Keynote Speakers | myParish Blog Content

Friday English Keynote
9:30 AM – 10:15 AM – Hall C

ValLimar Jansen

Blessed with an extraordinary voice, ValLimar Jansen is a highly regarded singer, composer and recording artist. She is also an experienced college professor, a leader of worship and prayer and a workshop presenter at conferences across the United States and abroad. Known especially for her work with contemporary Christian, gospel, and gospel-jazz styles, she sings a wide range of music, including spirituals and traditional, organ-based choral music. (Word)

Evangelization Through the Arts & the Beauty of the Word of God

In the Apostolic Exhortation, EVANGELII GAUDIUM (The Joy of the Gospel), the Holy Father, Pope Francis writes:
“In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization”(#120).

Using her unique style of storytelling, music and inspirational message, ValLimar Jansen will lead participants through a journey in which they meet people of Scripture and Roman Catholic tradition who encountered Jesus at pivotal moments in their lives. With an application of Sacred Scripture to our daily lives and a deeper understanding of Evangelii Gaudium, God is with us as we rise to the challenges and seize the opportunities to answer Pope Francis’s call to missionary discipleship.

Friday Education Keynote
10:45 AM – 11: 45 AM

Rev. Brendan McGuire

Is pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in San Jose, California and Vicar General, Special Projects of the Diocese of San Jose. He is a regular speaker on subjects such as Stewardship, Prayer, Forgiveness and Parish Leadership. Fr. Brendan is also author of three books on Sunday homilies and his most recent book is The Living Gospel: Daily Devotions for Advent.

Education Keynote
Empowering Christ’s Mission in our Schools: Investing in our Christian Community

Catholic Schools have a rich and long history of academic excellence as well as the preeminent method of passing on our faith to the next generation. In today’s highly secularized culture, the expectations for schools has changed and we need to adapt to the needs of our families. We need to inspire our faculty, staff, students and families to not only excel academically but also to encounter Christ in others and foster a deeper relationship with him.

In his keynote, Fr. Brendan will explore a new governance model that aligns the needs of the faculty to secure greater resources for academic excellence through data-driven personalized instruction. At the same time the pastoral resources can be aligned through the three pillars of Word,Worship and Witness. He will challenge us to examine the powerful value of worshipping community, how we deepen our knowledge of our discipleship through study and personal prayer and how we can inspire others through our witness of faith through our social outreach and fight for social justice.

Saturday English Keynote
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Bishop Robert W McElroy

Born in San Francisco on February 5, 1954 to Walter and Roberta McElroy, who now reside in Santa Rosa, California. In 1972 he entered Harvard College and graduated three years later with a degree in American history. After his graduation from Harvard, Bishop McElroy attended graduate school at Stanford and in 1976 received a master’s degree in American history. In 1976, Bishop McElroy attended Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese on April 12, 1980. His first assignment was Saint Cecilia Parish in San Francisco, which was the parish where both of his parents had grown up and attended grammar school, and the church where they were married.

Bishop McElroy was appointed auxiliary bishop of San Francisco by Pope Benedict XVI on July 6, 2010 and was ordained by Archbishop George Niederauer at Saint Mary’s Cathedral on September 7, 2010. Pope Francis appointed him to be the sixth bishop of San Diego, Bishop McElroy on March 3, 2015 and was installed on April 15, 2015.

Saturday English Keynote
Pastoral Theology and Pope Francis: A New Framework for Comprehending, Teaching and Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Saturday Spanish Keynote
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM

Maria del Mar Muñoz-Visoso

Maria del Mar Munoz-Visoso is executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where she previously was assistant director of media relations. Before moving to Washington, Mar worked for the Archdiocese of Denver in various capacities, including editor of the Spanish language diocesan newspaper, El Pueblo Católico, director of Hispanic Ministry, and founding executive director of Centro San Juan Diego. Mar holds a B.A. In Communications and a Master’s degree in pastoral theology. She is married and the mother of three teens.

Saturday Vietnamese Keynote
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM

Cha Joseph Nguyễn Công Đoan, S.J

Born 1942, Hưng Yên, Việt Nam. Joint the Society of Jesus, 1966 – Ordained a priest 1970
STL 1970, Pontifical College St Pius X, Đalat
SSL 1975, Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome
Regional Superior of Jesuits in Vietnam 1975-1981
Prison and Labour Camp under communist regime 1981-1990

General Counselor and Assistant to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Rome 2003-2008. Superior of Jesuits in the Holy Land 2008-2014 and Director of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem. Now living in Jerusalem, doing spiritual ministry at the service of religious communities.

Saturday Chinese Keynote
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM

Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, O.F.M.

Born in Hong Kong on March 4, 1959. After his High School education at a Catholic school, he entered the novitiate of the Franciscan Friars, where he professed his solemn Vows on August 27, 1988. He took courses in Philosophy and Theology at the Seminary of Hong Kong, after which he was ordained priest on September 9, 1990. From 1990 to 1993 he was sent to Rome to study spiritual Theology and Franciscan Culture at the Antonianum. From 1993 to 1997 he continued his studies of Pedagogy of religion at Loyola University of Chicago, in the United States. He has served in a number of pastoral and administrative roles since then in the Diocese of Hong Kong.

The friar had been twice the provincial of Franciscans Hong Kong and former member of the Vatican’s Commission for the Church in China. He is currently board member of the Holy Spirit Seminary College and member Council of Priests of the local diocese. He is dubbed “spiritual master” for his profound spirituality in the diocese. On 11 July 2014 he was appointed as the Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong by Pope Francis along with Father Michael Yeung Ming-cheung and Father Stephen Lee Bun-sang. Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing will assist John Cardinal Tong Hon in the running of the diocese