Read our Apostolic Blessing from His Holiness, Pope Francis

Michael graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with Bachelor degrees in Business Administration (BBA) and Philosophy (BA), St. Augustine’s at the University of Toronto with a Bachelor in Theology (STB) and Master of Divinity (MDiv), and Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Michigan with a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) with a concentration on the new evangelization. Michael has been involved in a variety of ministries dedicated to evangelization and has been involved in mission projects in Europe, Africa, and North America. In 2016 Michael co-founded uevangelize.org, a new online membership forum dedicated to the New Evangelization.

Michael and his wife, Linda, were married in the winter of 2008 and Therese Marie was born in the spring of 2013. They have recently been blessed with a second daughter, Anna.

Sr. Ann Shields, S.G.L., is an internationally noted conference and retreat speaker and author of numerous books on Catholic spirituality including Deeper Conversion, To Be Like Jesus and More of the Holy Spirit. She hosts the popular daily radio program Food for the Journey.

She is a member of The Servants of God’s Love, a charismatic religious community established in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan and is a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council.

Sr. Ann was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 for service to the Church and is a recipient of the Aggiornamento Award given by the Catholic Library Association in recognition of outstanding contribution for the renewal of parish and community life.

Curtis Martin is the Founder of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). He holds a Master’s degree in Theology and is the author of the best-selling book Made for More. In 2011, Curtis was appointed to serve as a Consulter to the Pontifical Council of the New Evangelization. Curtis and his wife, Michaelann, live in Westminster, CO. They have been blessed with nine children.

For more information on Curtis Martin please visit: https://www.focus.org/about/leadership/curtis-martin

Patrick Madrid hosts the popular “Patrick Madrid Show”which is produced and distributed nationally by Immaculate Heart Radio.

He has authored or edited 25 books including: Why Be Catholic, How to do Apologetics, Pope Fiction, Search and Rescue, and Surprised by Truth. He book sales have exceed 1 million copies.

He has served as an adjunct Professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and as a research fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Studies. He is currently an adjunct professor of apologetics in Holy Apostles College and Seminary's theology department.

He and his wife Nancy have 11 children and 21 grandchildren (and counting!).

George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is a Catholic theologian and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. He holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.

From June 1996, as a Senior Fellow, Mr. Weigel prepared a major study of the life, thought, and action of Pope John Paul II. Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II was published to international acclaim in the fall of 1999, and has since been translated into twelve languages.

Mr. Weigel is the author or editor of some twenty other books, including Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church; Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches and City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s Kraków. His essays, op-ed columns, and reviews appear regularly in major opinion journals and newspapers.

Mr. Weigel received a B.A. from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore and an M.A. from the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto. He is the recipient of eighteen honorary doctorates in fields including divinity, philosophy, law, and social science.

While attending University, Christy Dupuis had a powerful encounter with Jesus and fell in love with her Catholic faith. After completing a B.A. in English she went on to serve as a lay missionary with Catholic Christian Outreach. She served as a Team Leader, District Director and worked in a number of roles supporting leadership development for the movement. While serving as a missionary Christy began speaking at conferences and retreats and leading workshops on a variety of topics. Her passion for evangelization and communicating the Gospel continues to drive her service to the church.

Christy is married to Daniel and the mother of three young children who challenge and inspire her. She continues to daydream about what the church could be and takes those dreams and continues to communicate them through retreats, conferences, and workshops. Through scripture and personal stories, Christy endeavors to spread the joy and freedom that comes from knowing Jesus. Believing that the parish is instrumental in evangelization efforts, Christy serves as a member of the Pastoral Team at her local parish where she co-labours with her pastor and others to form disciples and provide opportunities for all men and women to encounter Jesus.

A native of Montreal, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1972. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University, Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from Toronto School of Theology and a Licentiate in Theology from Regis College.

Archbishop Prendergast taught in Halifax at Atlantic School of Theology from 1975-1981, then was Rector of Toronto's Regis College from 1981-87 and Dean of Theology from 1991-1994. In 1988-89, he lectured as Daniel Hannin Professor at Campion College, University of Regina. From 1992-1994, he served as Executive Secretary of the Vatican's Apostolic Visitation of Canadian seminaries (English sector). When nominated bishop in 1995, he was Catholic Biblical Association of America Visiting Professor at the École biblique et archéologique française de Jerusalem. Named Titular Bishop of Slebte and Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto on February 22, 1995, Archbishop Prendergast received episcopal ordination in St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, on April 25, 1995.

Appointed eleventh Archbishop of Halifax on June 30th, 1998, he was installed in St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica on September 14th that year. In January 2002, he became Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth. He is the Canadian member of Vox Clara, an advisory commission to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments on the English translation of Sacramental texts. In the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, he has served on its Permanent Council, been a member of the Commission for Relations with Associations of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Laity, co-chair of the national Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue, a director of the Catholic Office for Life and the Family, and has now fulfilled three terms on the Doctrinal Commission. He now serves on the Social Communications Committee.

Archbishop Prendergast was named tenth Bishop and ninth Archbishop of Ottawa by Pope Benedict XVI on May 14, 2007. He was installed on June 26, 2007.

Fr. Mark Goring is a member of the Companions of the Cross, a new order of priests based in Ottawa, Ontario. He grew up in the town of Pembroke, in the Ottawa valley. He joined the Companions of the Cross when he was 18 and was ordained to the priesthood in 2002, at the age of 26. Fr Mark served for four years at St Mary's Parish in Ottawa. He also served as director of admissions for the Companions of the Cross and served as Chaplain to the Catholic students at York University in Toronto. He is currently the Director of the Catholic Charismatic Center in Houston, Texas. Fr. Mark is also part of the Food for Life Television Ministry.