Dr. Daniel and Bethany Meola

Co-Founders; Dan is President and Board Chairman;
Bethany is Vice President and Board Secretary

Daniel Meola is an adult child of divorce who earned his Ph.D. in Theology of Marriage and Family from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. He has been leading retreats and support groups for adult children of divorce or separation since 2015 in the Archdiocese of Washington, and in 2018 he founded Life-Giving Wounds to spread the retreats, support groups, and other ministry to adult children of divorce or separation. In 2020, Life-Giving Wounds became a national 501(c)3 non-profit, and now has dozens of chapters around the country and internationally.

Bethany Meola has a master of theological studies degree from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. She and Dan met there and married in 2011. Bethany served the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for seven years in the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. In 2017, Dan and Bethany welcomed their daughter Zelie-Louise through the gift of adoption, and Bethany became a (mostly) stay-at-home mom. They’ve since welcomed two more daughters through adoption: Grace in 2019, and Josephine (Josie) in 2024.

The Meolas are authors of the book Life-Giving Wounds: A Catholic Guide to Healing for Adult Children of Divorce or Separation (Ignatius Press, 2023).

Dan and Bethany live in Bowie, MD with their daughters and a cat.