About Us

Mission Statement

Saint Maria Goretti Home (St. Maria’s Home) is committed to providing a Catholic home of hospitality and empowerment to pregnant and parenting women, 18 and over, with support and resources in the
Portland/Metro area for up to three years past delivery.

Interview with our Founders

About Us

St. Maria’s Home will be a non-profit Catholic home for women who need lodging, love, support and guidance throughout their pregnancy and up to three years after delivery of their child. St Maria’s Home will provide tools for our mothers to become self-sufficient and able to support themselves and their child (children). This includes vocational goals, financial skill competency, life skills classes, homemaking and child care skills, and support in continuing education or GED completion. Our mother/residents will also be offered women's bible study, Theology Of The Body classes, Natural Family Planning classes, and transportation to weekly mass or the option of attending another faith worship of their choice.

St Maria's Home will be able to freely proclaim Christ in her Church by being self-funded and accepting ethical grants. Based on another, faith based Maternity Home in Beaverton, Road 2 Hope, who fully fund their Maternity Home with 12 local Protestant churches, we calculate our future month costs to be between $20,000 to $25,000 per month. We will rely on volunteers, however, for stability, we do plan to fully employ a Mother-Child Coordinator and Executive Director. Marie Barzen, as Founder and President of the Board will not be receiving a salary. Marie’s pledge is to insure that all Board Members and employees are practicing Catholics.

Our Team

Marie Bernadette Barzen, RDH - Founder & President of St Maria's Home. Marie Bernadette Barzen has had extensive experience in directly leading 40 Days For Life/Beaverton for over 4 years of bi yearly campaigns. It is there that she honed her skills as a sidewalk counselor. Marie, a parishioner of St Cecilia and St Patrick Catholic Church then joined the team of 40 Days For Life/ Portland with Therese Ruesink of St Rose and Julie McConnell of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church. With our combined skills the help of countless prayer volunteers and God, closed down the Lovejoy Surgicenter in January 2021. Now the 40 Days For Life Portland Campaign is focused on the Lilith Clinic in downtown Portland. Marie's counseling skills have also been updated by conducting Sidewalk Advocate For Life classes at her home. She has been interviewed on Mater Dei by both Diana Marie and Brenda Aikin on various 40 Days For Life Campaigns over the years. Marie is an active member of St Cecilia Beaverton Respect Life Committee and also involved with St Patrick's in downtown Portland.

Marie graduated from Phoenix Community College with an Associates of Dental Hygiene Sciences. She has worked as a Registered Dental Hygienist in Arizona, Germany, Florida and is currently working at a dental office in the metro area. Marie has been happily married to Tom Barzen for nearly 39 years. They have two grown children of whom they are very proud of.

 

Claire Anctil-Cathey is St Maria's Home Mother Child Coordinator and the Media Communications Specialist. Claire is mom and a parishioner of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in North Portland, a member of the St Michael’s pro life group, and secretary of the board for Precious Children of Portland, a non profit supporting moms in need and their children. Claire became involved in pro life work after the birth of her son Raphael and through the St. Michael’s Pro Life group where she became involved in 40 Days for Life and met Marie, who inspired her to help in the endeavor to open this much needed home. In 2023 Claire was invited to attend Notre Dame's Vita Institute at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, where she met with a small international group of pro life leaders for a formation program committed to building a culture of life. Claire spends most of her time with her son Raphael and with her family and enjoys group fitness and nature. 

 

 

 

Becky Griffo helped in organizing and promoting the first 40 Days for Life campaign in Oregon in 2007 and has been participating in diverse capacities ever since, including graphic design of promotional items; coordinating volunteer drives; speaking at multiple parishes and sidewalk counseling. In 2008/9, Becky was a lead creative on the Ecce Veritas fundraiser team that designed, marketed and produced two very successful fundraisers for the private Catholic school - an elegant dinner with keynote speaker Fr. John Cihak and another event with Silent and Live Auctions. She is a founding member and co-chair of the St. Matthew Respect Life Committee instituted in 2012. With the committee members, she has coordinated Pro-Life speaking events, parish-wide educational campaigns and successful fundraisers for BirthRight, SVDP, Maternity homes and other charities, including a full capacity Respect Life Tea and Silent Auction. Becky also worked for one year as liaison with Matt Cato, Director of Life, Peace and Justice for the Archdiocese of Portland, consulting on his core team which instituted the quarterly Archdiocesan Respect Life meetings, among other things. At her parish, Becky volunteers as a 4th grade RE teacher and is also responsible for designing and producing the weekly bulletin.

Becky graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in art, her specialty being graphic design. She worked for various design studios and advertising agencies in Nevada, California and Oregon. Finally establishing her own business, E Design, and then later E2 Design, she worked for several decades as a successful freelance designer. Having enjoyed a long tenure of creative independence, Becky ventured into a new career path - office management and administration services. Though she had great appreciation for the freedom of self-employment, she was ready to enter into a busy office environment, where she could look forward to engaging more with people than with computers!
She and her best friend, Dewey, have been married for 28 years. Their daughter has just blessed them with their second grandchild.