Conference Speakers 2012
Fr. Francis Martin
Fr. Francis Martin is a renowned Scripture scholar and Professor Emeritus of New Testament at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. He was Senior Fellow at the Intercultural Forum for Faith and Culture at the John Paul II Cultural Center in D.C. and visiting professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. In the past, he has taught at the Gregorian University in Rome, Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, Catholic University in Washington, D.C. and held the Cardinal Adam Maida Chair in Biblical Studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. He has also taught at Franciscan University of Steubenville and the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C.
He was ordained at St. Joseph’s Abbey in 1956, received his Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from St. Thomas Pontifical University in Rome in 1959 and his Doctorate in Sacred Scripture (S.S.D.) from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in 1978, also in Rome. Fr. Martin is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. where he is also chaplain of the Mother of God Community in Gaithersburg, MD.
At present he dedicates himself full-time as Founder and President of Father Francis Martin Ministries and The Word Proclaimed Institute. In addition to over 60 scholarly articles, Fr. Martin’s publications include The Life Changer, Baptism in the Holy Spirit, The Feminist Question, The Fire in the Cloud, Sacred Scripture: The Disclosure of the Word, and Acts in the Ancient Christian Commentary Series.
Fr. Peter Cameron, O.P.
Father Peter John Cameron is a Dominican priest ordained in 1986. He is the editor-in-chief of Magnificat. He is also the artistic director of Blackfriars Repertory Theatre in New York City, adjunct professor of homiletics at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception (Huntington, NY), and the director of preaching for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. He is the author of eight books, including Why Preach: Encountering Christ in God’s Word. Fr. Cameron lives at St. Mary Priory in New Haven, Connecticut.
Dr. Ralph Martin
Dr. Ralph Martin is the president of Renewal Ministries, an organization devoted to Catholic renewal and evangelization. Renewal Ministries is the sponsor of “The Choices We Face” a widely viewed weekly Catholic television and radio program distributed throughout the world and engages in a wide variety of mission work in more than 30 countries.
He is also the Director of Graduate Theology Programs in Evangelization and an assistant professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit. He holds a doctorate in theology from the Angelicum University in Rome.
In December of 2011 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Ralph as a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, for a five year term.
He is the author of a number of articles and books the most recent of which is The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints. He and his wife Anne reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Msgr. John Esseff
Monsignor John Esseff is a Roman Catholic Priest for the last 58 years. He is of Lebanese decent. Monsignor is based in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was based in Lebanon from 1984 to 1986 serving as head of the Pontifical Mission, a Catholic organization that directly assists the Pope in bring the good news to the world, especially to the poor.
Monsignor Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska: he served as the former Spiritual Director of Pius X Seminary in Dalton, Pennsylvania and Director of Formation at Cardinal Meunsch Seminary in Fargo, ND.
Monsignor was s Spiritual Director and confessor to Mother Teresa and now assists in direction for the Lay Missionaries as well as a Retreat Master for the Missionaries of Charity around the world. He met Padre Pio who became a spiritual father to him. Monsignor is a world wide Retreat Master on Healing and Discernment as well as the former Director of the Enthronement Apostolate in Scranton, PA. He is a co-founder of the Sacred Heart Apostolate, a worldwide group with a 10 year plan to bring the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart to the world.
He remains today as the Spiritual Director to many priests, seminarians, deacons and laity from across the world. He is the retired Exorcist for the Diocese of Scranton and a sought after Retreat Master and conference speaker.