“I am a little pencil in the hands of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.” St. Teresa of Calcutta
Paula Veloso Babadi has been writing poetry since the age of eight — the first poem born in the middle of a hurricane, a quiet act of hope in the storm. That same instinct, to find beauty and grace in the ordinary and the difficult, has never left her.
Born in England to a Filipino Navy father and an English mother, Paula grew up moving between worlds — cobblestoned London streets, the American South of the 1960s, and, later, the warmth and complexity of an Iranian family she married into. These crossings of culture, language, and faith are not background detail in her writing; they are the very heart of it.
Her debut collection, Everywhere Hope: Encouraging Moments in Prose and Poetry, weaves personal memoir, reflective essays, and poetry with Scripture, inviting readers of every background to recognize the hope woven into their own daily moments. Endorsed by the Most Reverend Felipe J. Estevez, Bishop Emeritus of St. Augustine, as “a genius of feminine perception embedded in an unusual multicultural and multilingual integration,” the book has found its way to bedside tables and hearts across the country.
Her second book, Everywhere Love: Love’s Highway Home, uses the metaphor of traveling a highway — with rest stops, detours, and the promise of a sunrise destination — it maps love in all its forms across generations and continents: a Filipino father’s wartime love story, Persian bread baked at dawn, London nursery rhymes, and the quiet presence of God in all of it.
Arriving in October, her forthcoming book Purple Flower on My Nose: A Memoir of Love, Laughter, and Letting Go blends personal essay, journal, poetry, and prayer to illuminate themes of faith, love, and surrender from a deeply Catholic perspective.
Paula is an active member of the Catholic Writers Guild and has published with the Florida State Poets Association and the North Florida Poetry Hub. In addition to her books, her writing has appeared in magazines and anthologies.
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
She and her husband make their home in Northeast Florida, surrounded by their three sons, one daughter, five delightful grandchildren living nearby, chickens, and theirdog, Xena. It’s time to give back and share the blessings of the harvest.
