mom.

Kate Boyce makes her life’s mission and vocation clear on her LinkedIn.

“My job is to love people where they are and help them encounter the Lord in a deeper way,” she says.

A decade-long ministry career doing exactly that has taken her on a cross-country journey to from Sioux City, Iowa, to Germany, California and eventually, Sheboygan.

It’s a path that powerfully proves the quote from St. John Paul II that you’ll find on her email signature: “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.”

“I think that just sums up so many different seasons of life,” Boyce says. “Even in hard times, it’s still an adventure. I don’t know where the Lord will lead me next, but he does, and that’s something that calls for our trust.”

The adventure has taken a definitive and recent right turn, leading her out of professional circles for now and into the vocation of full-time motherhood.

But don’t be surprised if you find her helping neighbors find their footing in the Catholic faith while grilling burgers in the backyard, similar to what she did another time.

“This couple emailed the parish out of the blue and said they were interested in becoming Catholic. They have three kids, and they were a little bit hesitant about joining the Church. We found out that they’re our neighbors, so that was so cool to realize — ‘Oh, they’re just across the street!’“ Boyce said.

“They had missed one OCIA (becoming Catholic) session. I had them just come over to the living room and just sit and chat to catch up on that session, which was kind of neat. It just reinforced that the Church is local and it is our neighbors.”

While local meant Iowa growing up and for her college years at Briar Cliff University, God planned greater adventures.

“I went on a study-abroad trip to Germany that was called the Catholic Worldview Fellowship,” she said. “It was just about Catholicism and leadership, and I feel like that was a huge part of me coming to see the saints not just as holy but as real leaders in their day and real influencers of culture in their day.”

Adventure took her to experiencing Big Bear Lake, California, as a holy space for a summer leading and influencing young people as a Life Teen missionary.

That led her to pursue a career in youth ministry more formally, and she was accepted into Notre Dame University’s Echo Graduate Service Program to pursue a master’s in theology.

For two years, each Echo student is an apprentice at a parish or school during the school year, and then on the ND campus in South Bend, Indiana, for formation during the summers.

That brought her move to Sheboygan to apprentice with the Sheboygan North Catholic Parishes, where she eventually became a staff member.

“I just love teaching. I love watching people discover the faith. I love seeing people read Scripture for the first time and discover new things about the Lord and what he says. Kids are so funny about it. Then it’s just beautiful to see adults who can have more mature conversations ask questions that they’ve never asked before about the Lord.”

God’s adventure sometimes brings twists in the road that lead to incredibly blessed journeys. Now, Boyce gets to dive into God moments with her own young daughter, and find the Lord even in fun and silliness.

“I love to show the joy of motherhood in talking to my daughter, kind of goofing around with her, even though she’s 5 months old, holding up a bunch of bananas at the store and asking her in a silly tone, ‘Do these look like an OK bunch of bananas?’”

It’s not hard for Boyce to inspire seeing God’s presence on the side of the adventurous road, even in a bunch of bananas.