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Diocese of Winona-Rochester and Founder of Word on Fire
Bishop Robert Barron is the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota) and the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. He is the host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award-winning documentary about the Catholic Faith, which aired on PBS. Bishop Barron’s more recent film series, CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players, has won an Emmy award and has been syndicated for national television.
Bishop Barron is a #1 Amazon bestselling author and has published numerous books, essays, and articles on theology and the spiritual life. He was a religion correspondent for NBC and has also appeared on FOX News, CNN, and EWTN.
Bishop Barron’s website, WordOnFire.org, reaches millions of people each year, and he is one of the world’s most followed Catholics on social media. His YouTube videos have been viewed over 131 million times, and he has over 3 million followers on Facebook.
He has engaged in dialogue with Dr. Jordan Peterson, Lex Fridman, Dave Rubin, Ben Shapiro, and William Lane Craig, among other influencers and thought leaders, and he has been invited to speak about religion at the headquarters of Facebook, Google, and Amazon. He has keynoted many conferences and events all over the world, including the 2016 World Youth Day in Kraków and the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which marked Pope Francis’ historic visit to the United States.
Harvard Professor and Best-selling Author
Arthur C. Brooks is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and
Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Professor of Management Practice at
the Harvard Business School, where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. He is
also a columnist at The Atlantic, where he writes the popular “How to Build a Life” column.
Brooks is the author of 13 books, including the 2023 #1 New York Times bestseller Build the Life
You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier with co-author Oprah Winfrey, and the 2022
#1 New York Times bestseller From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and
Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. He speaks to audiences all around the world about
human happiness and works to raise well-being within private companies, universities, public
agencies, and community organizations.
Author and Speaker
Sr. Miriam James Heidland is a former Division I athlete who had a radical conversion and joined the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) in 1998. Her story has been featured on EWTN’s The Journey Home, SEEK Conferences, Steubenville Conferences and other outlets.
She holds a master’s degree in theology from the Augustine Institute and speaks extensively on the topics of conversion, authentic love, forgiveness and healing. She is also affiliated with Friends of the Bridegroom and the John Paul II Healing Center in leading healing retreats for priests and religious sisters across the nation.
Sr. Miriam’s podcast, Abiding Together, can be found on iTunes. Her books, Behold: A Guided Advent Journal, Restore: A Guided Lent Journal, and Loved As I Am can be found on Amazon. She tweets at @onegroovynun
Director of the Vatican Museums
Dr. Barbara Jatta has been Director of the Vatican Museums since 2017 and is the first woman
to hold the position. She graduated from the La Sapienza University in Rome and did periods of
post-graduate study in the UK, Portugal, and the United States. Dr. Jatta once taught graphic
arts at a university in Naples and for over 20 years she worked in the Vatican library, including
as curator of its Gabinetto della Stampa, the division dealing with rare prints. The Vatican Museums house some 200,000 works, of which 25,000 or so are on view. Besides the better-known museums, like the Etruscan and Ethnographic Museums, the Vatican museums also house seven laboratories for conservation and restoration, staffed by 100 restorers specialized in everything from restoration of paintings and marble sculptures to paper, ceramics, textiles and even straw.
Award-winning Actor and Producer
Multi-talented and award-winning actor Neal McDonough has been blessed to have an incredible career in the film industry. He is now producing films alongside his wife Ruvé for the McDonough company. McDonough is well known for performances in productions, such as Band of Brothers, Minority Report, Walking Tall and Star Trek First Contact. He also starred in many stage productions, and most recently played Whitey Bulger on stage in Finding Whitey at the Wilbur theater in Boston and Daddy Warbucks in Annie. But he’s most proud of his relationship with God, his wife, Ruvé, and their five children. McDonough trained at Syracuse University and studied at LAMDA in London.
Presenter of ‘Bible in a Year’ and ‘Catechism in a Year’
Fr. Mike Schmitz is a Catholic priest and Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, as well as a speaker and author. He is known for his internet presence, especially his ‘Bible in a Year’ and ‘Catechism in a Year’ YouTube videos. He has been a speaker for various Catholic programs and events, including the Fellowship of Catholic University Students leadership summit, Ascension Presents, and Steubenville Conferences. Lighthouse Catholic Media publishes many of his talks.
Pro-Life Advocate and Speaker
Katie Shaw is a pro-life advocate and speaker who has been to several states and the White House to speak to the President about the sanctity of life. Katie serves on the board of directors at Down Syndrome Indiana and speaks about disability awareness, mostly at schools. She attended Pike High School in Indianapolis and got her Childhood Associate Degree from Ivy Tech Community College. She worked in childcare for six years before switching to retail where she has been a sales associate at JCPenney for 9½ years. Katie loves meeting new people and trying new things. She participates in three Special Olympic sports: track, basketball, and softball, and she volunteers at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church.
President of the University of Mary
Monsignor Shea was inaugurated in 2009 as the sixth president of the University of Mary and, at the age of 34, became the youngest college or university president in the United States. He majored in English and history at Jamestown College and later entered the seminary for the Diocese of Bismarck. He has studied management at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business and is also an alumnus of the Institutes for Higher Education at the Graduate School of Education, Harvard University. Monsignor Shea has served with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity and has also served as chaplain for the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital. Monsignor Shea serves on the Boards of Directors for Saint John Vianney Seminary in Denver, Relevant Radio, the Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities, and the Northern Sun Conference of the NCAA. Monsignor served as chairman of the Catholic Identity Committee on the Board of Directors for FOCUS: the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and he is a Knight Commander of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Deeply committed to the education and formation of young people, Monsignor Shea is a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck.
Rachel and Jason Bulman have been married for 15 years and have 7 children, six on earth and one in heaven. Jason is a practicing physician assistant, speaker, writer, and a deacon. He has appeared on numerous podcasts, serves on the board for Catholic Charities of Central Florida and holds a Master’s Degree in Theology. Rachel is a stay-at-home mother, international speaker, and author. She served as the editor for With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life (2022, Word on Fire Publishers), a collection of essays from various Catholic women exploring the often forgotten aspect of the feminine genius – the intellectual life. Rachel authored Becoming Wife: Saying Yes to More than the Dress (2023, Our Sunday Visitor), a theological and philosophical reflection on being a wife.
Ester Munt-Brooks is a Catholic educator dedicated to helping ordinary people deepen their faith and apply it to daily life. She speaks widely in parishes and at Catholic events around the United States for both English and Spanish-speaking audiences and is adapting her message for cable television and internet distribution on the CatholicTV Network. She is currently pursuing her graduate education in Theology at the Augustine Institute. Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Ester is the mother of three adult children, two daughters-in-law, and one grandson. She currently lives in Needham, Massachusetts, with her husband, Arthur Brooks.
Good News Conference 866.524.1896 goodnewsconference@ctscentral.net