Keynote Speakers
GÉRALD C. CARDINAL LACROIX
ARCHBISHOP OF QUEBEC
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2016 AT 9:00 AM
MERCY: THE HEART OF THE PRIESTHOOD
Pope Francis reminded priests during Holy Thursday’s Chrism Mass this year that: “As priests, we are witnesses to and ministers of the ever-increasing abundance of the Father’s mercy; we have the rewarding and consoling task of incarnating mercy, as Jesus did”.
During this talk, I want to explore with you how Jesus helped people experience God’s merciful love and how we as priests are called to be merciful pastors.
His Eminence Cardinal Gérald C. Cardinal Lacroix was born on July 27, 1957 in Saint-Hilaire de Dorset, a farming community of the Beauce Region in the Province of Quebec, Canada. In 1965, he emigrated with his family to Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. There he graduated from Trinity High School and pursued his studies at St. Anselm College.
His Eminence Cardinal Lacroix was received as a lay consecrated member of the Pius X Secular Institute (ISPX) in 1976 and pronounced perpetual vows in 1982. In 1985, he obtained a Bachelor of Theology degree from Laval University, Quebec City. While serving as Secretary General of the Pius X Secular Institute from 1982 to 1987, he was also Director of its Maison du Renouveau, a Christian formation and spiritual renewal centre in Quebec, from 1985 to 1987.
On March 25, 1988, His Eminence Cardinal Lacroix was ordained a deacon by Bishop Odore Gendron in St. Anthony of Padoua Parish in the Diocese of Manchester, NH. On October 8th of the same year, he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Maurice Couture in Notre-Dame-de-Recouvrance church for the Archdiocese of Quebec.
From 1990 to 1998, he was a missionary in Colombia, South America, and greatly contributed to establish the Pius X Secular Institute in that country. While serving as pastor of Nuestra Señora del Carmen Parish in Argelia, Cauca, in the Archdiocese of Popayán from 1990 to 1993, he obtained a Master’s in Pastoral Theology from Laval University, Quebec (1993).
During his stay in Colombia, he assumed several responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Popayán, namely as professor at San José Seminary, member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, member of the Priests’ Council, member of the Social Communications Commission, and director of the Liturgy Commission. On his return to Quebec, he was elected General Director of the Pius X Secular Institute from 2001 to 2005 and from 2005 to 2009. He was also President of the Canadian National Office of St. Andrew School of Evangelization, and member of the Board of Directors for the World Conference of Secular Institutes (2008-2012).
On April 7, 2009, he was named Titular Bishop of Ilta and Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. He received episcopal ordination from His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet on May 24, 2009 in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica. On August 26, 2010, he was elected Diocesan Administrator by the Quebec Archdiocesan College of Consultors.
His Eminence Cardinal Lacroix is a member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Assembly of Catholic Bishops (AECQ). In the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), he is a member of the Permanent Council, and Liaison Bishop for Secular Institutes in Canada. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Community Foundation for Central Quebec (Fondation communautaire du grand Québec).
His Eminence Gerald C. Cardinal Lacroix was named Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec on February 22, 2011 and took possession of his see on March 25, 2011. He is the 25th Bishop and the 15th Archbishop of Quebec. Pope Francis designated him a Cardinal on January 12, 2014, the 8th Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Quebec. Since May 22, 2014, he is a member of the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
MOST REV. CHARLES J. CHAPUT
ARCHBISHOP OF PHILADELPHIA
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016 AT 9:00 AM
THE PRIESTS WE NEED: Leading and serving the People of God in a very different America
The Church will face new and more challenging pastoral terrain in the coming 25 years. We need men of courage, fortitude, hope and joy – but how do we attract them? And how best can we form them?
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was born September 26, 1944, in Concordia, Kansas, the son of Joseph and Marian DeMarais Chaput. He attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grade School in Concordia and St. Francis Seminary High School in Victoria, Kansas. He joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, St. Augustine Province, in 1965.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Fidelis College Seminary in Herman, Pennsylvania, in 1967, Archbishop Chaput completed Studies in Psychology at Catholic University in Washington D.C., in 1969. He earned a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Capuchin College in Washington D.C., in 1970 and was ordained to the priesthood on August 29, 1970.
Archbishop Chaput received a Master of Arts in Theology from the University of San Francisco in 1971. He served as an instructor in theology and spiritual director at St. Fidelis from 1971-1974 and as executive secretary and director of communications for the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine in Pittsburgh from 1974-1977
In 1977, Archbishop Chaput became pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Thornton, Colorado, and vicar provincial for the Capuchin Province of Mid-America. He was named secretary and treasurer for the province in 1980, and he became chief executive and provincial minister three years later.
Archbishop Chaput was ordained Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, on July 26, 1988. Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Denver on February 18, 1997, and he was installed on April 7 the same year. As a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe, Archbishop Chaput was the second Native American to be ordained a bishop in the United States, and the first Native American archbishop. He chose as his episcopal motto: “As Christ Loved the Church” (Ephesians 5:25).
Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Philadelphia on July 19, 2011. He was installed as the 13th bishop and ninth archbishop of Philadelphia on September 8, 2011.
In 1999, building on the efforts of his predecessor in Denver, Archbishop Chaput founded St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, an affiliate of the Pontifical Lateran University. From 1998 to 2011, Archbishop Chaput ordained 71 men for the Archdiocese of Denver. Nearly half of the diocesan priests in active duty for the archdiocese were ordained by him.
In 2002, assisted by his Auxiliary Bishop José Gomez, Archbishop Chaput founded Centro San Juan Diego in response to the pastoral and educational needs of the growing Hispanic community in Colorado. He later co-founded the national Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) and helped in the founding of ENDOW, a leadership initiative of Catholic women to “Educate on the Nature and Dignity of Women.” He was also instrumental in creating the Denver-based Augustine Institute, an independent, lay-run graduate school for the formation of lay Catholic leaders, catechists and evangelizers.
Archbishop Chaput served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, 2003-2006. Duties included religious freedom fact-finding missions to China and Turkey, and annual reports monitoring global trends in religious liberty mandated by 1998 federal law.
In 2005, he was named a member of the official U.S. delegation to Cordoba, Spain, for the “Conference on Anti-Semitism and Other Forms of Intolerance,” sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The national Becket Fund for Religious Liberty awarded him the 2009 Canterbury Medal for his work in advancing religious freedom.
Archbishop Chaput served on the Board of Directors for The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. (1994 – 2009) and the National Catholic Bioethics Center (1993 – 2006). He serves on the board of directors for Eternal Word Television Network, Birmingham, Alabama (1996 – present); The Catholic Foundation of Northern Colorado (1998 – 2011); St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Northern Colorado (1999 –2011); Redemptorists Mater Seminary in Northern Colorado (1998 – 2011); The Fellowship of Catholic University Students (2001 – present); Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (2007 – present); World Youth Alliance International (2010 – present). As Archbishop of Philadelphia, he serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary.
For the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Chaput is currently Chair of the Subcommittee on Native American Catholics; a member of the Committee for Cultural Diversity in the Church and the Task Force for Health Care; a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty; and a consultant to the Committee for Pro-Life Activities. He formerly served on the Committee for Divine Worship, the Committee for Migration, the Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, and the Task Force on Strengthening Marriage.
Archbishop Chaput served the Holy See as an Apostolic Visitor to U.S. seminaries, (2005 – 2006); the Diocese of Toowoomba, Australia, (2007); and the Legion of Christ for Canada and the United States, (2009 – 2010). In February 2014 he was appointed to the Pontifical Council for the Laity by Pope Francis.
He is author of two books: Living the Catholic Faith: Rediscovering the Basics (Servant, 2001) and Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life (Doubleday, 2008); and numerous talks, articles and pastoral letters. His writings, discourses, and homilies are available at www.archphila.org/archbishopchaput/index.htm and www.archden.org/archbishop.
