Speakers
Sean Finnegan
Sean has spent well over 10 years in the film world. After receiving his Masters Degree in Film and Video from American University, John began working at National Geographic Television as an Associate Producer. Here he produced scores of short videos on various topics. He began teaching film at the college level shortly thereafter, but remained in production. In 2007, Sean began at Mpower Media in Reston, VA serving as Editorial Director – producing content, managing the media library, and directing the editorial team. In 2009, Sean helped create a new production company, Anteroom Pictures. The company’s first production was “Out of the Darkness.”
Sean has spent well over 10 years in the film world. After receiving his Masters Degree in Film and Video from American University, John began working at National Geographic Television as an Associate Producer. Here he produced scores of short videos on various topics. He began teaching film at the college level shortly thereafter, but remained in production. In 2007, Sean began at Mpower Media in Reston, VA serving as Editorial Director – producing content, managing the media library, and directing the editorial team. In 2009, Sean helped create a new production company, Anteroom Pictures. The company’s first production was “Out of the Darkness.”
Tom Peterson
For 25 years, Tom Peterson built his career as an award-winning, national corporate advertising executive.
But Tom’s life would radically change forever, after receiving an incredible and transforming Spiritual conversion in 1997, while on a men’s retreat from his church. Soon afterward, he founded VirtueMedia.org and CatholicsComeHome.org.
In the first three years, Catholics Come Home® has aired in 33 dioceses, helping lead over 300,000 souls home to the Catholic Church, and educating over 40 million people across the U.S. and abroad about God’s love and plan for their lives.
In December 2011 through January 2102, their www.CatholicsComeHome.org ads aired nationally, on top TV networks like NBC, CBS, and others during prime-time, reaching as many as 250 million viewers in every city across the United States!
In the past decade, Tom has presented to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Australian Media Conference and Australian Bishops Conference, and at various worldwide conferences and Pontifical Councils at the Vatican. Tom and his apostolates have been featured in nearly three hundred media venues worldwide, including multiple appearances on Fox News and EWTN.
Peterson’s second apostolate, VirtueMedia.org, creates and airs sanctity of life commercials helping as many as 22,000 abortion vulnerable women each month their ads air on MTV, BET, E! and VH1. Their prolife apostolate features multiple websites such as www.BlackDignity.org, www.PregnancyLine.org, www.HealingAfter.org and others promoting the sanctity of life.
Their interactive website and TV ads of www.EncouragePriest.org are designed to offer spiritual support for our priests, seminarians, bishops and our Holy Father.
Tom knows his vocation in life is to help people through media. He encourages others to seek God’s plan for their lives, to help change our world for the better. Tom and Tricia, his wife of 25 years, and their three daughters live in the suburbs of Atlanta.
For 25 years, Tom Peterson built his career as an award-winning, national corporate advertising executive.
But Tom’s life would radically change forever, after receiving an incredible and transforming Spiritual conversion in 1997, while on a men’s retreat from his church. Soon afterward, he founded VirtueMedia.org and CatholicsComeHome.org.
In the first three years, Catholics Come Home® has aired in 33 dioceses, helping lead over 300,000 souls home to the Catholic Church, and educating over 40 million people across the U.S. and abroad about God’s love and plan for their lives.
In December 2011 through January 2102, their www.CatholicsComeHome.org ads aired nationally, on top TV networks like NBC, CBS, and others during prime-time, reaching as many as 250 million viewers in every city across the United States!
In the past decade, Tom has presented to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Australian Media Conference and Australian Bishops Conference, and at various worldwide conferences and Pontifical Councils at the Vatican. Tom and his apostolates have been featured in nearly three hundred media venues worldwide, including multiple appearances on Fox News and EWTN.
Peterson’s second apostolate, VirtueMedia.org, creates and airs sanctity of life commercials helping as many as 22,000 abortion vulnerable women each month their ads air on MTV, BET, E! and VH1. Their prolife apostolate features multiple websites such as www.BlackDignity.org, www.PregnancyLine.org, www.HealingAfter.org and others promoting the sanctity of life.
Their interactive website and TV ads of www.EncouragePriest.org are designed to offer spiritual support for our priests, seminarians, bishops and our Holy Father.
Tom knows his vocation in life is to help people through media. He encourages others to seek God’s plan for their lives, to help change our world for the better. Tom and Tricia, his wife of 25 years, and their three daughters live in the suburbs of Atlanta.
Fr. Jordan Kelly, OP
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Father Jordan is a Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Joseph, ordained on 1 June 2003. Father Jordan was assigned to The Church of Saint Catherine of Siena in July 2009, and was appointed Pastor on August 1, 2010. Immediately before being assigned to Saint Catherine’s, Father Jordan served as the Director of Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 2007 – 2009.
Father is a life – long educator and has taught at the elementary, secondary, college and graduate levels. Father Jordan served as the Dean of Students, Chair of the Theology Department and Director of Student Activities at Fenwick High School, the only high school in the United States run by the Dominican Friars, from 2001 – 2007.
In addition to his career in education, Father Jordan is accomplished musician having earned the Masters in Sacred Music in organ performance and choral conducting. Father has served as a pastoral musician throughout the east coast, and in Chicago, Saint Louis and Denver.
Father Jordan earned the Pontifical Degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC; the Masters in Sacred Music from Linden University; and has pursued doctoral studies in preaching at the Aquinas Institute of Theology, Saint Louis.
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Father Jordan is a Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Joseph, ordained on 1 June 2003. Father Jordan was assigned to The Church of Saint Catherine of Siena in July 2009, and was appointed Pastor on August 1, 2010. Immediately before being assigned to Saint Catherine’s, Father Jordan served as the Director of Evangelization of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 2007 – 2009.
Father is a life – long educator and has taught at the elementary, secondary, college and graduate levels. Father Jordan served as the Dean of Students, Chair of the Theology Department and Director of Student Activities at Fenwick High School, the only high school in the United States run by the Dominican Friars, from 2001 – 2007.
In addition to his career in education, Father Jordan is accomplished musician having earned the Masters in Sacred Music in organ performance and choral conducting. Father has served as a pastoral musician throughout the east coast, and in Chicago, Saint Louis and Denver.
Father Jordan earned the Pontifical Degree in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC; the Masters in Sacred Music from Linden University; and has pursued doctoral studies in preaching at the Aquinas Institute of Theology, Saint Louis.
Br. Richard Galvin
Brother Richard Galvin, FSC is the campus minister at St. Raymond High School in the Bronx. He is the moderator of the LaSallian Youth Group and is also the coach of the varsity soccer and varsity lacrosse teams. He is also an avid bike rider.
Brother Richard Galvin, FSC is the campus minister at St. Raymond High School in the Bronx. He is the moderator of the LaSallian Youth Group and is also the coach of the varsity soccer and varsity lacrosse teams. He is also an avid bike rider.
Sr. Mariette Bernier
Sr. Mariette Bernier, OSB is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Having grown up in Elizabeth, Sr. Mariette Therese now ministers full time as Vocation Director for her community. She has a master’s degree in psychology and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Besides her full time vocation work, Sr. Mariette Therese works as a school counselor at St. James the Apostle School in Springfield, NJ. Sr. Mariette Therese is a member of the Vocation Council for the Archdiocese of New York, is Co-Chair for the Vocation Awareness Committee in the Paterson Diocese in NJ and collaborates with other Vocation Directors for the dioceses of Newark, NJ and Brooklyn, NY.
Sr. Mariette Bernier, OSB is a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Having grown up in Elizabeth, Sr. Mariette Therese now ministers full time as Vocation Director for her community. She has a master’s degree in psychology and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Besides her full time vocation work, Sr. Mariette Therese works as a school counselor at St. James the Apostle School in Springfield, NJ. Sr. Mariette Therese is a member of the Vocation Council for the Archdiocese of New York, is Co-Chair for the Vocation Awareness Committee in the Paterson Diocese in NJ and collaborates with other Vocation Directors for the dioceses of Newark, NJ and Brooklyn, NY.
Cardinal Edward Egan
His Eminence, Edward Cardinal Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Thomas J. and Genevieve Costello Egan.
Having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, he was sent to Rome to complete his seminary studies at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City, where he was ordained on December 15, 1957. In 1958, he received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. After ordination, he returned to the United States in 1958, where he served briefly as a curate at Holy Name Cathedral Parish and later as assistant chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago and secretary to His Eminence, Albert Cardinal Meyer.
In 1960 Cardinal Egan was named assistant vice-rector and repetitor of Moral Theology and Canon Law at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City. In 1964, he earned a doctorate in Canon Law “Summa Cum Laude” from the Pontifical Gregorian University and thereafter returned to Chicago, where he served first as secretary to His Eminence, John Cardinal Cody, and later as the co-chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago. During this period, he was also the secretary of the Archdiocesan Commissions on Ecumenism and Human Relations and was a member of several interfaith and ecumenical boards and commissions of social concerns throughout the greater Chicago area. Among these might be mentioned the Chicago Conference on Religion and Race, the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, and the Interreligious Committee for Urban Affairs. During this period, he likewise participated in numerous ecumenical undertakings, among them the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of the United States Catholic Conference and the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, the North American Academy of Ecumenists, and the Chicago Ecumenical Dialogue.
In 1971 Cardinal Egan returned to Rome as a judge of the Tribunal of the Sacred Roman Rota, a position he held until his episcopal consecration in May of 1985. While in Rome, he was as well a professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University; a professor of Civil and Criminal Procedure at the Studium Rotale, the law school of the Rota; a commissioner of the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship; a consultor of the Congregation for the Clergy; and in 1982 one of six canonists who reviewed the new Code of Canon Law with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, before its promulgation in 1983.
Cardinal Egan was consecrated a bishop on May 22, 1985, in the Basilica of Saints John and Paul in Rome by His Eminence, Bernardin Cardinal Gantin, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, with His Eminence, John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York and His Excellency, the Most Reverend John R. Keating, Bishop of Arlington, as co-consecrators. From 1985 – 1988 Cardinal Egan served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of New York. On November 8, 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Egan to be the Third Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. He was installed on December 14, 1988. On May 11, 2000 Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Egan Archbishop of New York. He was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick on June 19, 2000 by His Excellency, The Most Reverend Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. On June 29th he received the “pallium” of an archbishop in Rome.
He has since been named Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Chairman of the Northeast Hispanic Catholic Center, Inc.; Chairman of the New York State Catholic Conference; Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Conventual Chaplain; Grand Prior of the Association of Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; and President of The Bureau of Black and Indian Mission Office in Washington, D.C. In addition, he serves on the Boards of Trustees of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the Ratisbonne Institute in Jerusalem, and the Whitehead School of Diplomacy at Seton Hall University.
On January 21, 2001, Pope John Paul II announced that Cardinal Egan was to be appointed to the College of Cardinals. He was elevated in the Consistory of February 21, 2001 and was assigned as his titular church the Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill in Rome. In July of 2001, Cardinal Egan was named by Pope John Paul II to serve in September and October of that year as the Moderator of a Synod of Bishops in Rome and on April 19, 2006, participated in the Consistory that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
As a Cardinal, he has been appointed by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to the following offices of the Vatican: The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Concerns of the Holy See, the Pontifical Council of the Family, and the Permanent Commission for the Protection of the Historic and Artistic Patrimony of the Holy See.
In May of 2009, at the age of seventy-seven, Cardinal Egan was retired as Archbishop of New York. He resides in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York and continues to assist in the works of the Archdiocese, while serving on a number of offices of the Vatican.
His Eminence, Edward Cardinal Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Thomas J. and Genevieve Costello Egan.
Having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, he was sent to Rome to complete his seminary studies at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City, where he was ordained on December 15, 1957. In 1958, he received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. After ordination, he returned to the United States in 1958, where he served briefly as a curate at Holy Name Cathedral Parish and later as assistant chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago and secretary to His Eminence, Albert Cardinal Meyer.
In 1960 Cardinal Egan was named assistant vice-rector and repetitor of Moral Theology and Canon Law at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City. In 1964, he earned a doctorate in Canon Law “Summa Cum Laude” from the Pontifical Gregorian University and thereafter returned to Chicago, where he served first as secretary to His Eminence, John Cardinal Cody, and later as the co-chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago. During this period, he was also the secretary of the Archdiocesan Commissions on Ecumenism and Human Relations and was a member of several interfaith and ecumenical boards and commissions of social concerns throughout the greater Chicago area. Among these might be mentioned the Chicago Conference on Religion and Race, the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, and the Interreligious Committee for Urban Affairs. During this period, he likewise participated in numerous ecumenical undertakings, among them the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of the United States Catholic Conference and the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, the North American Academy of Ecumenists, and the Chicago Ecumenical Dialogue.
In 1971 Cardinal Egan returned to Rome as a judge of the Tribunal of the Sacred Roman Rota, a position he held until his episcopal consecration in May of 1985. While in Rome, he was as well a professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University; a professor of Civil and Criminal Procedure at the Studium Rotale, the law school of the Rota; a commissioner of the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship; a consultor of the Congregation for the Clergy; and in 1982 one of six canonists who reviewed the new Code of Canon Law with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, before its promulgation in 1983.
Cardinal Egan was consecrated a bishop on May 22, 1985, in the Basilica of Saints John and Paul in Rome by His Eminence, Bernardin Cardinal Gantin, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, with His Eminence, John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York and His Excellency, the Most Reverend John R. Keating, Bishop of Arlington, as co-consecrators. From 1985 – 1988 Cardinal Egan served as Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of New York. On November 8, 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Egan to be the Third Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport. He was installed on December 14, 1988. On May 11, 2000 Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Egan Archbishop of New York. He was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick on June 19, 2000 by His Excellency, The Most Reverend Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. On June 29th he received the “pallium” of an archbishop in Rome.
He has since been named Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Chairman of the Northeast Hispanic Catholic Center, Inc.; Chairman of the New York State Catholic Conference; Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Conventual Chaplain; Grand Prior of the Association of Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem; and President of The Bureau of Black and Indian Mission Office in Washington, D.C. In addition, he serves on the Boards of Trustees of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the Ratisbonne Institute in Jerusalem, and the Whitehead School of Diplomacy at Seton Hall University.
On January 21, 2001, Pope John Paul II announced that Cardinal Egan was to be appointed to the College of Cardinals. He was elevated in the Consistory of February 21, 2001 and was assigned as his titular church the Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill in Rome. In July of 2001, Cardinal Egan was named by Pope John Paul II to serve in September and October of that year as the Moderator of a Synod of Bishops in Rome and on April 19, 2006, participated in the Consistory that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
As a Cardinal, he has been appointed by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to the following offices of the Vatican: The Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Concerns of the Holy See, the Pontifical Council of the Family, and the Permanent Commission for the Protection of the Historic and Artistic Patrimony of the Holy See.
In May of 2009, at the age of seventy-seven, Cardinal Egan was retired as Archbishop of New York. He resides in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York and continues to assist in the works of the Archdiocese, while serving on a number of offices of the Vatican.
Fr. Shawn Aaron, LC
Father Shawn grew up in Modesto, CA, and is the oldest of four children. He spent one year as a team leader for the National Evangelization Teams (NET) traveling the USA giving retreats to students. In 1991, he joined the Legion of Christ and was ordained to the priesthood in Rome, Italy, in 2002. He has degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome. He spent one year as the president of Southern Catholic College, in Dawsonville, GA. Fr. Shawn is presently living in Thornwood, NY and serving as Chaplain of Lumen Institute.
Father Shawn grew up in Modesto, CA, and is the oldest of four children. He spent one year as a team leader for the National Evangelization Teams (NET) traveling the USA giving retreats to students. In 1991, he joined the Legion of Christ and was ordained to the priesthood in Rome, Italy, in 2002. He has degrees in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, Rome. He spent one year as the president of Southern Catholic College, in Dawsonville, GA. Fr. Shawn is presently living in Thornwood, NY and serving as Chaplain of Lumen Institute.