Fr. Joseph Fessio, a Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit order, was born on January 10, 1941. He attended high school at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, CA. Before entering the Jesuit novitiate in 1961, he completed undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering at the University of Santa Clara, CA. He earned both his Bachelor’s (1966) and Master’s (1967) degrees in Philosophy from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA.
Before being ordained on June 10, 1972, he had also earned a Master’s in Theology from his studies in Lyons, France. In 1975, Father Fessio earned his Doctorate in Theology from the University of Regensburg, West Germany. His thesis director was Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), with whom a lasting friendship was developed that continues to this day.
Father Fessio has had a distinguished career as an educator. He taught Philosophy (1966-69) and Systematic and Spiritual Theology at the University of San Francisco (1974-1998). From 1988-91, Father served as editor of 30 Days in the Church and the World, an international Catholic magazine, and became publisher of The Catholic World Report in 1991. Since 1995, he was publisher of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, as well as Catholic Dossier, Catholic Faith (until 2002).
In 1976, Father Fessio founded St. Ignatius Institute and, in 1978, became founder and editor of Ignatius Press. Father has been a solid orthodox voice in Catholic publishing since its founding. In 1995, he co-founded Adoremus: Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy. Three years later, he founded the Catholic Radio Network and, in 2002, he founded Campion College of San Francisco. That same year he became Chancellor of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, and later its Provost. He is currently the University’s Theologian-in-Residence.
Fr. Frank E. Papa, S.O.L.T., J.C.D. spent more than 25 years working with youth before his ordination to the priesthood in 1989. He was Founder and Executive Director of Teens, Incorporated, a recreational character-building organization that expanded into Teen Homes for youth from broken homes.
He earned his Doctorate in Canon Law from the Angelicum in Rome, graduated magna cum laude, studied for an Advocacy Degree at the Sacred Roman Rota, and taught various courses at the Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, CT.
He has been a guest on radio and television shows, and a speaker at State Agencies and Institutions, as well as at regional and national home schooling conferences.
As a priest with extensive backgrounds in Canon Law, marriage preparation, and youth work, Fr. Papa is uniquely qualified to give parents important tips from a Catholic perspective. Recently, he authored the book, Love, Dating, and Marriage: A Marriage Preparation Guide. He is also author of the book Teenage Guide for Confession, as well as the new Seton Teacher’s Manual on the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Dr. Catherine (“Katie”) Moran received her B.A. degree with majors in Biology, Chemistry and Speech/Hearing Therapy from Kent State University, and her MS.Ed. (Masters of Science in Education) and Ph.D. in Education from Breyer State University.
She has eighteen years of experience home schooling her 5 children, including one son who is a dyslexic and had ADHD. She and her husband, David, adopted two of their children (a brother and sister) from Ukraine several years ago.
She is president of the Catholic Home School Network of America (CHSNA); member of the Round Table, a national organization of Catholic Home Schooling leaders; founder and past leader of the Ohio Educators’ Catholic Home Schooling Network, and a member of the CHSNA delegation to Rome on behalf of Catholic Home Education, which visited with Pope John Paul II in 1995 and 1997.
Dr. Moran is a secular Franciscan, and served as prefect of her fraternity for three years. She is presently secretary-treasurer of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, and speaker of its Byzantine Chapter of Warren, Ohio.
She has been a keynote speaker at many conferences and retreats, and is a steadfast promoter of Mary-like modesty.
Mrs. Carole Breslin (BREZ-lin), after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Economics, lived in Malaysia for six years as a Peace Corps volunteer, where she became Acting Director in the Vietnamese Refugee Resettlement Office. She later earned her Master’s in Accounting and Organizational Development from the University of Michigan, where she met and married her husband, Mike.
Mrs. Breslin has been educating her children, four daughters, at home for 16 years. Three are in college, and she continues to home school her youngest, now in tenth grade. She began home schooling after completing a 30-day retreat under the guidance of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, from whom both she and her husband received ten years of spiritual and doctrinal formation. They assisted Fr. Hardon in the publication of his manuscripts and the development of the Marian Catechist Apostolate now under the guidance of Archbishop Raymond Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Currently, she is working with the Archbishop in the cause of Fr. Hardon’s canonization. She has spoken at a number of conferences and has had articles published in various newsletters and the Homiletic and Pastoral Review.
Mrs. Breslin served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for 8 years, and currently serves on its Board of Directors.
Mr. Joseph Pearce is a world-recognized biographer of modern Christian literary figures. He is the internationally acclaimed author of 14 books, which include bestsellers such as G.K. Chesterton: Wisdom and Innocence (Ignatius, 1997), Literary Converts (Ignatius, 2000), Tolkien: Man and Myth (Ignatius, 2001), Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile (Baker Books, 2001), and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc (Ignatius, 2002). Pearce’s books have been published and translated into over eight languages.
Mr. Pearce converted to the Catholic faith in 1989 as a result of “becoming friends” with several 20th-century literary figures he researched who had been Christians and, ultimately, converts to Catholicism—particularly G.K. Chesterton. As a younger man, Pearce was “extremely anti-Catholic” and even had opposed Pope John Paul II’s visits to England. His earlier viewpoint gradually shifted as he learned more about the writings and beliefs of the literary converts he would eventually profile.
As Writer in Residence and professor of literature at Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, since September 2001, Mr. Pearce also serves as Editor of the Saint Austin Review, a trans-Atlantic monthly cultural review. A native of Great Britain, he relocated to the United States in 2001 to serve at Ave Maria University. He is also contributing writer to a number of newspapers and magazines in the United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada.
An accomplished tutor, teacher and speaker, Mr. Pearce has participated and lectured at a wide variety of international and literary events at major colleges and universities in the U.S., Britain, Europe and Canada. He is also a regular guest on national and international television and radio programs, and has served as consultant for film documentaries on J.R.R. Tolkien and Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Mrs. Virginia (“Ginny”) Seuffert, a native New Yorker and mother of twelve, currently resides in Illinois with her husband.
While in New York, Mrs. Seuffert lectured, debated, and wrote a number of articles for the Pro-Life movement. After moving to Illinois, she became a founding member of the Network of Illinois Catholic Home Educators, helped establish the “Round Table” (a Catholic home school leadership discussion group), and became a founder and officer of the Catholic Home School Network of America.
Mrs. Seuffert has appeared on EWTN, and has spoken at numerous Catholic family conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada. She is the author of various articles on home education, particularly stressing the teaching of virtues and discipline. Mrs. Seuffert wrote the chapter on “Home Management” in Dr. Mary Kay Clark’s book, Catholic Home Schooling: A Parent’s Guide.
