Adoration Sodality Days of Recollection

Speaker Biography

Fr. Joseph Mary Wolfe is the Chaplain of the Eternal Word Television Network where he initially came to work in 1985 as an engineer. Two years later he became one of the founding members of the men’s community founded by Mother Angelica in 1987: the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. The motto of the friars is: The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back – something they strive to do by utilizing the media. Fr. Joseph obtained a Master of Arts degree in Theology – Magna Cum Laude – from St Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. On September 8, 2023, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Pontifical Marian Academy. He often celebrates the televised Mass and has produced a number of series and devotions featured on EWTN, including on-location series in Fatima, Guadalupe, Lourdes, and the Holy Land. 

Speaker Biography

Fr. Daniel Klimek is the assistant director of evangelization at The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA, for the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. He is a Marian theologian, author, podcaster, and lecturer who teaches as a faculty member of spirituality at The Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction in Clearwater, FL. Fr. Klimek’s books include With Jesus and Mary (Emmaus Road 2025), For the Love of Mary (Emmaus Road, 2022), and Medjugorje and the Supernatural (Oxford University Press, 2018). He received his Ph.D. in spirituality with distinction from the Catholic University of America and a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School. 

Speaker Biography

Fr. John Paul Mary, MFVA was born and raised in New Freedom, Pennsylvania.  While growing up he enjoyed skateboarding and rollerblading.  After high school he worked full-time for a hardware store and devoted much time and attention to his fixing and modifying his show car.  He went back to school in the late nineties and earned an associates degree in engineering from DeVry Institute of Technology in 2000.  Feeling a call to the priesthood he became a seminarian for the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA shortly after his graduation.  During his philosophical studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum, he visited the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.  Following his graduation from Seminary, he entered the MFVA community in October 2004 and he professed final vows on August 14, 2010.  Br. John Paul completed his theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary on May 4, 2012 and earned a Masters in Divinity.  He was ordained a deacon on June 2, 2012.  On June 22, 2013 he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Robert Baker.  Father now serves as the EWTN Employee Chaplain.

Speaker Biography

Fr. Jonathan Meyer was ordained a priest in 2003 for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. After his ordination he served as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese. He has also served at several parishes, prior to being named as the pastor of four parishes in Dearborn County, IN. He maintains a presence on the internet with weekly homilies and other teachings at All Saints We Are One. From 2022–2024, he served as a National Preacher for the National Eucharistic Revival. He published his first book in 2026 entitled Stations of the Eucharist. In his spare time, he coaches Track and Cross Country; he has coached at public schools for the past 15 years.

Speaker Biography

Fr. Ignatius John Schweitzer, O.P. is a Dominican priest of the St. Joseph (Eastern) Province. He was ordained in 2011. He spent six years living as a monk in a Carthusian monastery. He then returned to the Dominicans, discerning a strong call from the Lord to help others grow in the spiritual and mystical life. Upon returning, he completed a License in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. He is currently assigned to St. Mary’s Priory in New Haven, Connecticut. You can visit his website about the mystical life at www.UpperGarden.org. He hopes to be of service to the Lord’s loving cry to souls and souls’ cry for the Lord: “Abyss calls to abyss!”

Speaker Biography

Fr. Joseph Tuscan, was born in Columbus, OH, in 1967 and was raised in Canton, OH. He earned his Bachelor's degree in 1989 from Borromeo College Seminary. In 1990, he professed his first vows as a Capuchin Franciscan friar. Making his Perpetual vows in 1993, he went on to earn his Master's degree in Theology in 1995 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1997. His first assignment after ordination was in Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific where he served for four years. On January 3, 2025, Fr. Joseph was one of our friars who received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal as a commendation for their service to the country of Papua New Guinea. Returning to the US in 2001, he has ministered in various capacities as a parochial vicar and pastor, as well as a military and hospital chaplain; he also served in our Province's Custody of Puerto Rico. Fr. Joseph currently serves as the Director General of the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers and in full-time preaching ministry for the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine, offering retreats and reflection days for parishes, Religious and Priests. He can be viewed on several YouTube channels and has appeared on Catholic Radio and TV outlets.

Speaker Biography

The Most Reverend Steven John Raica, J.C.D. was appointed fifth bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama on March 25, 2020 and was installed at the Cathedral of St. Paul on June 22 of that same year. Bishop Raica was born on November 8, 1952 and grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He was ordained a priest on October 14, 1978 for the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan, where he received episcopal consecration on August 28, 2014. During his years as a priest he had a wide range of parish and other pastoral experiences in Michigan; he also served for six years as superior of the Casa Santa Maria in Rome, Italy, the post-graduate residence for American priests. Bishop Raica obtained his doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He is fluent in English, Italian, American Sign Language, and is conversant in Polish.

Bishop Raica’s episcopal motto is “Sursum corda” – “Lift up your hearts”, one of the oldest phrases in the Liturgy of the Mass.