Grand Getaway on Mackinac Island

Presenters

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON, 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 has been broadcast on numerous public broadcasting stations. Bishop Barron’s more recent fi lm series, CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players, was nominated for 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. His recent book “This Is My Body” sold over one million copies. 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 200 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 infl uencers 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 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, 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.

MONSIGNOR JAMES PATRICK SHEA, 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.

TERESA TOMEO, HOST OF "CATHOLIC CONNECTION"

Teresa Tomeo is a bestselling author, syndicated Catholic talk show host, and speaker with more than 30 years of experience in print and broadcast media. Her weekday radio program, Catholic Connection, a co-production of Ave Maria Radio and EWTN, the global Catholic radio network, is heard daily on over 500 stations worldwide, and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Her TV show, The Catholic View for Women, is seen twice weekly on EWTN.

Tomeo is a columnist and special correspondent for OSV Newsweekly. She has been featured on The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News, Fox and Friends, MSNBC, and the Dr. Laura Show. Tomeo also hosts a monthly webinar, Catholic Leaders Webinar Series: Media Matters, produced by Our Sunday Visitor.

As an international speaker, Tomeo addresses media awareness and activism, as well as sharing her reversion to the Catholic Church. She and her husband, Deacon Dom Pastore, lead pilgrimages to Rome and other parts of Italy for married couples.