CMSM National Assembly 2026
Hyatt Regency Phoenix | July 20-23, 2026
Registration for this event is now closed. If you are in need of a sleeping room, please contact Casey Hackett (chackett@nixmeetings.com) with Nix Conference & Meeting Management to be added to the waiting list.
This year’s Assembly theme invites members to reflect on the vitality of their communal life. Participants will engage in dialogue with fellow leaders on ways communal life can be strengthened and enlivened as an essential witness of religious life.
Communal life is a foundational element of religious life, expressed in diverse ways across different communities, from monastic orders to societies of apostolic life. Strong communal life is consistently cited by candidates to religious life as a key factor that draws them to a particular community. Amid this diversity, shared themes in community life emerge as important areas for reflection and discussion, including generational diversity, the need for structures that support wellness, and the desire for a deep, life-giving communal spiritual life.
Join us this summer in Phoenix, AZ, to reflect together on communal life, engage fellow leaders in thoughtful dialogue, and explore ways to renew and strengthen community life among male religious.
Pre-Assembly
Adult Misconduct: Best Practices in Prevention, Protection, and Response
Monday, July 20
National Assembly
One in Christ: Communal Life Today
Tuesday, July 21 – Thursday, July 23
Post-Assembly
Review Boards: Current Challenges and Responses
Thursday, July 23
Registration Details
Register now for the 2026 Assembly!
- We have partnered with our conference management team, Nix Conference & Meeting Management (Nix), to streamline registration this year. This year, you only need to complete one registration form to both register for the Assembly and book your hotel room.
- If you need assistance with your registration, you can contact Nix or Greta David.
- For changes to your reservation, you can use the modification link in your registration confirmation email. Nix will be notified of any changes made. For cancellations, please email registrar@nixmeetings.com or call 314-645-1455.
- We kindly request that you do not contact the hotel directly for reservations.
- Register here.
- Assembly Registration closes on Monday, June 15, 2026, at 5:00 pm ET.
Are you having additional members of your council join you at the National Assembly? If so, their registration is discounted by $100. More details are available below!
Standard Pricing (April 14 – June 15, 2026)
- First Attendee:
- $775
- This rate is available through Monday, June 15, 2026
- Additional Attendee:
- $675 ($100 off)
- This rate is available through Monday, June 15, 2026
- Pre-Assembly: $140
- Post-Assembly: $110
We encourage you to come to the Assembly with members of your council. For this reason, we have discounted registration for additional attendees from each community.
Schedule
Engaging topics
Group Discussions
Business & Regional Meetings
Board Elections
Exhibit Hall
Pre-Assembly & Post-Assembly
Monday, July 20 (7:30 am – 6:30 pm)
- Pre-Assembly (9:00 am – 4:00 pm)
- For more information on the Pre-Assembly, click here.
- New Attendee Welcome (4:45 pm)
- Welcome Reception (5:30 pm)
Tuesday, July 21 (7:00 am – 7:00 pm)
- Morning Prayer & Opening Mass
- Wellness – Most Rev. John P. Dolan, Bishop of Phoenix
- Bishop Dolan will discuss some of the ways he has focused on mental health and wellness in his diocese and give some suggestions how for leaders can address wellness issues before they reach a crisis level.
- Mental Health and Wellness for Religious Life – Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB
- Support and accountability are two primary benefits of community life. Research on clergy and male religious has linked these two variables not only to the prevention of maladaptive behavior and poor psychological adjustment among individuals, but also to communal health and resilience. In this session, Br. John Mark will explore concrete ways that community leaders can promote and utilize such systems of support and accountability in initial and ongoing formation with an eye toward good human formation, preventing abuse, attracting and retaining vocations, and more fully living out the charism of consecrated life.
- Lunch
- Small & Large Group Discussions
- Presidential Address – Fr. James Herring, O.Praem.
- In his initial presidential address, Fr. Herring will reflect on the theme of the Assembly, “One in Christ: Communal Life Today,” offering insights into the way the spirituality of leadership and communal life connect to the pressing issues facing male religious today.
- Regional Meetings
- Nominations
- Evening Prayer
- Presidential Reception
- Exhibit Hall
Wednesday, July 22 (7:00 am – 6:30 pm)
- Morning Prayer & Mass
- Intergenerationality – Genevieve Jordan Laskey
- Jordan Laskey will present the findings from a study of CMSM members on intergenerationality, focusing on themes across community differences, and facilitate a conversation on intergenerationality with a panel of leaders. More information on the panel coming soon!
- Small and large group discussion
- Lunch
- Panel: Communal Spiritual Life
- A panel discussion featuring major superiors and members of the current Young Religious Leadership Development Program, this session will focus on what male religious are seeking in communal prayer and spiritual life, how to navigate differences in prayer/liturgical preferences, and animating the spiritual life of the community. Panelists coming soon!
- Business Meeting
- Evening Prayer
- Reception
- Exhibit Hall
Thursday, July 23 (7:00 am – 5:00 pm)
- Morning Prayer & Mass
- Panel: Animating Local Community
- This session will feature a panel discussion with leaders who focus on animating communal life at the local level and partnering with local leaders to strengthen it. The discussion will explore how leaders can foster vibrant community life in each local setting and support local leaders and house superiors as the primary animators of this work. Panelists coming soon!
- Small and large group discussion
- Assembly Synthesis – Dr. Susan Timoney
- Timoney will lead small and large group discussions to help attendees synthesize their ideas and discern what action steps they’d like to to take after the Assembly.
- Post-Assembly (2:00 – 5:00 pm)
- Safeguarding: Review Boards
- For more information on our Post-Assembly, click here.
Speakers
Fr. Terrance Allen, LC
ECYD Director, Legion of Christ
Ordained a priest in 2019 in Rome. Served as High School Chaplain to Pinecrest Academy in Cumming GA. The past year began serving as ECYD director (Regnum Christi youth program) in Michigan where I also grew up and participated in ECYD as a boy.
Fr. Terrance Allen, LC
Legion of Christ
Fr. Pedro Arteaga, M.Sp.S
Provincial Superior, Missionaries of the Holy Spirit
I was born (US citizen) in Karlsruhe, Germany, on September 16, 1964. After my basic school studies in Germany, I finished my high school and college in Mexico City in 1984. I began my religious studies in 1985 in Rome and graduated with a Diploma in Spiritual Theology; my formation continued in Guadalajara, Mexico, where I studied Philosophy. I entered the novitiate of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit and professed in 1990. Then, I was sent to Germany to study theology. After completing my biblical studies (Exegeticum) in 1993, I earned a Sacred Theology Baccalaureate from Antonianum University in Rome, Italy 1996.
After a pastoral internship, I was ordained a priest in 1997 in Milan/Italy. I worked as a Vocational Director and Spiritual Assistant.
In 2000, I co-founded the “European Center for Youth and Spirituality” in Laveno Mombello, Northern Italy.
In 2004, I was sent as a missionary to Kinshasa/ Congo. This mission was closed a year later, and I was transferred to a Parish in Monterrey, Mexico. In 2005, I returned to the United States, to Mount Angel, Oregon, where I was assigned as a Formation Director and adjunct professor at Mount Angel Seminary, and later as a pastor of St. Matthew’s in Hillsboro, Oregon. I graduated with an MA in Catholic Theology (Anthropology), and later I earned a Doctorate in Ministry in 2019.
In July 2021, I was elected to the Provincial Leadership as the Major Superior of our Province. I have been serving in this capacity since.
My pastoral ministry, besides my work as Formation Director, Teacher and Director of Pastoral Formation at the Seminary, includes Prison Ministry (Oregon State Penitentiary), Spiritual Guide of the RCCH of the Archdiocese of Portland, Formation Conferences for the Archdiocese of Portland, Discernment Workshops on Motivational Graces, and Mission-work among the Yupik and Athabascan Indians in Alaska.
Fr. Pedro Arteaga, M.Sp.S
Missionaries of the Holy Spirit
Kristin Austin
Secretary for Safeguarding, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States
Kristin Austin currently serves as Secretary for Safeguarding for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Kristin is a licensed clinical social worker and certified trauma professional who has accompanied clergy abuse survivors for 17 years. She has presented nationally and internationally on the care of victim-survivors and written on the same.
Kristin Austin
Society of Jesus
Heather Banis
Victims Assistance Coordinator, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Dr. Heather Banis is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in childhood trauma. For 17 years, she has accompanied those harmed by the sexual misconduct of someone in our church. Dr. Banis serves as consultant to the USCCB Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People and is a member of the North American Continent Working Group of the International Safeguarding Conference. Her favorite role, however, is that of grandmother to her two granddaughters!
Heather Banis
Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Most Rev. Gabriele Caccia
Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America
His Excellency, Most Reverend Gabriele Giordano Caccia was born on February 24, 1958, in Milan, Italy. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Milan on June 11, 1983, and served in parish ministry as Assistant Parish Priest until 1986.
He was then sent to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome, where he completed advanced studies in theology and canon law, earning a Doctorate in Theology and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1991, he officially entered the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See and received his first assignment at the Apostolic Nunciature in Tanzania.
In 1993, he was appointed Secretary to the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State at the Vatican, and in 2002 he was named Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, one of the principal coordinating offices of the Roman Curia.
On July 16, 2009, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon and Titular Archbishop of Sepino and ordained him a bishop on September 12, 2009, in St. Peter’s Basilica. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.
On November 16, 2019, Archbishop Caccia was appointed Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York, representing the Holy See before the international community on matters concerning peace, human dignity, religious freedom, development, and global solidarity.
On March 7, 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed Archbishop Caccia Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America.
Most Rev. Gabriele Caccia
Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America
Most Rev. John P. Dolan
Bishop of Phoenix
Bishop John P. Dolan was born and raised in San Diego, California, the
seventh of nine children. He attended St. Francis Seminary at the University
of San Diego and later St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California. He
holds a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Theology.
He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of San Diego and in 2017
he was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, where he also continued
to serve in leadership as Vicar General, Vicar for Clergy, and Moderator of
the Curia.
On August 2, 2022, Bishop Dolan was installed as the fifth Bishop of the
Diocese of Phoenix.
Bishop Dolan brings to his ministry a deep and personal commitment to
mental health advocacy. Having lost three siblings and a brother-in-law to
suicide, he has become a compassionate voice within the Church for those
affected by mental illness and suicide loss. In the Diocese of Phoenix, he has:
• Instituted an Annual Mass of Remembrance for People Who Died by
Suicide
• Opened the diocese’s first Mental Health Ministry
• Spoken widely through media and public engagements on the
importance of mental health
• Co-authored two pastoral resources published by Ave Maria Press:
When a Loved One Dies by Suicide and Responding to Suicide: A
Pastoral Handbook for Catholic Leaders
He currently serves as chaplain of the International Association of Catholic
Mental Health Ministers, continuing to advocate for greater understanding,
healing, and pastoral care within the Church for all those impacted by mental
health challenges.
Most Rev. John P. Dolan
Bishop of Phoenix
Fr. Frank Donio, SAC
Conference of Major Superiors of Men, Executive Director
Fr. Frank S. Donio, S.A.C., D.Min. is the Executive Director of the Conference of Major Superiors of Menand a member of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottine Fathers and Brothers). He is also the Founding Director of the Catholic Apostolate Center. Fr. Frank is former Provincial Rector of the Immaculate Conception Province of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate. Fr. Frank writes and presents on evangelization, co-responsibility and collaboration in ministry and apostolate, pastoral planning, Church leadership and management, and Catholic and Pallottine spirituality. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Adult Spiritual Formation from The Catholic University of America (CUA), as well as a Bachelor of Arts in History (summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa) and a Master of Arts in Church History from CUA. He also holds a Master of Divinity from Washington Theological Union and a Master of Science in Church Management from Villanova University School of Business.
Fr. Frank Donio, SAC
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Fr. Christopher Fadok, O.P.
Prior Provincial, Western Dominican Province
Fr. Christopher Fadok, O.P., was born in Media, Pennsylvania, in 1968, the youngest of his parents’ six children. The family moved in 1969 to Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended Catholic grade school at Most Holy Trinity Parish and high school at Brophy College Preparatory. In 1986 he received an Air Force ROTC scholarship and studied engineering in Chicago. His thoughts at that time turned to God and philosophy and in 1987 he began to study philosophy at the University of Arizona in Tucson, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.
Steeped in Anglo-American analytic philosophy, Fr. Christopher questioned his Catholic faith for years. But impressed by the philosophical works of Pope St. John Paul II and other Catholic thinkers, he began a study of Catholic thought and formally returned to the Church, receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in 1997. That same year he joined the Dominicans, whose life of prayer and study he greatly admired. After six months in the Novitiate, he left the Order to discern a vocation to marriage. He returned to Arizona in 1998 and dated the same wonderful woman for four years while working as a database administrator and software engineer. But compelled by the power of the Gospel and a sense that God was truly calling him, Fr. Christopher returned to the Dominicans in 2002.
From the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology he received the degrees Master of Philosophy in 2006 and Master of Divinity in 2010. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2010 and ministered as a parish priest at Blessed Sacrament, Seattle, WA, until 2013, and then as pastor of St. Raymond of Peñafort, Menlo Park, CA. In December 2016, Fr. Christopher was appointed Socius and Vicar to the Provincial for the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. He continued in that role until 2019 when he was elected Prior Provincial. He was elected again for a second term in 2023 and remains in this role until January 2027. Fr. Christopher is ex officio Chancellor of the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology, Berkeley, CA. He serves the Order as Vicar of the Master to Corpus Christi Monastery, Menlo Park, CA, a community of contemplative nuns, and he has served the United States Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) as Chair of Region 6, Secretary & Treasurer, and currently as Vice President.
Fr. Christopher points to his mother and father, brothers and sisters, and their spouses–his entire family–as the greatest school of love and self-sacrifice he has known. He therefore credits all of them with building up in him the strength to happily receive the grace of his religious vocation.
Fr. Christopher Fadok, OP
Western Dominican Province
Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB
Saint Meinrad Archabbey
Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana, is a licensed psychologist, a faculty member at Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, and a fellow in human formation with Saint Luke Institute.
Since joining Saint Meinrad in 2002, Br. John Mark has served his community as vocation director, assistant formation director and choirmaster. He spent several years conducting psychological evaluations for candidates for priesthood, diaconate and religious life.
He is a frequent lecturer in the U.S. and abroad on topics related to religious and priestly formation, formation for celibate chastity, perseverance in religious life, and clergy sexual abuse. He is the author of the book, How We Love: A Formation for the Celibate Life, published by the Liturgical Press.
Br. John Mark Falkenhain, OSB
Saint Meinrad Archabbey
Br. Wayne Fitzpatrick, MM
Assistant Regional Superior and Director of Pastoral and Spiritual Life, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Br. Wayne Fitzpatrick, MM
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Fr. Mark Francis, CSV
Provincial, Clerics of St. Viator
Fr. Mark Francis, CSV
Clerics of St. Viator
Br. Nick González, FSC
Brother Visitor, San Francisco New Orleans District
Br. Nick González, FSC
Brothers of the Christian Schools
Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Minister Provincial, Franciscan Friars Conventual – Our Lady of the Angels Province
Fr. Michael Heine has been Minister Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province of the Franciscan Friars Conventual (consisting of the East Coast USA, England, Ireland, and Brazil) since May 2022 and was recently re-elected for another four-year term. Previously, he served the Province as Vicar Provincial, Shrine Director, Postulancy Director, Guidance Counselor and Missionary in Jamaica. He is Secretary Treasurer of the CMSM Board and Chair of Formation and Vocation Committee. He professed Solemn Vows in 1985 and was ordained a friar-priest 1990.
Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Conventual Franciscan Friars
Fr. James Herring, O. Praem.
Rt. Rev. James B. Herring, O. Praem. has earned a JCD and a PhD in Canon Law from Saint Paul University and the University of Ottawa in 2009. He has served in numerous external roles, and within his community he served as Prior of St. Norbert Abbey, formator at the Abbey’s Holy Spirit House of Studies, and then was elected Prior de Regimini and Major Superior of Immaculate Conception Priory of the Norbertine Fathers of Delaware since 2018. In 2025, he took office as the President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men.
Fr. James Herring, O. Praem.
Immaculate Conception Priory
Fr. Barnaby Rowett Johns, OSA
Prior Provincial, Province of St. Augustine in California
Very Rev. Barnaby R. Johns, O.S.A., is the Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Augustine in California, elected to a four-year term in 2024. An Augustinian Friar since his solemn profession in 2015, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Robert Barron in October 2020 during an outdoor ceremony at Villanova Preparatory School. His ministry has focused extensively on education, serving as a religion teacher at St. Augustine High School in San Diego and as Director of Mission and Campus President at Villanova Prep. Originally from Great Britain, Fr. Barnaby attended The Oratory School and completed academic studies in Rome, London, St Andrews, and San Francisco, earning Master’s degrees in Biblical Studies and Catholic School Education.
Fr. Barnaby Rowett Johns, OSA
Province of St. Augustine in California
Genevieve Jordan Laskey
Founder and Principal, Live Your Mission Consulting
Genevieve Jordan Laskey is the founder and principal of Live Your Mission Consulting. Genevieve accompanies leaders of Catholic organizations and men’s and women’s religious congregations as a facilitator, in strategic planning processes, and in team and leadership development. She worked with CMSM to help design and facilitate CMSM’s Young Religious Leadership Development program. Genevieve has spent her entire career in Catholic ministry, including a decade at Catholic Relief Services, where she worked on US Church engagement and as a strategy advisor. She also previously served as executive director of a small, Catholic non-profit in Camden, NJ, and was formed by a year of international service with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in a home for young people with developmental disabilities in Spitak, Armenia. She has a master’s degree in organization and leadership from Saint Joseph’s University and a master’s in theology from the University of Notre Dame.
Genevieve Jordan Laskey
Live Your Mission Consulting
Fr. William V. Kaliyadan, MS
Provincial Superior, Missionaries of La Salette
William V. Kaliyadan, M.S., originally from Kerala, India, is the Provincial Superior of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas (North America). He was ordained to the priesthood on February 22, 1994, after completing his theological studies and formation in the Philippines. His early ministry included parish assignments in the Philippines, where he served as pastor, educator, and school administrator. He later earned a Master’s Degree in Education with a concentration in Guidance and Counseling.
Since arriving in the United States in 1998, Fr. Kaliyadan has served in various pastoral leadership roles, including parish ministry in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and as Dean of the Upper Valley Deanery in the Diocese of Manchester. He also served as pastor of Our Lady of the Cape Parish in Brewster, Massachusetts. In 2009, he completed a Doctorate in Marriage and Family Counseling in Boston. He was elected to the Provincial Council in 2009, served as Vicar Provincial beginning in 2018, and was elected Provincial Superior in 2021. In 2024, he was re-elected to a second term as Provincial Superior, continuing to lead the Missionaries of La Salette in North America.
Fr. William Kaliyadan, MS
Missionaries of La Salette
Fr. Akizou Gerard Kamina, SVD
Provincial Council Member, Society of the Divine Word
Fr. Akizou Gerard Kamina, SVD, is a missionary priest of the Society of the Divine Word (Chicago Province) and a PhD student in Educational Leadership and Administration with a concentration in Higher Education at DePaul University in Chicago. Born the eldest of four children in Togo, West Africa, Fr. Akizou was raised in a multi-faith household by an Evangelical Christian mother and a Catholic father. This foundational diversity sparked a lifelong commitment to bridge-building and a fluency in seven languages.
Academic & Religious Foundation
Fr. Akizou’s academic journey began in Togo with an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Management, followed by a BA in Philosophy and an Associate degree in Education Science. After joining the SVD in 2010 and moving to the U.S. in 2013, he reached several milestones in the Chicago area:
• 2015: Professed First Vows at Techny, Illinois.
• 2020: Professed Final Vows in Chicago.
• 2021: Earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv) and an MA in Theology (Interreligious Dialogue) from the Catholic Theological Union.
• 2021: Ordained to the Priesthood in Chicago.
Global Ministry & Advocacy
His missionary experience includes a two-year Overseas Training Program (OTP) in the Brazilian Amazon. From 2019 to 2021, he served as a community organizer for the Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN) in Chicago, focusing on criminal justice reform and police accountability. Following his ordination, he served from 2021 to 2025 as a faculty member and seminary formator for SVD candidates at Divine Word College in Iowa. In March of 2026, he was elected and appointed provincial council member of the Chicago Province.
Current Research Focus
Now at DePaul University, Fr. Akizou’s doctoral research is dedicated to decoloniality, postcolonialism, and critical race theory in the Global South. His work specifically explores the intersections of education for human and community development and pluriversality within higher education institutions.
Fr. Akizou Gerard Kamina, SVD
Society of the Divine Word
Fr. Joseph Lehman, TOR
Minister Provincial, Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Franciscans of the Third Order Regular
Father Joseph Lehman, TOR, is the minister provincial of the Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Franciscans of the Third Order Regular, comprised of about 100 priests and brothers. Among his duties, he serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Franciscan University of Steubenville and St. Francis University, in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment as minister provincial, he served as vice president for Mission Integration at Saint Francis University, overseeing campus-wide initiatives to integrate the school’s Catholic and Franciscan character into daily campus life. A native of Dallas, Texas, Father Lehman graduated in 1984 with an accounting degree from the University of Texas at Dallas. After working at KPMG as a certified public accountant, he entered the Franciscan Third Order Regular and was ordained to the priesthood in November 1996. Father Lehman received his PhD in Higher Education from Boston College in 2014. His dissertation, “Mission Officers in Catholic Higher Education: Responsibilities and Competencies,” addressed the need to preserve and advance the Catholic identity of Catholic higher education institutions. Among his publications, he co-authored a mission officer handbook for advancing Catholic identity and university mission. In 2006, on the tenth anniversary of his priesthood, he hiked the Camino de Santiago with Father Dave Pivonka, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Fr. Joseph Lehman, TOR
Franciscans of the Third Order Regular
Rt. Rev. Douglas Mullin, OSB
Abbot, Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN
Abbot Douglas has been a Benedictine monk of Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN since 1979, and is half way into his third year of an 8 year term in his service as abbot. He has a BA in Elementary Education, an MA in Religious Education, another MA in School Administration, an EdD in Educational Leadership, and most recently an MDiv leading up to his ordination in 2007. Most of his monastic life was devoted to teaching and educational leadership in a Native American Mission School, Saint John’s Preparatory School, and the College of Saint Benedict + Saint John’s University. After retiring from 11 years of service as the Vice President for Student Development at Saint John’s University, he served as a chaplain in the VA for 4 1/2 years until his election as abbot in 2024.
Rt. Rev. Douglas Mullin, OSB
Saint John’s Abbey
Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP
Vicar Provincial for Administration, Order of Preachers, Province of St. Joseph
Fr. Pius has degrees in both civil law (University of Chicago) and canon law (Angelicum). He has taught canon law and served as judge and advocate in tribunal proceedings. In 2010, he was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, where he currently serves as Vice-Chair. He is a member of the Safeguarding Commission for the Order of Preachers. He currently serves in administration for his Dominican Province of St. Joseph.
Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP
Dominican Province of St. Joseph
Fr. Francisco Javier Reyes, CMF
Prefect of Formation and Vocations, Claretian Missionaries USA-Canada Province
Fr. Francisco Javier Reyes-Rodríguez, CMF is a Claretian priest and Prefect of Formation and Vocations for the Claretian Missionaries USA-Canada Province. He studied Philosophy and Theology at the Seminario Conciliar de la Purísima in Zacatecas, Mexico, and earned a Master’s Degree in Intercultural Ministry and Spirituality from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He has dedicated his ministry to formation, vocation promotion, pastoral leadership, and campus ministry.
Fr. Francisco Javier Reyes, CMF
Claretian Missionaries, USA-Canada Province
Fr. Dermot Roache, SMA
Provincial, American Province, SMA Fathers
Fr. Dermot Roache, SMA, is a member of the Society of African Missions , also known as the SMA Fathers, founded by Venerable Marion de Brésillac in 1856. The SMA Fathers serve the people of 16 African countries and those living around the world, especially “the most abandoned.”
Born and raised in New York City, Fr. Dermot was an English teacher before he entered the SMA. He obtained a Masters in Adolescent Psychology, a B.S. in Philosophy from the Angelicum in Rome and an S.T.B. from The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi.
He has served on mission in rural parts of the Benin Republic in West Africa, parish work in Kenya as well as the Republic of South Africa. He also served in US urban parish settings in Jersey City and Boston. He currently serves as provincial of the American Province of the SMA Fathers, located in Tenafly, New Jersey.
Fr. Dermot Roache, SMA
SMA Fathers
Amy Jill Strickland, JCL
Amy Strickland is a graduate of the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC (M.A., Theology) and St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario (JCL). For more than two decades, she has worked with dioceses and religious communities relative to clergy misconduct issues. This springs from her presence as a canonist in the Archdiocese of Boston at the time of the “Spotlight” series in the Boston Globe, which led her to taking the lead in assisting the Archbishop in working with priests and deacons facing misconduct claims/admissions. Since that time, she has given presentations to groups on the subject throughout North America.
Amy Jill Strickland, JCL
Dr. Susan Timoney
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at The Catholic University of America
Assembly Facilitator
Susan M. Timoney received her Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (The Angelicum) in 1997. She focused on Christian spirituality and the feminine dimension of discipleship. Following her studies, Susan served as vice-president of a lay education and formation program called Education for Parish Service which hosted programs in five dioceses in the United States and in the Archdiocese of Rome, Italy. Susan was appointed Assistant Secretary for Pastoral Ministry and Social Concerns for the Archdiocese of Washington in 2010 and served as Assistant Secretary and Secretary until her appointment as Associate Professor in 2018. Susan began teaching as a lecturer in 1998 in the undergraduate theology program and in 2016 was appointed an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Theology and Religious Studies. Susan is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the fields of evangelization and pastoral leadership serving on numerous board of directors including Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, The Catholic Apostolate Center, The Dominican House of Studies, Washington DC, The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas, Rome and the Catholic Information Center.
Dr. Susan Timoney
The Catholic University of America
Fr. Vincent Yeager, TOR
Provincial Councilor and Director of Formation, Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular, Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Fr. Vincent Yeager, TOR, is a priest friar of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular, Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the founding institution of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He entered formation with his religious community in 2011 after graduating from Penn State University with a BS in electro-mechanical engineering. He professed his solemn vows in 2017 and completed seminary studies at the Catholic University of America and was ordained as a priest in 2018.
After ordination, Fr. Vincent served at Franciscan University for two years as Vocation Director for his Province and in campus ministry. In 2021 he was appointed to serve his Province as Postulant Director and Vocation Director, and then overall Director of Formation for his Province in 2023, when he was also elected as a Provincial Councilor. He currently resides at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio and serves as Provincial Councilor, Director of Formation for his Province, priest advisor for the university priestly discernment program, chaplain for the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and as a member of the Board of Trustees for Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA.
Fr. Vincent Yeager, TOR
Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular
Logistics
Lodging:
Lodging has been arranged at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix (122 N. Second Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004). The rate for a double/single occupancy room is $135.00 plus tax (Currently 17%). Please note taxes are subject to change. Click here to register for the Assembly and book your hotel room.
- Hotel check-in: 4:00 pm MT
- Hotel check-out: 11:00 am MT
The hotel will honor sleeping room cancellations received 48 hours prior to arrival. Cancellations after this time will be subject to a charge of one night room and tax.
Arrival/Departure:
- Arrival: If you are not attending the Pre-Assembly on Monday, July 20, we recommend arriving anytime after 4:00 pm MT on Monday. There is a Welcome Reception at 5:30 pm on Monday, July 20. The Assembly programming will begin at 8:00 am MT on Tuesday, July 21.
- Departure: Assembly programming will conclude after lunch (at 1:00 pm MT) on Thursday, July 23. The Post-Assembly will take place directly after lunch on Thursday, July 23, and conclude at 5:00 pm MT.
Airport: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Ground Transportation:
- There are many options to get from PHX to the Hyatt Regency Phoenix:
- Valley Metro Rail
- The hotel is a 5-minute walk from the 3rd/St. Washington Station. Use the online trip planner to plan your trip!
- Taxis
- Ride-sharing
- Rental cars
- Shuttles (the hotel does not offer a free shuttle from the airport, but there are other shuttle services available)
- Valley Metro Rail
- Please click here for details.
Parking at the Hotel: At the Hyatt, self-parking is available for a daily rate of $36.
Letters of Suitability: Mass will be celebrated daily. All priests are invited to concelebrate. If you would like to concelebrate, you will need to provide a letter of good standing. It can be emailed to Greta David at gdavid@cmsm.org. It should be addressed to Most Reverend John P. Dolan.
We look forward to seeing you in Phoenix, AZ! If you have any logistical questions about the Assembly, please contact Greta David, Director of Communications, at gdavid@cmsm.org or (240) 394-1851.
Sponsors
If you are interested in learning more about how you can be an sponsor or exhibitor at our Assembly, please reach out to Chris Pierno.
Thank you to our sponsors who help make this National Assembly possible! Click on a logo below to learn more about them.
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Supporters
