Ascension Newsroom

Rebecca Abboud is a liaison for the Office of Parish Support in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana. She taught preschool until 2018, when she began full-time ministry as the coordinator of youth formation at Christ the Redeemer Parish in Thibodaux, helping young people in her parish come to know the Lord in a deeper and more personal way. After two years, she was asked to join her current team, guiding and supporting pastors and lay leaders across the diocese in their mission of formation and evangelization. She hopes one day, God willing, to be the patron saint of play.

After a profound conversion to Christ at age 20, Jimmy Akin began an intensive study of Scripture with the intention of becoming a Protestant pastor or seminary professor. As he learned more about the Bible, he became convinced of the truth of the Catholic faith and entered the Catholic Church in 1992.

Jimmy Akin serves as Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, where he is also a member of the Catholic Answers Speakers Bureau, a frequent guest on Catholic Answers Live, and a contributor to Catholic Answers Magazine. Jimmy is also a contributor to the book Disorientation, bringing his knowledge of Scripture and apologetics to college students in need of navigating a new time in their lives.

Dominick Albano is a consultant who helps parishes all across the country expand their evangelization efforts. He is passionate about helping parishes maximize impact in their communities, and has spoken at hundreds of parish missions. Dominick is the host of The Best Catholic Podcast and the author of several books, including the Ascension title The Fundamental Theory of Happiness: How to Find Your Purpose and Be More Joyful ,which was a finalist for the 2021 Association of Catholic Publishers’ Excellence in Publishing Awards.

Daniel Ali was raised as a Kurdish Muslim in northern Iraq before moving to the United States to attend college. There, he married an American Protestant and began a journey that led him to embrace Christianity. In 1998, Daniel and his wife, Sara, were received into the Catholic Church.

Daniel is the co-author of Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics, which helps readers better understand the beliefs and practices of Islam from a Catholic perspective.

Tom Allen is a Catholic author, filmmaker, and media professional who co-founded Catholic Exchange. He has held leadership roles across Catholic and faith-based media and served as executive producer and director of Champions of Faith: Baseball. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with additional training in film production at New York University, he has co-authored several books, including A Guide to Narnia and A Guide to the Passion.

Fr. Mark-Mary Ames is the Director of Communications and the Director of Priestly Studies of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR). The primary mission of the CFR community is a wholehearted embracing of Jesus Christ and their Holy Father, St. Francis of Assisi. Through their commitment to prayer and contemplation, the study of Sacred Scripture, fidelity to the Church and the sacraments, their fraternal life, and their generous service to others especially the poor, the CFRs receive the nourishment necessary to live out their lives as sons of St. Francis in the Capuchin tradition.

Fr. Mark-Mary is the host of the Ascension Presents video series The CFRs and the host of the 2025 podcast The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR). He was also the executive producer of the Poco a Poco music album featuring Br. Isaiah, CFR, and is the author of several books including Habits for Holiness: Small Steps for Making Big Spiritual Progress and Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes.

His favorite work, however, is not nearly as public. Near and dear to Fr. Mark-Mary’s heart is his work walking one-on-one with the suffering, hearing confessions, and offering service as a regular chaplain to the Sisters of Life formation convents.

Katherine Andes is a Catholic author and professional writer based in California’s Central Valley, where she runs a copywriting and web-content practice. Her gift for making complex ideas simple and memorable has shaped both her professional work and her contributions to Catholic publishing.

For Ascension, she created and co-authored, with Ascension founder Matthew Pinto, the popular Friendly Defenders Catholic flash cards — including Friendly Defenders and Friendly Defenders 2 — which help children and teens learn to answer the most common objections to the Catholic faith. Released beginning in 2001, the cards have sold tens of thousands of sets and are praised by parents, catechists, and even professional apologists for getting simply and quickly to the heart of the issues. Her seasonal article “Taking Back Our Holy Halloween” is widely republished each fall.

Bobby Angel is a native Floridian who worked for eight years as a campus minister and teacher at an all-boys school. He holds a master’s degree in Theology from the Augustine Institute and a bachelor’s in Philosophy from St. John Vianney College Seminary. He has more than 20 years of experience in ministry, and currently lives in Texas with his wife Jackie and their five children.

Jackie Francois Angel is a full-time traveling speaker, singer/songwriter, and worship leader from Orange County, CA. In 2006, she became an artist with Oregon Catholic Press, with whom she has released two albums. Her husband Bobby Angel is a native Floridian who worked for eight years as a campus minister and teacher at an all-boys school.

Jackie and Bobby have spoken and written on Catholic marriage, discernment, and Theology of the Body. The pair are regular video contributors on Ascension Presents, and currently live in Dallas, Texas with their five children.

Chika Anyanwu is the director of formation and events for Vagabond Missions in Pittsburgh, PA. A Catholic evangelist and youth minister, she is also the author of My Encounter: How I Met Jesus in Prayer and a contributor to Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation. An alumna of National Evangelization Teams Ministries (NET USA), she served for eight years as a parish Confirmation coordinator and young adult minister in Southern California.

Luke Maguire Armstrong is an author, poet, and award-winning travel journalist. The son of Catholic author and journalist Patti Maguire Armstrong, he has spent more than a decade working with the Integral Heart Family to help children break free from generational poverty. He is also the author of several collections of poetry, travel stories, and fiction.

Mark Armstrong is a Catholic speaker and author from North Dakota, where he and his wife, Patti Maguire Armstrong, raised their ten children — eight boys and two girls, including two boys adopted from Kenya. A popular presenter for men’s retreats, conferences, and parish groups, he is especially known for his talks on Our Lady of Guadalupe.

With Patti, he helped bring to life the bestselling Amazing Grace book series published by Ascension — collections of true stories of God’s grace at work in everyday lives — serving as co-editor of Amazing Grace for Fathers, which gathers testimonies of faith, fatherhood, and perseverance.

Patti Maguire Armstrong hosts the TV talk show Ladies of Another View. In addition to co-authoring What Would Monica Do with Roxane Beauclair Salonen, Patti’s books include Ascension’s Amazing Grace series, Holy Hacks, and Big Hearted. Patti also writes for the National Catholic Register and other publications.

Patti has received several top awards for her writing at the National Catholic Register from the national Catholic Press Association, including a first place for blogging in 2019.

Patti and her husband, Mark, raised their ten children in North Dakota.

Monica Ashour is an international speaker, author, and one of the most recognized teachers of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Holding two master’s degrees from the University of Dallas — in theological studies and in humanities — she is the founder and president of the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team (TOBET), named by the National Catholic Register as one of the top speakers on the Theology of the Body. The author of more than two dozen books, including The Body Matters series for preschool through eighth grade and award-winning children’s picture books, she has presented at the Theology of the Body International Symposium in Rome and consulted for the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Honor Ayres is a children’s book illustrator. She lives in southwest England with her husband and their three children and is actively involved in her local church.

Danielle Bean is the author of many books on Catholic marriage, motherhood, and women’s spirituality, and a well-known Catholic podcaster and media figure. In all of her efforts, Danielle encourages and celebrates all women on their unique vocational paths.

Danielle is a dynamic retreat leader and an engaging speaker on a variety of subjects related to Catholic family life, education, marriage, and motherhood. She has been married to her husband, Dan, for 26 years and together they have 8 children.

Michelle is a wife and mother of six children—four born from her womb and two born from her heart (adopted in Haiti). She is the visionary leader and creative director of Greenhouse Collective. Michelle has a heart for inspiring others to understand and share their unique voices and their God-given missions. Michelle cohosts the nationwide podcast Abiding Together. She is the author of Restore the Beauty—a prayer journal that accompanies the Abiding Together series Four Women Doctors of the Church. Michelle and her family reside in North Carolina.

Dr. John Bergsma is Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He served as a Protestant pastor for four years before entering the Catholic Church in 2001 while pursuing a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame, specializing in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Since 2004, Dr. Bergsma's primary work has been teaching Scripture to Franciscan University of Steubenville's theology and catechetics majors. A frequent guest on Relevant Radio’s Drew Mariani Show and Sacred Heart Radio’s Son Rise Morning Show, Dr. Bergsma has appeared on EWTN’s The Journey Home and Life on the Rock, and speaks regularly at conferences and parishes nationwide. Dr. Bergsma has numerous academic and popular publications, including the books Bible Basics for Catholics and New Testament Basics for Catholics from Ave Maria Press. He is also featured as one of the presenters in the 2025 edition of The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation.

He and his wife Dawn reside with their eight children in Steubenville, Ohio.

Suzanne Bilodeau is head over heels in love with Jesus. Wife to her high school sweetheart Paul, Suzanne is a homeschooling momma of 6 beautiful children. A former success-seeking actuary and a recovering perfectionist and overachiever, she encountered Christ in a new and restoring way in motherhood. Host of the popular podcast Latte & Laundry, Suzanne explores what it means to sit at the feet of Christ like Mary, while moving in this world with the gusto and strength of Martha. She is convicted that God is on mission to restore and revive the magnificent vocation of motherhood, and she delights in letting him use her in any tiny way he sees fit.

Suzanne’s debut title with Ascension is She Loved: Resting in the Beauty of Motherhood. This beautiful coffee table book collects 15 authentic and vulnerable letters written by Catholic mothers to their younger selves, celebrating the peace and purpose to be found in motherhood. Contributors include Beth Sri, Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Elizabeth Foss, Bonnie Landry, Debbie Herbeck, and many more.

If you can’t find Suzanne in the kitchen or laundry room of her Connecticut home, she is probably on a run, in the garden, or planning her next adventure with the kids.

Fr. Murray Bodo, O.F.M., is a Franciscan priest, poet, and one of the most beloved spiritual writers in the Franciscan tradition. A friar for more than six decades, he has served as a teacher, writer-in-residence, and for many years led summer pilgrimages to Assisi, immersing pilgrims in the world of St. Francis and St. Clare. His dozens of books include Clare: A Light in the Garden, The Way of St. Francis, and collections of poetry — but he is best known for Francis: The Journey and the Dream, the lyrical life of St. Francis that has moved readers for over fifty years and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.

Ascension is proud to publish Francis: The Journey and the Dream for a new generation, making Fr. Bodo’s poetic masterpiece on the saint of Assisi available through its Ascension author collection.

Ron Bolster is an associate professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he previously served as director of the Catechetics Office. He holds a Ph.D. in Education and has extensive experience in catechesis, Confirmation preparation, and catechist formation. He is co-author of Ascension’s Chosen: Your Journey to Confirmation program and lives with his wife, Andrea, and their children in Steubenville, Ohio.

Renita Boyle is an author, poet, storyteller, and educator based in Scotland. She has written numerous children’s books and faith-based resources and regularly leads storytelling, writing, and creative workshops for children and adults. A member of the Society of Authors, she has also served as a storyteller and reader-in-residence and is passionate about making stories engaging and accessible for people of all ages and abilities.

Steven Bozza is Director of the Office of Life and Family for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and an adjunct professor of biomedical ethics and moral theology at Immaculata University. He has written and spoken extensively on bioethics, marriage, and sexuality and has also contributed to the work of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pro-Life Activities.

Joann Bradvica is an author, wife, mother of three, and business owner based in Southern California. A longtime active member of Catholic Church ministry, she is the author of Donuts After Mass: A Tale About Walking with Jesus.

Rafaela Bradvica is an illustrator and the daughter of author Joann Bradvica, with whom she collaborated on Donuts After Mass: A Tale About Walking with Jesus. She has been active in Catholic ministry for many years, including serving in Confirmation and music ministry at her parish. Originally from California, she now lives and works on the East Coast.

Eric Brende is a writer and speaker who is best known for questioning what technology gives us — and what it quietly takes away. After studies at Yale and MIT, he and his wife, Mary, spent eighteen months living in a strict Anabaptist farming community without electricity or motors, an experiment he chronicled in his acclaimed book Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology. He has continued to live out those convictions in St. Louis, Missouri, where he has worked as a rickshaw driver and artisan soap maker while writing and speaking on technology and the good life.

A Catholic voice in the conversation about human flourishing in a machine age, Brende contributed to Ascension’s Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, applying his distinctive perspective to the ideologies students encounter on campus.

Lisa Bromschwig holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry from the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. She is a convert to Catholicism and adores Jesus in the Word and Sacraments. She has worked in parish Faith Formation for more than fifteen years. After seeing how The Bible Timeline changed the lives of so many adults, Lisa, along with Linda Wandrei, Regina Neville, and Emily Cavins, decided to bring this incredible gift to the children in their homes and parishes. GPS was born from their passion for translating The Bible Timeline into a format that young Catholics can enjoy and remember for the rest of their lives. She and her husband Kurt have three grown children and live in Texas.

Arthur Brooks is one of the world’s leading experts on the science of human happiness, appearing in the media and traveling the world to teach people in private companies, universities, public agencies, and faith communities how they can live happier lives and bring greater well-being to others.

Brooks is a professor at Vanderbilt University and a senior fellow at the Harvard Business School. He is a CBS News contributor, columnist with The Free Press, and host of the weekly podcast “Office Hours with Arthur Brooks.”

He is the author of 16 books, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, Build the Life You Want (co-authored with Oprah Winfrey), and From Strength to Strength.

See more from Arthur Brooks:

• The Real Reason Modern Life Feels Empty w/ Fr. Mike Schmitz and Dr. Arthur Brooks [video]
• You’re Not Unhappy…You’re Misunderstanding Happiness (w/ Dr. Arthur Brooks and Fr. Mike Schmitz) [video]

Sean Brown is a Catholic author and theological advisor for EWTN. He co-authored Go in Peace: Your Guide to the Purpose and Power of Confession with Scripture scholar Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ.

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers is the founder and director of Servant Enterprises, which is dedicated to the promotion of Catholic values. He makes regular appearances in Catholic media and leads retreats, seminars, and conferences around the world. He is a presenter in Chosen.

Jim Burnham is an internationally known Catholic apologist, author, and speaker. A cradle Catholic and the second oldest of ten children, he graduated as valedictorian from Hillsdale College in 1989 with a degree in philosophy — an education sharpened by years of friendly debate with his evangelical classmates, which drove him to rediscover the biblical and historical basis of his Catholic faith. He went on to study at Thomas Aquinas College, where he met his wife, Lisa; they have been married since 1992 and have six children.

Co-founder and director of San Juan Catholic Seminars in New Mexico, Jim has given hundreds of seminars teaching Catholics how to charitably and effectively defend their faith, and he is co-author of the hugely popular Beginning Apologetics series with Fr. Frank Chacon. For Ascension, he co-authored The Bible Thumper with Matthew Pinto and Brian Butler — a mini-concordance putting over a thousand key Bible verses for explaining the Catholic faith at your fingertips.

Fr. John Burns is a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He studied business marketing at the University of Notre Dame before discerning a deeper call to preach the infinite love of God with his whole life. Ordained to the priesthood in 2010, he has served in parish ministry and taught moral theology in the seminary.

Fr. John also works extensively with women’s religious communities and has provided retreats and conferences for religious sisters throughout Africa, Europe, and the United States. Fr. John Burns is one of the presenters of What We Believe.

Brian Butler is an author and presenter in YOU: Life, Love, and The Theology of the Body and Envision: Theology of the Body for Middle School, as well as a presenter in the Chosen Confirmation program. He is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Echo Community, a non-profit organization dedicated to chastity and vocation formation for teens and young adults.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of New Orleans and a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame Seminary School of Theology.

Brian and his wife, Lisa, are the parents of four children.

Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, is a priest with the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, author, and popular speaker. A convert to Catholicism, his remarkable journey from a troubled youth to the priesthood is a powerful witness to God's mercy and transforming grace.

Fr. Donald is the author of numerous books on Marian devotion, St. Joseph, and the spiritual life. He currently serves as Vicar Provincial and Vocation Director for the Marian Fathers and lives in Steubenville, Ohio.

Candace Camling is an author/illustrator living in Des Moines, Iowa. After joyfully converting to the Catholic Faith in 2017, a deep curiosity about saints, the Rosary, and more led her to start drawing and writing about the discoveries she made. Her favorite things to read are about Catholic miracles and the lives of the saints. Candace holds a BFA in illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design and has won many awards for her artwork and writing.

Candace has illustrated the award-winning "My First Interactive Mass Book" and has written and illustrated both the "Pray and Think Imaginative Rosary Book" and also "My First Interactive Rosary Book," some of Ascension's best-selling titles for children.

Gina Capaldi is an award-winning children's book illustrator whose expressive artwork brings Scripture and the Catholic faith to life for young readers.

Rev. Francis J. Caponi, O.S.A., is an Augustinian priest and theologian who has taught systematic theology at Villanova University. His scholarly work focuses on Catholic theology and has appeared in numerous academic journals and publications.

Fr. Caponi earned his bachelor's degree from Villanova University, his master's degree from the Washington Theological Union, and his doctorate from Harvard Divinity School.

Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo (Ph.D, Catholic University of America) has taught Sacred Scripture for Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, St. Patrick's Seminary in San Francisco, California, and Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. He is now the pastor of St. Elias Melkite Catholic Church in Los Gatos, California, and he frequently leads pilgrimages to the Holy Land. He is the author of Seeing Blood and Water: A Narrative-Critical Study of John 19:34. With Ascension, Fr. Carnazzo is a contributor to The Great Adventure Catholic Bible.

Madeleine Carroll is the is the author of A Young Catholic's Guide to the Rosary and the founder of Isaiah Books. A lifelong storyteller, her love of writing began at a young age and has been deeply shaped by her Catholic faith.

Madeleine trained and worked as a Montessori teacher and as a catechist for children ages three to six through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. She has also homeschooled her own children, experiences that have reinforced her belief in the power of beautiful language, meaningful stories, and inspiring artwork to help form young hearts and minds.

When she's not writing, Madeleine enjoys walking, reading to her children, and creating stories that invite families to grow together in faith.

Christopher Carstens is the director of the Office for Sacred Worship of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin. In addition, he is a visiting faculty member at the Liturgical Institute at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois, the editor of the Adoremus Bulletin, and the author of two books on the sacred liturgy. Christopher is well-known as one of the voices on the popular The Liturgy Guys podcast.

Christopher lives in Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, with his wife and eight children.

Bernadette Carstensen is a Catholic artist and illustrator based in San Francisco. A graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design, she specializes in sacred art, working primarily in watercolor and gouache and drawing inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelites and Medieval and Renaissance art. Her work has received recognition in Catholic sacred art competitions and has been commissioned by dioceses and Catholic organizations.

Emily Cavins is the developer and co-author of GPS: God’s Plan for Scripture, which teaches children the story of salvation. She is co-editor of the book Amazing Grace for Mothers and co-author of the Walking Toward Eternity series. Emily holds a degree in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Minnesota and has participated in several archaeological digs in Israel.

Emily and her husband, Jeff, live in Minnesota. Both individually and as a couple, they have led generations of Catholics closer to the Lord through prayer, community, and Bible study.

Jeff Cavins is recognized both nationally and internationally as one of the most effective and engaging speakers in the Church today. Few can communicate their love for Jesus Christ with as much zeal, clarity, and enthusiasm as Jeff Cavins. In addition to his outstanding presentations related to Catholic Bible study, Jeff is available to speak on a variety of other faith-formation topics.

After twelve years as a Protestant pastor, Jeff returned to the Catholic Church under the guidance of Bishop Paul Dudley. His conversion story, one of the best known and most inspiring stories of its kind, is chronicled in the best-selling book, My Life on the Rock. After his conversion, Jeff received an MA in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Over the past several decades, Jeff has dedicated his life to developing The Bible TimelineⓇ: The Story of Salvation, a practical, interactive program that helps people read the “big picture” of God’s plan of salvation in Sacred Scripture and understand its meaning for their lives.

For 2025, The Bible Timeline has been refreshed with new videos filmed on location in the Holy Land, Greece, Rome and several other locations, and new presenters such as Fr. Mike Schmitz, Mary Healy, and Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio. The Great Adventure Bible Timeline presents the entire sweep of the Bible in a way that is easy to understand and genuinely fun to engage. As the foundational element of The Great Adventure Learning System, the Bible Timeline has revolutionized Catholic Bible Study for hundreds of thousands of Catholics.

Lorena Cerqueira is a freelance illustrator originally from Portugal and currently residing in the UK. She studied animation before transitioning to full-time illustration. Inspired by artists such as Klimt and Van Gogh, she creates vibrant, richly textured scenes drawn from fairytales and the natural world. Guided by a passion for learning new techniques and sharing her unique perspective, she works in digital media to bring her whimsical worlds to life. In her free time, she enjoys walks, visiting museums, reading, and spending time with friends.

Sarah Christmyer is a Catholic author, Bible teacher, and speaker with a special love for lectio divina and journaling as ways to draw close to Christ in Scripture. Her desire to share that love with others was nurtured from an early age by her evangelical missionary parents and became a vocational call after her adult conversion to Catholicism.

Sarah is co-developer and the former director of The Great Adventure® Bible Study Program from Ascension and is author or co-author of more than a dozen Bible studies, guided journals, and books. She is an adjunct faculty member at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for Malvern Retreat House in Malvern, PA. She has spoken at numerous Catholic conferences and retreats and has been a guest on numerous Catholic shows including EWTN’s The Journey Home, Formed Now, Relevant Radio, Breadbox Media, Radio Maria, Iowa Catholic Radio, and Holy Spirit Radio. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Sarah and her husband Mark have four children and a growing number of grandchildren, whom they enjoy from their home near Philadelphia.

Fr. Frankie Cicero is a Catholic priest, preacher, and evangelist serving at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Mesa, Arizona. He is the founder of Life Starts Here Ministries and is known for sharing his powerful conversion story and preaching about God’s mercy, healing, and the transformative power of the Gospel. His ministry reaches audiences both in person and through social media. Fr. Frankie Cicero is one of the presenters of Encounter.

Izabela has been a lover of books since early childhood, when she was first inspired by traditionally and beautifully illustrated European fairy tales. After emigrating from Poland to Canada with her family at the age of 7, Izabela discovered the world of animation, which further influenced her illustration style. After earning a degree in criminal forensics and pursuing a tennis career, Izabela recognized that her true passion lies in her art. Since then, she has illustrated dozens of children’s books.

Izabela is not only the illustrator, but also the author, of Ascension’s new book The Little Donkey and God’s Big Plan.

She resides in Toronto where she enjoys good books, great cinema, long walks, and cute animal videos on YouTube.

Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. (1904–1984), was an American Jesuit priest whose witness of faith under Soviet persecution has made him one of the most compelling spiritual figures of the twentieth century. A Pennsylvania coal-miner’s son, he secretly entered the Soviet Union in 1940 to minister to believers, was arrested as a suspected “Vatican spy,” and spent twenty-three years in Soviet custody — including five years in Moscow’s notorious Lubyanka prison and fifteen years of hard labor in the Gulag camps of Siberia — all the while celebrating the sacraments in secret. Presumed dead for years, he was finally returned to the United States in a prisoner exchange in 1963. His cause for canonization is underway, and he is honored as a Servant of God.

His two classic books — With God in Russia and He Leadeth Me — recount his ordeal and the radical surrender to God’s providence that carried him through it.

Fr. John Clarke, O.C.D. (1917–2003), was an American Discalced Carmelite friar and one of the most important translators of Carmelite spirituality into English. Working from the original manuscripts, he produced the definitive English translations of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s writings for ICS Publications — including her autobiography Story of a Soul, her Letters, and Her Last Conversations — renderings prized for their fidelity to the Little Flower’s own voice.

It is his celebrated translation of Story of a Soul that accompanies Ascension’s Catholic Classics edition of the book, which was also read and unpacked episode by episode in season three of Ascension’s Catholic Classics podcast with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, and Fr. Michael-Joseph Paris, OCD.

Jeffrey Cole joined Ascension in 2020, bringing with him significant previous experience in Catholic publishing, Catholic education, and legal practice. At Ascension, Jeffrey serves as the Director of the Parish, School, and Small Group Products Team. He has overseen the development of several flagship products, including Renewed: Your Journey to First Reconciliation, Received: Your Journey to First Communion, and Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Jeffrey holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Juris Doctorate from DePaul University. He also has a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Canterbury Christ College.

Jeffrey lives with his wife and children in Western Kentucky.

Sonja Corbitt is the “Bible Study Evangelista” and creator of “the best modernization of lectio” divina: the LOVE the Word® Bible study method and journal. A best-selling author and Telly Award winning broadcaster, Sonja’s weekly show Evangelista Bible Study and other high-impact, multi-media Bible study resources create space for busy Christians to hear and experience God through the Scriptures. Sonja’s work appears on CatholicTV, Catholic radio, and podcast.

Estelle Corke is a British children’s book illustrator with more than 30 years of experience. Based in Wiltshire, England, she works primarily in watercolor and gouache and has illustrated books for publishers around the world. A graduate of Bath Spa University, she is especially known for her warm, colorful illustrations of children, animals, and nature.

Lisa Cotter is a leading Catholic speaker and author known for her practical insights on relationships, femininity, and living life with excellence. After serving as FOCUS missionaries for over 10 years, Lisa and her husband Kevin have continued to share their passion for evangelization with young adults all around the country.

Lisa was the creator and host of the popular How-to Catholic podcast which ran from 2016-2019. She is the founder of Made to Magnify ministries and co-authored Dating Detox: 40 Days of Perfecting Love in an Imperfect World with her husband in 2017.

Lisa has traveled widely as a presenter for national conferences such as SEEK, Steubenville youth conferences, and NCYC, inspiring young Catholics with her messages about virtuous dating, marriage, and femininity.

Lisa and Kevin Cotter live with their four children in Denver, CO, where Lisa is completing a Master’s in Theology from the Augustine Institute.

Claire Couche is an etiquette instructor dedicated to helping others cultivate grace, virtue, and beauty. With an academic background in theology, history, and nursing, she brings depth and clarity to her teachings on living out etiquette through practical insights rooted in Catholic tradition. Claire's debut title with Ascension is the "Pocket Guide to the Works of Mercy."

Claire shares on her Instagram account @findingphilothea and blog, Finding Philothea, and lives in Texas with her husband and son.

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, a proud graduate of Benedictine College in Atchison Kansas, served as a missionary for young people with both the Twin Cities-based NET Ministries and also the national college ministry Saint Paul’s Outreach before entering seminary.

He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 1997, and after serving in two parishes was sent to Rome for doctoral studies, where he completed a doctorate degree in Sacramental Theology focusing on Saint John Paul II’s theology of the Priest as the Bridegroom of the Church. His book on this topic was published in 2020 through the Institute for Priestly Formation out of Omaha, an organization for which he also serves as president.

After teaching in seminary formation for 8 years Bishop Cozzens was ordained to the episcopacy in 2013 as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On December 6, 2021, he was installed as the 8th bishop of the Diocese of Crookston in northern Minnesota. He currently serves as the chair of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis where he has been tasked by the Bishops with leading a three-year National Eucharistic Revival which seeks to impact the US Church at every level strengthening Eucharistic belief and practice.

As part of the Revival he has founded, and is the first President of, the National Eucharistic Congress Corporation and is overseeing the organizing of the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in almost 50 years.

Bishop Cozzens will be a special podcast guest for The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) podcast, appearing on the introduction to “Part 2: How We Worship.”

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, OP, is a Dominican priest with a passion for helping others encounter the truth and beauty of the Catholic intellectual tradition. As a member of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, Fr. Cuddy has dedicated his priesthood to the study, teaching, and renewal of theology in service to the Church.

Fr. Cuddy is the General Editor of the Encyclopedia of Catholic Theology (ect.org), and he is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Intellectus (intellectus.org). He serves as a theology professor at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, where he forms future priests and scholars in the richness of the Thomistic tradition. His academic work focuses especially on the philosophy and theology of St. Thomas Aquinas and its relevance for the life of the Church today. 

Through his work with Ascension as a presenter for What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, Fr. Cuddy helps Catholics grow in their understanding of Scripture and theology, inviting them to deeper faith, clarity of thought, and a more profound relationship with God.

Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio (“Dr. Italy”) received his Ph.D. in historical theology from The Catholic University of America under the direction of Avery Cardinal Dulles and has had a prolific career as a Catholic author, internationally-respected speaker, pilgrimage leader, and university professor. He is the Co-founder and Director of The Crossroads Initiative, the author of five books and hundreds of articles, and a regular guest on both secular and Catholic TV and radio programs.

In 2004, Dr. D’Ambrosio co-authored the New York Times bestseller A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about The Passion of the Christ with Ascension founder Matt Pinto. In 2019, Dr. D’Ambrosio published the groundbreaking Bible study on the life of Jesus Christ filmed in the Holy Land, Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life, presenting alongside Jeff Cavins and Dr. Edward Sri. In 2022, he became the co-author and co-presenter of What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, together with Dr. Andrew Swafford and Sarah Swafford, and in 2025 was announced as a co-presenter of the groundbreaking Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and Dr. Edward Sri.

Dr. D’Ambrosio is currently teaches for the Catholic International University (formerly known as Catholic Distance University). He has previously been on faculty at the Loyola College in Maryland as well as the University of Dallas.

Dr. D’Ambrosio and his wife Susan reside in Dallas, Texas, where they frequently spend time with their many children and grandchildren.

Susan D'Ambrosio is one of the presenters of Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Leah Darrow is an international Catholic speaker, bringing her experiences of reality TV and the fashion world to the masses. She has appeared on America’s Next Top Model and was a professional model in New York City. Leah is a presenter in Theology of the Body Middle School Edition and in Chosen: Your Journey Toward Confirmation.

Leah holds an M.A. in Theology from the Augustine Institute and is the founder of LUX Catholic, an app offering prayer, community, and faith formation for Catholic women.

Michael A. Dauphinais, Ph.D., is a Catholic theologian, author, and professor at Ave Maria University, where he serves as Chair of the Theology Department and co-director of the Aquinas Center for Theological Renewal. He is passionate about helping others discover the richness of Catholic theology through Scripture, St. Thomas Aquinas, and the great tradition of the Church.

Michael is the host of The Catholic Theology Show podcast and the co-author of several books on Catholic theology and Sacred Scripture. A grateful convert to the Catholic faith, he lives in Florida with his wife, Nancy.

Annie Deddens is a Catholic writer and, with her husband, John-Paul, the heart of Pray More Novenas, the online ministry that has helped hundreds of thousands of Catholics worldwide rediscover the beauty of novena prayer. Her own story is woven through with novenas — she and John-Paul met after she prayed a novena to St. Anne — and together they also lead online retreats for Advent and Lent through the Pray More Retreat.

For Ascension, Annie co-authored the Pocket Guide to Novenas with John-Paul — a beautiful, compact collection of twenty novenas, most of them newly composed, with gentle guidance on what novenas are, where they come from, and how to pray them with confidence and hope.

John-Paul Deddens is the founder of Pray More Novenas, an online prayer ministry that has helped Catholics around the world discover the beauty of praying novenas. He and his wife, Annie, met after she prayed a novena to St. Anne, and novena prayer has been woven through their life and ministry ever since.

For more than a decade, the Deddens have played a part in a wider resurgence of novena prayer, and their ministry also offers online retreats for Advent and Lent. For Ascension, John-Paul and Annie co-authored the Pocket Guide to Novenas, a compact collection of twenty novenas — most of them newly written — with guidance on where novenas come from and how to pray them.

After serving in the United States Marine Corps for four years, Cande graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He continued his studies and received a master of arts degree in theology for Sacred Scripture at Holy Apostles Seminary and College.

Cande is now the first executive director of the Office of Mission Advancement for the Diocese of Phoenix. He has a sincere desire to serve the Catholic Church. With his leadership and business acumen, he helps parishes with their stewardship, discipleship, and evangelization efforts. Cande is a contributor to the Ascension program The 99: An Evangelization Mission Series. He is passionate about his wife of twenty-two years, Rosemary, with whom he has four daughters.

Matthew received his M.A. in Theology from Providence College and his B.A. with majors in Religious Studies and Biology from Elizabethtown College. He has also undergone coursework at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy as part of a fellowship program to study inter-religious studies. Based in Pennsylvania, in 2025 he initiated the Lebanon Young Adult Catholics group to serve as a spiritual resource for those ages 18 to 39 who reside in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, or surrounding areas.

Currently Matthew works as a full-time gardener for a public garden in Hershey, PA. Matthew is ultimately interested in growing deeper in love with Jesus Christ and serving Him in whatever capacity he is called to. 

He is grateful foremost to God and then to all those, family, friends, and mentors, who have helped and provided for him in his life journey. One of Matthew's passions is for learning about the saints, including the dates of their feast days. Activities that he enjoys include cooking, reading, writing, grilling, jogging, gardening, and fishing.  

Paula Doherty is a British illustrator and paper artist based in Reigate, England. A graduate of Chelsea College of Arts, she has illustrated children’s books and designed greeting cards, toys, and pop-up projects. Inspired by childhood adventures, myths, travel, and nature, she works across digital illustration, paper cutting, and paper engineering.

Bill Donaghy is a Catholic speaker, teacher, and writer who has spoken internationally on faith and the New Evangelization since 1999. After years with the Pontifical Mission Societies giving hundreds of talks on the spirituality of mission, he founded the teaching ministry MissionMoment.org. He holds degrees in visual arts, philosophy, and systematic theology, serves as a senior lecturer and curriculum specialist at the Theology of the Body Institute — the apostolate co-founded with the help of Ascension founder Matthew Pinto — and teaches at Immaculata University. He and his wife, Rebecca, live outside Philadelphia with their four children, and his writing has appeared on Ascension’s Media platform.

Rebecca Dougherty holds a Master’s Degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a Master’s Degree in Education from Framingham State University. She is a lifelong Catholic with a passion for teaching the faith. Rebecca has taught theology for more than a decade at multiple levels, including grades 9–12 at three Catholic high schools and courses on the Catechism of the Catholic Church for those preparing for the diaconate at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. She also hosted the weekly podcast Catholic Light, where she helped listeners read and understand the Catechism. She and her husband Dan have five children and live in the greater Philadelphia area.

Fr. Luke Doyle is a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and serves as chaplain and director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas. Ordained in 2021, he previously worked as a high school theology teacher, RCIA director, and Catholic speaker. He has also served as a preacher for the National Eucharistic Revival and shares his homilies through the Homilies with Fr. Luke Doyle podcast.

Gabrielle Earnshaw is a writer, editor, speaker, and independent scholar specializing in the life and work of Henri J.M. Nouwen. She serves as Chief Archivist for the Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust and was appointed as Nouwen's official biographer in 2021.

Gabrielle has edited several collections of Henri Nouwen's writings and is dedicated to preserving and sharing his spiritual legacy with new generations of readers. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

John Echaniz is a freelance writer and speaker based in Front Royal, Virginia. He is also an IT executive, basketball coach, and music festival emcee. He and his wife, Sharon, have seven children and two grandchildren.

Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez (1926–2021) was a Chilean prelate, theologian, and respected leader in the Catholic Church whose service spanned nearly seven decades. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1954, he served as a professor, theological adviser at the Second Vatican Council, bishop of Rancagua and Valparaíso, and later as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Pope St. John Paul II created him a cardinal in 1998.

Widely recognized for his contributions to the Church's liturgical life, Cardinal Medina played a pivotal role in overseeing the renewal and translation of the Roman liturgical books. As Cardinal Protodeacon, he announced the election of Pope Benedict XVI to the world following the 2005 papal conclave.

Cardinal Medina is the author of the Sacrament Series of booklets, published by Ascension in partnership with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). These pastoral guides help Catholics better understand the meaning, celebration, and grace of the Church's sacraments.

Crystalina Evert is a Catholic author, speaker, and the founder of Women Made New Ministries and co-founder of the Chastity Project with her husband, Jason Evert. Together, Crystalina and Jason have spoken internationally about chastity, human sexuality, and God’s plan for love and relationships, and have hosted Catholic television programs for teens and young adults. They are married and have eight children.

Jason Evert has traveled to six continents to bring the message of purity to millions of people for more than 20 years, including World Youth Days in Australia, Spain, Poland, and Panama. He has lectured at dozens of universities, including Harvard, Princeton, and the United States Naval and Air Force Academies. Jason earned a master’s degree in Theology, and undergraduate degrees in Counseling and Theology, with a minor in Philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is a best-selling author of more than 15 books, including Saint John Paul the Great, How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul, and the curriculum YOU: Life, Love, and the Theology of the Body. He and his wife Crystalina are frequent guests on radio programs throughout the country, and their television appearances include MSNBC, Fox News, the BBC, and EWTN. Together, they run Chastity Project and its website, chastity.com, the podcast “Lust is Boring,” and lead an international alliance of young people who promote purity in more than 40 countries. Jason Evert is a presenter for Ascension.

Lillian Fallon is a Catholic writer with a passion for helping women express their unrepeatability through personal style. Growing up, she dreamed of working in the fashion industry but believed her Catholic Faith could not coexist with her love for clothing. After studying St. John Paul II’s Theology of The Body at Ave Maria University, Lillian’s enchantment with fashion transformed into a lifelong mission to help women understand their true identity, made in the image of God. Informed by John Paul II’s teachings, she went on to work as a style editor in New York City before ultimately landing at the Catholic fashion label Litany NYC.

Lillian currently resides in Pennsylvania with her orange tabby cat, Tito.

Marge Steinhage Fenelon is an award-winning Catholic author, journalist, and international speaker whose work centers on Marian devotion and the spiritual life. A longtime contributor to Catholic and secular outlets, she has written several books on Our Lady, including Imitating Mary and the bestselling Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, which received a 2017 Association of Catholic Publishers Excellence in Publishing Award.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and holds certificates in spiritual mentoring and Marian studies, and she is a member of the Mariological Society of America. Fenelon hosts the Simply Holy podcast, is a frequent guest on Catholic radio and television, and today works as a Catholic purpose coach, accompanying people as they discern God’s call in their lives.

Tim Flanagan is the founder of Catholic Leadership Institute, which he established to bring leadership formation and development to clergy and lay leaders throughout the Catholic Church. He is a longtime business and leadership professional and co-author of Good Leaders, Good Shepherds. In recognition of his service to the Church, Pope Francis named him a Knight of St. Sylvester in 2019.

Michael Flickinger serves as the editorial director at Ascension for adult trade books, where he has helped shape the publisher’s books and faith-formation resources for many years. Working alongside Ascension’s founders and authors, he has had an editorial hand in bringing numerous Ascension titles to Catholic readers.

Fr. José Antonio Fortea is a Spanish Catholic priest of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, near Madrid, and one of the Church’s most widely recognized authorities on demonology and exorcism. An approved exorcist, he has studied and assisted in numerous cases and has lectured on spiritual warfare around the world.

His theological training focused on the history of the Church, with a licentiate thesis on exorcism that grew into his later works on demonology, including Summa Daemoniaca. For Ascension, he wrote Interview with an Exorcist: An Insider’s Look at the Devil, Demonic Possession, and the Path to Deliverance — an accessible, question-and-answer introduction to the Church’s teaching on evil, possession, and deliverance.

Susan Fowler is an author, leadership consultant, and expert on motivation, self-leadership, and personal empowerment. She has spent decades researching and teaching leadership and has worked with organizations around the world. She is the co-author of Ascension’s Good Leaders, Good Shepherds and several other books on leadership and personal development.

Matt Fradd is a renowned Catholic author and speaker whose ministry work has spanned many different topics and apostolates. Today he is best known as the creator and host of the popular Pints with Aquinas podcast and YouTube channel, as well as for being the founder of The Porn Effect, a website dedicated to exposing the reality behind the fantasy of porn and offering help.

Matt is the author of several books, including The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography and Delivered: True Stories of Men and Women Who Turned from Porn to Purity.

Matt and his wife, Cameron, live in Steubenville, Ohio with their four growing children.

Merridith Frediani is a Catholic writer and speaker based in the Milwaukee area, where she lives with her husband and children. She writes on prayer, the sacraments, and finding God in ordinary life, contributing regularly to Ascension, CatholicMom, and her local Catholic Herald.

Her work invites readers into a deeper interior life, especially through Eucharistic adoration — the subject of her book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Eucharistic Adoration. Weaving together Scripture, the Catechism, and stories of the saints, she offers practical, warmly approachable guidance for encountering Christ in prayer.

Jen Fulwiler is a nationally touring standup comic, bestselling author, and mom of six. She booked her first comedy tour with her personal credit card and sold out theaters across the US. Her podcast, The Jen Fulwiler Show, debuted in the iTunes Comedy Top 10. She has been featured on Nate Bargatze's Nateland Showcase, the Today Show and CNN, and her viral social media sketches have racked up millions of views. Her new comedy special, Maternal Instinct, is out on Youtube.

Through her work with Ascension as a presenter of No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion, Fulwiler brings humor and authenticity to conversations about faith, vocation, and daily life. 

She's based in Austin, TX.

Sister Mary Francis Gangloff, OSF, is a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities whose decades of ministry have included serving as a teacher, principal, campus minister, chaplain, writer, and photographer. Throughout her vocation, she has been dedicated to sharing the Catholic faith through education, storytelling, and pastoral ministry.

An award-winning writer and the author of several books, Sister Mary Francis has a particular interest in the life of St. Marianne Cope and the history of her Franciscan community. Her love of travel and learning has taken her around the world, enriching both her writing and her ministry.

Sister Josephine is a native Texan, born and raised in Houston. She moved to Dallas in 1999 to begin studies at the University of Dallas, where she completed a BA in Political Philosophy with a Business Concentration. Sr. Josephine subsequently entered the banking industry, serving for 10 years as a Vice President in the Home Loans division of Bank of America. Raised Baptist, Sr. Josephine entered the Catholic Church in 2005, and in November of 2011 she began her formation to be a religious Sister. In November of 2020 Sister Josephine professed her final vows as a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

Sr. Josephine is a licensed counselor, serving as the school counselor for the cathedral grade school in Tyler, TX, and also working in private practice. She has also served in vocations ministry and as a national speaker for youth and young adults, speaking to groups of up to 25,000.

Neena Gaynor is a Catholic author, beekeeper, and master gardener. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and sons, where she finds inspiration in the rhythms of rural life. Her works include "The Bird and the Bees," a Christian novel, and the beloved children’s book, "A Garden for Mary." Neena's debut title with Ascension is "Pocket Guide to the Works of Mercy."

Neena shares more about her life and the Lord on her blog, "Words Like Honey."

Anne-Elisabeth Giuliani is the Archdiocesan Delegate for Consecrated Life for the Archdiocese of Washington and a consecrated member of Notre-Dame de Vie, a secular institute rooted in Carmelite spirituality. She contributed introductions and expert commentary to Ascension’s edition of St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul.

Jan Godfrey is a British children’s author and former schoolteacher who has written numerous books for young readers, many centered on Christian faith and Bible stories. A lifelong storyteller, she has four children and many grandchildren. Her work includes Ascension’s My Catholic Picture Bible Stories and A Very Noisy Stable.

From working in youth ministry to traveling the world, Michael Gormley, or “Gomer” as he’s been known since high school, has been preaching the Gospel to pew-sitting and lapsed Catholics alike.

Gomer holds three degrees from the Franciscan University of Steubenville: Philosophy BA, Theology BA, and Theology and Christian Ministry MA, and has worked in parish and youth ministry for decades. Traveling widely to give retreats, parish missions, youth conferences, and evangelization training all around the country, Gomer’s main concern is building community and bringing Catholics into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through repentance and encountering God in Scripture.

Gomer brings all of this passion and expertise into his podcast with Ascension, Every Knee Shall Bow, a seasonal podcast on Catholic evangelization which he co-hosts with Dave VanVickle.

Outside of Ascension, Gomer works as a Mission Evangelist for That Man Is You!, a men’s apostolate for Paradisus Dei. He is also the founder and creative director of Lay Evangelist.

Gomer is married to his college sweetheart, Shannon, and they have 4 beautiful and hilarious children: Kateri, Cecilia, Noah, and Thomas.

Dr. Tim Gray was instrumental, together with Jeff Cavins and Sarah Christmyer, in the development of The Great Adventure® Bible Study Program and is the author and presenter of Exodus: Called to Freedom. He is a professor of Scripture at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver and president of the Augustine Institute.

Throughout his career, Adam Gustavson's artwork has appeared in over 30 books for children, as well as posters, periodicals, and murals. He serves as professor at Rowan University, in Glassboro, NJ.  Since 2014, he has co-owned the Renaissance Art Studio in Millburn, NJ, with his wife (and manager) Denise, offering individual art lessons in a variety of media. He lives, paints, teaches, writes, and plays several musical instruments in New Jersey, with his wonderfully quirky family and their two neurotic little poodle mixes.

Fr. Donald Haggerty is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York who serves at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He taught moral theology and served as a seminary spiritual director for twenty years and has led retreats around the world for the Missionaries of Charity. He is the author of numerous books on Catholic spirituality, prayer, and the contemplative life. Fr. Donald Haggerty is one of the presenters of When You Pray.

Dr. Scott Hahn is one of the most influential Catholic theologians and Scripture scholars of our time. A former Presbyterian pastor whose 1986 conversion to Catholicism — recounted in the modern classic Rome Sweet Home, written with his wife, Kimberly — has inspired countless converts, he holds the Fr. Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the founder and president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. His dozens of bestselling books include The Lamb’s Supper, Hail, Holy Queen, and A Father Who Keeps His Promises, and his teaching on the covenant structure of salvation history has shaped a generation of Catholic Bible study.

Dcn. John Harden is a Catholic leader and teacher who serves as the director of Eastern Catholic formation and evangelization for the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma and the manager of small group programs at Ascension. Through his work in formation and evangelization, he is dedicated to equipping individuals and small groups to encounter Christ more deeply through Scripture and the teachings of the Church.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas (BA) and a master’s degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville (MA). In his ministry, he has worked to support parishes, dioceses, and small group leaders in building vibrant communities of faith.

With Ascension, Dcn. Harden is featured as a presenter in Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the 2025 edition of The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation.

He, his wife, and their children live in Kansas City, Missouri.

Mark Hart serves as chief innovation officer for Life Teen International. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a 28-year veteran of youth ministry, Mark is a bestselling author of over two dozen books, a former radio host and frequent guest on SiriusXM, and an award-winning writer and producer. One of the most sought-after speakers serving in the Catholic Church today, Mark’s humor and his passion for Scripture are known around the world.

His multiple video series with Ascension – Venture, Encounter, Altaration and The 99 – have helped millions of Catholics, young and old, begin to read and study the Bible and engage the Catholic faith in exciting and relevant new ways. Mark’s latest book with Ascension is Biblical Heroes: Stories of Faith and Courage. A master catechist, Mark also serves as a book editor, speaking coach, publishing and marketing consultant, and as a research fellow for the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology.

Mark and his wife, Melanie, live in Phoenix, Arizona with their three daughters–Hope, Trinity, and Faith–and one son, Josiah.

Bob Hartman is an internationally beloved storyteller and one of the most widely read children’s Bible authors in the world. An ordained minister with more than thirty years as a professional storyteller, he has written over a hundred books — including the bestselling Lion Storyteller Bible — and is the author of YouVersion’s Bible App for Kids, downloaded more than 120 million times. His passion is helping people of every age find their way into the Bible, engage with it, and discover the God who inspired it.

Father John Francis Harvey, OSFS, was an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, moral theologian, and founding director of Courage, a Catholic apostolate providing spiritual support for men and women who experience same-sex attraction and desire to live chaste lives. Ordained to the priesthood in 1944, Father Harvey taught moral theology, medical ethics, and sexual ethics and dedicated much of his ministry to providing pastoral guidance rooted in the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Dr. Mary Healy is a professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, and a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. She is co-editor of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture and author of two of its volumes, The Gospel of Mark and Hebrews. Her other books include The Scriptural Gifts Handbook and Healing: Bringing the Gift of God’s Mercy to the World.

Dr. Healy was a special podcast guest for The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) podcast, appearing on the introduction to “Part 3: How We Live.”

Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, is a Catholic speaker, author, and podcaster known for her witness to God’s love, mercy, and healing. Raised in Woodland, Washington, she was a Division I volleyball player at the University of Nevada-Reno before a profound conversion led her, in 1998, to join the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, a missionary community serving areas of deepest apostolic need.

She has served in missions in Rome, Seattle, North Dakota, and Texas, holds a master’s degree in theology from the Augustine Institute, and speaks internationally on conversion, authentic love, forgiveness, and healing. She is the author of the bestsellers Loved As I Am, Behold, and Restore, and co-hosts the popular Abiding Together podcast. For Ascension, she is a presenter in The 99, its parish-based system for evangelization.

Lisa M. Hendey is the founder of CatholicMom and the bestselling author of several books for adults and children, including The Grace of Yes, The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion, and I’m a Saint in the Making. Lisa’s books for children—the “Chime Travelers” fiction series for elementary school readers—is read in schools, children’s groups, and churches worldwide.

The host of the “Lisa Hendey & Friends” podcast, Lisa has produced and hosted multiple programs and has appeared on EWTN, CNN, CatholicTV, and a variety of radio outlets. Her articles have appeared in Catholic Digest, America Magazine, National Catholic Register, and Our Sunday Visitor. Lisa has been honored as an Elizabeth Egan Journalism Fellow, and has traveled to countries including Rwanda, Tanzania, Columbia, the Philippines, Kenya, and India in service of various non-profit organizations.

For her Ascension debut, Lisa is a contributor to the Ascension Planner 2025: A Tool for Catholic Daily Living.

Lisa lives and worships with her family in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.

David Henrie is an actor, writer, director, and Emmy-nominated producer with a passion for his Catholic Faith and family. Over his twenty-year career in the entertainment industry, he has built an extensive portfolio of work across television and feature films. He is widely recognized for his breakout role as Justin Russo on the Emmy Award-winning Disney series Wizards of Waverly Place. David is the co-founder of Novo Inspire Studios, which creates values-driven storytelling content for a family audience. Recently, he created, produced, and hosted a documentary titled Seeking Beauty in collaboration with EWTN Studios.

David and his wife, Maria, have embraced a life beyond the spotlight centered on what matters most: raising their children with intention, enduring values, and a deep sense of God’s love. Together, they delight in sharing the joy they’ve discovered in family life and the beauty that comes from seeking God’s purpose each day. David and Maria are publishing their first book with Ascension, Is God Bigger Than a Dragon? about a boy asking his dad whether God is bigger than whales, dinosaurs, dragons, monster trucks and even New York City.

Maria Cahill Henrie is passionate about faith and family. In 2011, she was crowned Miss Delaware and pursued a career in the entertainment industry. In 2017, she and David Henrie were married and began their shared journey of their Catholic Faith and family life.

Maria and David have embraced a life beyond the spotlight and centered on what matters most: raising their children with intention, enduring values, and a deep sense of God’s love. Together, they delight in sharing the joy they’ve discovered in family life and the beauty that comes from seeking God’s purpose each day. Maria and David are publishing their first book with Ascension, Is God Bigger Than a Dragon? about a boy asking his dad whether God is bigger than whales, dinosaurs, dragons, monster trucks and even New York City.

Susan Hines-Brigger is a longtime Catholic journalist and editor. She serves as executive editor of St. Anthony Messenger, the national Catholic magazine published by Franciscan Media, where she has worked for more than two decades and writes the popular “Faith & Family” column, drawing on her life as a wife and mother of four to explore how everyday family life and Catholic faith meet.

Ashley Hinojosa Mazzoleni is a Catholic theologian, speaker, writer, and artist pursuing doctoral studies in moral theology at the University of Notre Dame. She holds graduate degrees in theology from the University of Notre Dame’s Echo Program and Duke Divinity School and has extensive experience in ministry, catechesis, and faith formation. She is also a presenter in Ascension’s Encounter: The Bible Timeline for Middle School.

Daniel Hussem, also a passionate Catholic, spent many years as a marketing and product director in the tech industry. After working directly with Fortune 500 caliber clientele and contributing to nearly a dozen Forbes business publications, Daniel exchanged his career in tech for a more meaningful adventure with Seven Fourteen Media. Together with his wife Emily, Daniel co-founded and produced “Marcam,” a TV show for Catholic kids.

Dr. Sean Innerst is a Catholic theologian and teacher. For more than twenty-five years, he has been dedicated to forming seminarians, permanent deacons, missionaries, parish leaders, and lay Catholics in a deeper understanding of Church teaching and practice.

Dr. Innerst is Professor of Theology and Catechetics at the Augustine Institute, where he teaches courses in the Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology Degree Program and its Catechetics Concentration. He also played a key role in founding two important Catholic institutions in Denver: St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, as its founding provost, and the Augustine Institute, as its founding academic dean.

 Dr. Innerst is the author of numerous articles and presentations on the Catholic Faith and the work of evangelization and catechesis and has helped to author and host numerous videos from Augustine Institute Studios.

With Ascension, Dr. Innerst is the author of Pillar I: The Creed and Pillar II: Sacraments.

Patti Isaacs’s interest in maps began at age four when she started looking through the
family collection of National Geographic magazines. Loving travel, the humanities, and
science, she studied Art and Geography at the University of Minnesota.

After graduation she worked as a cartographer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Geological Survey, and the National Geographic Society before launching her own mapmaking business. In addition to Ascension Press, her maps have appeared in publications from McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, and many others.

When she’s not making maps or writing, you can find Patti loving the four seasons in her
native Minnesota biking, swimming, paddle boarding, and skiing, or gathering with
friends to cook delicious meals.

Fr. Jacob-Bertrand Janczyk, O.P. is a Dominican friar of the Province of Saint Joseph, which ministers in the Dominican tradition to the Northeastern portion of the United States, and is also the pastor of St. Denis Catholic Church in Hanover, NH.

After graduating from Marist College with a degree in biomedical science, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand joined the novitiate for the Dominicans and was ordained as a priest in the Dominican Order in 2017. From there, he went on to work with college students at Dartmouth College, serving as assistant chaplain and then as director of vocations for the Province of Saint Joseph from 2018-2022. Today, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand is the pastor of St. Denis Catholic Church in Hanover, New Hampshire.

In addition to co-hosting Ascension’s new podcast, Catholic Classics, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand is also a host of the popular Dominican podcast, Godsplaining.

When he’s not serving his parish or recording podcast episodes, Fr. Jacob-Bertrand can be found catching up on novels, biking, and enjoying time with family and friends.

After powerfully encountering Jesus in the Eucharist as a teenager, Fr. Josh Johnson dedicated his life to becoming a wholehearted disciple of Jesus Christ. Ordained for the Diocese of Baton Rouge in 2014, Fr. Josh has dedicated his priesthood to inviting all people to become saints in their walk toward eternity.

Fr. Josh travels widely as a speaker at conferences, retreats, and youth events, and was one of 3 MCs at the historic National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. He is well-known for his popular Ascension podcast Ask Father Josh as well as his Q&A videos on Ascension Presents, one of the largest Catholic YouTube channels in English.

Fr. Josh has written several books with Ascension, including the best-selling Pocket Guide to Reconciliation co-written with Fr. Mike Schmitz and On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Restoring God’s Vision of Race and Discipleship. He appears in many Ascension video programs including Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation, and his latest book—the Pocket Guide to Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins—is the topic of the 2025 Lenten program in the Ascension App.

Fr. Josh is the director of the Blessed Stanley Rother House of Formation in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, as well as pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church and School. He can often be found praying the Rosary and walking in the neighborhoods of his parish, inviting those under his pastoral care to become intentional disciples of Jesus Christ.

Angela Jolliffe is a British children’s book illustrator based in Norwich, England. She has illustrated numerous books for young readers, including children’s Bibles and faith-based stories. She lives with her husband and two children.

Fr. Columba Jordan, CFR, is a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal from County Kildare, Ireland. He serves at St. Patrick's Friary in Limerick, where he ministers through youth outreach, vocational discernment, preaching, and evangelization. As the European Vocations Director for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, he is passionate about helping others encounter Christ and discover their vocation.

Known for his joyful preaching and engaging online presence, Fr. Columba reaches millions through the Little by Little and Called to More podcasts, where he combines the wisdom of the Catholic faith with practical insights for everyday life. Before entering religious life, he worked as a web designer, an experience that has shaped his creative approach to digital evangelization.

Fr. Columba partnered with Ascension to host Crux, a daily Lenten video series that guides participants through prayer, fasting, Scripture, and physical discipline as a path to deeper conversion. Whether preaching in person or online, his mission is to help people encounter the beauty of the Gospel one step at a time.

Tanner Kalina is a Catholic evangelist, author and well-known speaker who has dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel. A former actor and comedian, he now presents to thousands of people each year, including youth, laity, parish leaders, and clergy. He has written two books, and he is the Co-Founder of the "Saints Alive Podcast" on Hallow. He is the presenter of several Ascension faith formation video series, and he has contributed other video projects to EWTN, FOCUS, the National Eucharistic Revival, and more. He and his wife, Alli, reside in Loveland, Colorado.

Kara Kardell has been serving in Catholic ministry since 2014, with experience in diocesan ministry, youth ministry, adult faith formation, and the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). She is co-founder of Draw Near, a ministry dedicated to helping people encounter the love of God through speaking, music, podcasts, and written resources and retreats (www.drawnear.me). Along with co-hosting the Draw Near Podcast, Kara helped establish Small Ember, a non-profit dedicated to helping lay people deepen their spirituality. Through apprenticeship and formation, it equips each person to live the Church’s mission in the unique way God has called them.

She holds bachelor’s degrees in Business and Communications, and a Master’s degree in Catholic Theology from the Augustine Institute. Her work emphasizes community, pastoral care, prayer, and the centrality of Scripture. Kara and her husband, Bruce, live in the Midwest, where they are raising their family and serving God.

Charleen Katra became the Executive Director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) in December of 2019, after having served on the NCPD’s Board of Directors in 2018 and 2019.

Prior to this national work, Charleen served as an Associate Director in the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. For over 20 years her primary responsibility was directing the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities. Charleen is the co-author of a book on adaptive catechesis with diverse learners. She has extensive experience in systematic and sacramental catechesis and has served as a national consultant, author, and speaker on the topic of inclusion for various Catholic publishers.

Charleen is currently a member of the Loyola Press Speaker Corp, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Special / Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies.

Sarah Kearns-Shutrop is a theologian, author, and creative strategist passionate about helping others encounter Jesus and grow in their Catholic faith. She is the author of Ascension’s First Reconciliation and First Communion programs, Renewed and Received, and brings her background in academic theology to creating engaging resources for Catholic formation.

John Keck is a Catholic author and contributor to Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, for which he wrote on the topic of scientism and its influence on contemporary thought.

Fr. Eamon Kelly, LC is an Irish priest of the Legionaries of Christ who has served in the Holy Land for nearly two decades. Based at Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, he ministers to pilgrims and shares reflections on Scripture, prayer, and the spiritual significance of the Holy Land. His ministry has also included youth and family apostolates, retreats, and evangelization in Europe and the United States. Fr. Eamon Kelly is one of the presenters of Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Paul J. Kim is a Catholic speaker and musician based in Texas, whose presentations have reached people of all ages in forty-eight states and sixteen countries. He is the author of the Catholic Millennial’s Guide to Adulting online course and a contributor to Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation. His background includes work as a marriage and family therapist and religious formation with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFRs).

Melissa Kirking, a passionate children’s Eucharistic Adoration expert, has over two decades of experience bringing children to meet and know Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It is her heart’s work to bring as many children as possible to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord in Adoration.

When Melissa was first asked by the priest at her school to bring her first grade class to Adoration, she had an initial moment of panic: “You want me to do what!?” But she quickly learned her students loved this time. Melissa recalls, “That priest gave me an unexpected treasure.”

Melissa is now the coordinator of Children’s Eucharistic Adoration and the former coordinator of Children’s Liturgy of the Word at her home parish. She is also the creator and publisher of the internationally recommended website GuidedChildren’sAdoration.com where she offers meaningful prayer materials tailored to meet the specific needs of children. She also speaks on these topics near to her heart.

Melissa is a former public and Catholic school teacher and enjoys creating a wide variety of crafts in her free time. She lives outside Austin, Texas, with her husband and youngest son and has recently been blessed with her first grandchild.

Dubravka Kolanović is a Croatian author and illustrator who has illustrated more than 200 children’s books and picture books published around the world. She studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design and the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. Her award-winning work is known for its soft, delicate style and is often inspired by nature, animals, and her travels around the world.

Ann M. Koshute, MTS, is co-founder of Springs in the Desert, a Catholic ministry of accompaniment for those carrying the cross of infertility and loss. She holds a Master of Theological Studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, DC.

Ann is a speaker, writer, and monthly columnist for The Eastern Catholic Life. She was appointed to the USCCB’s Advisory Council by Most Rev. Kurt Burnette, Bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, completing a 4-year term of service in 2025. Ann contributed to Volumes I and III of The Catechism in a Year Companion from Ascension Press, and Scripture reflections on the daily readings for the Ascension app. In 2026 Ann and the Springs in the Desert Team collaborated with the Ascension app to present a 15-episode series, Scripture and Saints for the Path of Infertility, and an accompanying novena.

Ann and her husband Keith are Byzantine Catholics who married in 2011 and live in Central Pennsylvania. They joke about making their “mixed marriage” work: Ann, from Northeastern PA is an Eagles fan, and Keith’s Western PA roots make him bleed Steelers black and gold. They love watching football and rooting for their alma mater Penn State. Ann and Keith enjoy traveling, finding interesting trails to hike, and the occasional cocktail. They’re grateful for their large extended family, including many nieces, nephews and godchildren, and for the many ways God has made their marriage fruitful.

Dr. Peter Kreeft is professor of philosophy at Boston College and one of the most respected and prolific Christian authors of our time, with more than a hundred books spanning spirituality, theology, and philosophy. A convert to Catholicism shaped by his study of Church history and the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, he earned his doctorate at Fordham University and has taught philosophy since 1965.

Known for making the deepest truths accessible with wit and clarity — he is often called a modern C.S. Lewis — Kreeft’s bestsellers include Heaven: The Heart’s Deepest Longing, A Summa of the Summa, and the Handbook of Christian Apologetics. For Ascension, he contributed to Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, helping students recognize and answer the intellectual currents they will encounter at university.

Alexis Kazimira Kutarna earned a master’s degree in liturgy at the Liturgical Institute of the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. In addition, she holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music, and she is currently a candidate for the doctorate in liturgical studies, with a concentration in Church music, from the University of Vienna.

Having served as a parish music and liturgy director, Alexis has worked with singers of all ages. She teaches courses on the liturgy and liturgical music at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, as well as a summer course for the St. Basil School of Gregorian chant. Currently, Alexis is the director of sacred music at Cathedral High School in Houston.

Most of all, Alexis celebrates her vocation as a wife and a mother to two little girls.

Heather Khym is a Catholic speaker, author, and ministry leader with over three decades guiding people toward healing, renewal, and authentic discipleship. She studied theology and catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville and now serves as assistant director of evangelization. She cohosts the Abiding Together podcast and authored Abide and the award-winning Encountering Emmanuel. With her husband, Jake, she cofounded Life Restoration Ministries and lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with their three children.

Sr. Mary Grace, SV is a Sister of Life originally from Sydney, Australia. After earning a degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame Australia and working in campus ministry, she entered the Sisters of Life in 2013 and professed her final vows in 2023. She has served women facing difficult pregnancies, led retreats and evangelization efforts, and currently serves in the community’s Evangelization Mission in Denver. She is also co-host of the Sisters of Life podcast Let Love. Sr. Mary Grace Langrell is one of the presenters for Envision.

Rev. Ryan Leibhaber is a Byzantine Catholic priest and author who has served at Saint Michael Byzantine Catholic Church in Pleasant City, Ohio.

Marcel LeJeune is the president and founder of Catholic Missionary Disciples, a Catholic apostolate that coaches and equips Catholic leaders to “make disciple-makers who make disciple-makers.” He is also an international speaker, evangelist, and award-winning author. He has written four books, including The Contagious Catholic: The Art of Practical Evangelization, published by Ascension. Marcel’s articles have been published in many national Catholic magazines, newspapers, and websites, and he is a regular guest on national Catholic radio, TV, and online media.

For 11 years, Marcel served as the associate director of campus ministry at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University, the largest campus ministry in the world. Prior to that position, he was the director of campus ministry at St. Elizabeth’s University Parish at Texas Tech University for 4 years. Marcel holds a master’s degree in theological studies, specializing in pastoral theology.

The most important part of his life is being a husband and father. Marcel and his wife, Kristy, have five children.

Mary Lenaburg is a respected Catholic speaker and celebrated author of "Be Brave in the Scared" and "Be Bold in the Broken," both recognized with accolades in the Catholic publishing world. With international keynotes and contributions to Catholic media, she passionately shares her faith journey.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Mary, together with her husband of 36 years, navigated the profound loss of their daughter in 2014, embodying the resilience and unwavering faith she often speaks about. Mary embraces her father's wisdom, reminding us all, "Never quit, never give up, never lose your faith. It’s the one reason you walk this earth. For God chose this time and place just for you, so make the most of it." Mary's life and work exemplify the power of faith, hope, and perseverance.

Mary's debut title with Ascension is the "Ascension Planner 2026: A Tool for Catholic Daily Living."

Bob Lesnefsky, also known as “Righteous B,” is a Catholic rapper who has been a unique leader and voice in Catholic youth ministry for twenty years. His evangelization style seeks to incorporate popular culture as a means to bring youth closer to Christ, living by the motto, “Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use rap.” Bob is a contributor to Ascension programs The 99: An Evangelization Mission Series and Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation.

He started Vagabond Missions in 2005, serving inner-city youth in cities all over the country. Along with his music and youth ministry career, Bob is a husband and father of seven.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker is a Catholic priest, author, speaker, and pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Greenville, South Carolina. A former Anglican priest, he and his family were received into the Catholic Church in 1995, and he was ordained a Catholic priest in 2006 through the Pastoral Provision for married former Anglican clergy.

Fr. Dwight is the author of more than twenty books on the Catholic faith and a well-known Catholic blogger. He and his wife, Alison, have four children and live in Greenville, South Carolina.

A convert to the Catholic Faith, Fr. Seán Loomis is a graduate of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2013. Following years of studying American Sign Language and engaging deaf culture, he currently serves as the chaplain to the Deaf Apostolate in Philadelphia.

As an advocate for the deaf community, Fr. Loomis works to ensure full access to the riches of the Catholic faith for all deaf individuals and their families. He presents in Ascension’s program for the deaf and hard of hearing: Hands of Grace: The Catholic Sacraments in American Sign Language.

Richard I. “Dick” Lyles is a business leader, author, and lifelong Catholic with a passion for helping others integrate faith and work. He has served as CEO of several companies, hosted The Catholic Business Hour on EWTN, and is a founding board member of Act One, an organization that equips Christians to serve in the entertainment industry.

Dick and his wife, Martha, are the co-authors of Answer Your Call: Reclaiming God's Purpose for Faith, Family, and Work.

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Aimee MacIver is a wife, mother, writer, artist, speaker, and pilgrimage leader.

She is the author of several award-winning books on the Theology of the Body, the sacraments, social justice, Scripture study, and Baptism preparation, as well as Reconciliation and Mass companions for children.

Aimee is also a visual artist and the creator of ThyShip.com, a daily Catholic newsletter that invites readers to see every place as an opportunity for pilgrimage and encounter with Christ.

Colin MacIver is a theology teacher, author, speaker, and longtime minister with a passion for helping others encounter Christ. For more than two decades, he has served the Church through education and parish ministry, including as a theology teacher, religion department chair, and campus ministry coordinator at St. Scholastica Academy in Covington, Louisiana. He currently serves as Senior Director of Evangelization at Jesuit High School in New Orleans.

Colin is the author of the guide to Quick Catholic Lessons with Fr. Mike and, alongside his wife, Aimee, is the co-author and presenter of Theology of the Body for Teens: Middle School Edition, as well as the co-author of the Chosen Parent's and Sponsor's Guides and other Ascension resources. Whether teaching, writing, speaking, or making music, Colin is dedicated to helping people grow in their faith and discover the joy of the Gospel.

Colin lives in Louisiana with his wife, Aimee, and their two children, Leo and Zelie. When he's not serving in ministry, you can find him eating way too many crawfish, crafting cringeworthy dad jokes, or trying—without much success—to load the dishwasher correctly.

Megan Madden is a homeschooling mother with a passion for writing and speaking on authentic femininity and virtuous womanhood. In 2017, she began graduate studies in marriage and family at the International Theological Institute in Austria. After moving to Kraków, Poland to work with university students, Megan more personally continued her research on the complementarity of man and woman, particularly on the question of what it means to be a woman. She delved into the study of renowned Catholic writers on women such as St. Edith Stein, Gertrude von le Fort, Alice von Hildebrand, St. John Paul II, and St. Teresa of Avila.

The results were the development of Megan’s online ministry A Mother’s Lace, as well as speaking opportunities and her book with Ascension: Mary, Teach Me to Be Your Daughter.

Megan lives outside of Oxford, England with her husband, who is a lecturer in theology, and their six children.

Bishop Gregory Mansour is a Maronite Catholic bishop with a passion for strengthening faith, family life, and the witness of Eastern Christianity within the universal Church. 

After earning a degree in health education from Western Michigan University, he discerned a call to the priesthood and entered Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Seminary. He completed advanced theological studies at The Catholic University of America (STB) and later at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (STL), preparing for a life of pastoral leadership and spiritual formation. Ordained a priest in 1982, he served in parish ministry and held key leadership roles, including Vicar General of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon. In 2004, he was appointed by Pope St. John Paul II as Bishop of the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn.

Through his work with Ascension as a presenter of What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, Bishop Mansour invites Catholics to deepen their faith and encounter the beauty of the Church’s diverse traditions.

Today, he continues to shepherd a vibrant and growing community of Maronite faithful across the United States.

Elizabeth Santorum Marcolini is the CEO of Rose Roofing and Restoration, a high-growth construction company. She earned her B.A. from the University of Dallas and holds a Masters in Theological Studies from the John Paul II Institute. Elizabeth's debut title with Ascension is "Pocket Guide to the Works of Mercy."

Elizabeth resides in Virginia with her husband, Matt, and their three children: Zelie, Gianna, and Lorenzo.

Curtis Martin is a Catholic evangelist with a passion for forming missionary disciples and helping others encounter Jesus Christ in a personal way. As a young adult, Curtis experienced a profound reversion to the Catholic Faith after drifting from it in his youth, an experience that ignited his lifelong commitment to evangelization and campus ministry.

In 1998, Curtis co-founded the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) with his wife, Michaelann, in response to the need for a strong Catholic presence on college campuses. What began with a small group of students has grown into a global apostolate serving thousands through Bible studies, mentorship, and mission-driven outreach. Curtis holds a master’s degree in theology and has served as a consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the New Evangelization.

Through his work with Ascension as a presenter of No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion, Curtis equips Catholics to live and share the Gospel with clarity and conviction. 

After nearly three decades leading FOCUS as CEO, he stepped into a new season of leadership while remaining actively engaged in the mission. He lives in Colorado with his wife and their family.

Lisa Martinusen is a Catholic entrepreneur and co-creator of The Catholic Card Game, which she founded with her husband, Matt. Together, they created the game to bring humor, faith, and community together for Catholic families and friends.

Matt Martinusen is a Catholic entrepreneur and marketing strategist who co-created The Catholic Card Game with his wife, Lisa. A graduate of John Paul the Great Catholic University, Matt has worked in Catholic media and marketing and has developed games and creative projects designed to bring Catholics together through faith, humor, and community.

Victoria Mastrangelo is a Catholic writer, educator, and campus minister based in Houston, Texas. She holds a B.A. in Theology from the University of Dallas and an M.A. in Theological Studies from the University of St. Thomas. A wife and mother of three daughters, she is passionate about Catholic feminism, the feminine genius, and helping young women deepen their relationship with Christ and the Church.

Claudia Cangilla McAdam is an award-winning author who has a heart for faith-based stories that invite young readers to place themselves within the narratives about Jesus. During her years of study at the Denver Catholic Biblical School and her graduate studies with the Augustine Institute, Claudia was humbled by what she didn’t know about Scripture and the Catholic Faith despite being a lifelong Catholic. She is eager to share the treasures of what she learned with young readers. The majority of Claudia’s 30 published books are for children and teens. Her greatest joy is spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren in Colorado.

Rosemary McCabe is a Catholic author and marriage ministry contributor who, together with her husband, Tom McCabe, helped develop Ascension’s Joy-Filled Marriage program. Her work helps engaged couples build strong, faith-filled marriages through practical relationship skills and the Catholic understanding of the sacrament of Matrimony.

Tom is co-author of Life Skills for Couples, an insightful, virtue-based life skills program for engaged couples, and author of the Marriage Action Plan (MAP), a concrete plan for growing in love. Tom has helped prepare more than 3,500 engaged couples for marriage through workshops, retreats, and mentoring.

Katie Prejean McGrady is an author, sought after speaker, and the host of SiriusXM’s "The Katie McGrady Show" on The Catholic Channel. She hosts the Ave Explores podcast, the Like a Mother podcast, and co-hosts Family Mass Prep on Hallow. Katie is a Vatican Analyst for CNN and collaborates with the Vatican Dicastery for Communications on Digital Media initiatives. She lives and works in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with her husband, Tommy, and daughters, Rose and Clare.

Dr. Denis McNamara is an architectural historian, theologian, and educator specializing in the intersection of sacred art, architecture, and liturgical theology. Through his teaching, writing, and consulting, he helps Catholics discover how the beauty of churches and sacred art reveals the mysteries of the faith. His work is especially dedicated to bridging the Church's rich artistic tradition with the vision of the Second Vatican Council.

An author of four books and numerous articles, Dr. McNamara has spent more than 25 years teaching and researching the biblical and sacramental meaning of sacred architecture. He currently serves as Director of Education and Liturgical Design for Heritage Liturgical and previously taught at the Liturgical Institute at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and Benedictine College. He is also the co-host of The Liturgy Guys podcast, where he explores the beauty and theology of the Church's liturgy.

Dr. McNamara earned a bachelor's degree in the History of Art from Yale University and master's and doctoral degrees in Architectural History from the University of Virginia. He continues to lecture and consult internationally on sacred architecture, liturgical design, and the renewal of Catholic art and worship.

Eric Metaxas is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and radio host whose books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He is best known for his acclaimed biographies, including Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy — named a Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association — and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, the companion book to the 2006 film. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the New Yorker.

Raised in New York in a Greek Orthodox family, Metaxas has spent his career exploring faith, courage, and conviction in public life, and he hosts a nationally syndicated radio program. For Ascension, he contributed to Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, a collection of essays by leading Christian thinkers preparing students to engage the ideologies they will meet on campus.

Brian and Susan Middleton are passionate about faith and family. Their lives were forever changed when their youngest daughter, Maria, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Walking that sacred and sorrowful path with Maria became the most profound journey of their lives.

Brian and Susan are the parents of a blended family of six, whose ever-growing circle of grandchildren reflects a legacy rooted in faith, perseverance, and deep love. They have worked side by side for many years—Susan as the heart of their home and office manager for Brian’s succession planning firm.

Throughout their many years, they have joyfully served the Church in a variety of roles, but what they learned on their journey with Maria has been their greatest inspiration. In the face of suffering, Maria’s grace and courage illuminated something extraordinary. Her final written words—“think hope”—were not only a message to her family but a calling to the world.

After Maria’s passing, Brian and Susan began a Foundation to support ministries that bring hope into this world through education, building communities of hope and restoring hope to those in need. More information can be found at www.ThinkHope.org.

Dr. Matthew K. Minerd is a Ruthenian Catholic, husband, and father, serving as a professor of philosophy and moral theology at the Byzantine Catholic Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Pittsburgh. His academic and popular writing has been published in the journals Nova et Vetera, The American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, The Review of Metaphysics, Études Maritainiennes, Downside Review, and Homiletic and Pastoral Review. He has also served as a translator or editor for volumes published by The Catholic University of America Press, Emmaus Academic, and Cluny Media.

Adam Minihan is the Vice President of St. Michael Catholic Radio and co-host of the popular podcast The Catholic Man Show alongside his longtime friend and fellow Ascension coauthor David Niles. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Adam is passionate about evangelization, authentic masculinity, and helping families live the Catholic faith in everyday life.

In 2014, Adam and David helped launch St. Michael Catholic Radio, which now broadcasts EWTN programming and local Catholic content across the Tulsa area. Together with their wives, Haylee Minihan and Pamela Niles, they also co-authored Living Beyond Sunday: Making Your Home a Holier Place.

Adam and his wife, Haylee, have been married since 2012 and are raising their four children: Luke, Jude, Anna, and Leo.

Haylee Minihan is a Catholic author, wife, and mother from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she and her husband, Adam — vice president of St. Michael Catholic Radio and co-host of The Catholic Man Show — are raising their four children: Luke, Jude, Anna, and Leo. Married since 2012, the Minihans are passionate about helping ordinary families live the faith in everyday life, and Haylee has shared that mission with Catholic audiences including on Ascension’s Girlfriends podcast.

For Ascension, she co-authored Living Beyond Sunday: Making Your Home a Holy Place with Adam and their close friends David and Pamela Niles — a practical, encouraging guide to setting up your home, rhythms, and routines so the whole family can grow in holiness beyond Sunday Mass.

Curtis Mitch is the Bible Projects Managing Editor and a concurrent Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute. Passionate about helping Catholics encounter Christ through Sacred Scripture, Curtis has dedicated his career to biblical scholarship, theological education, and making the riches of God's Word more accessible to the faithful.

For more than two decades, Curtis served as Associate Editor and principal annotator of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. He is also the co-author of commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew with Edward Sri and the Letter to the Romans with Scott Hahn, as well as a contributor to numerous books and articles on Scripture and Catholic theology. Before joining the Augustine Institute, Curtis served with Ignatius Press, the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and taught Sacred Scripture at both Franciscan University of Steubenville and Catholic Distance University.

Curtis earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He and his wife, Stacy, live in Ohio with their nine children.

Fr. George T. Montague, S.M., is a Marianist priest and one of the most respected Catholic biblical scholars of his generation. A professor emeritus of theology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, he has served as president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, rector of seminaries, and a missionary formator in Nepal, and he is co-editor of the acclaimed Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series. His many books on Scripture and the Holy Spirit have formed generations of students, seminarians, and lay readers.

Dr. Jeffrey Morrow is professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the director of the St. Paul Studies Center at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He is a series editor for the Catholic University of America Press’ Verbum Domini series. He coauthored Ascension’s "A Catholic Guide to the Old Testament" and "A Catholic Guide to the New Testament". Jeff is also the coauthor and co-presenter for the best-selling Ascension study, "Luke: The Story of Salvation Fulfilled", alongside Jeff Cavins. Jeff holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in Catholic theology from the University of Dayton.

Mike Moyers is a Christian fine artist whose paintings explore the beauty and wonder of faith. He describes his deepest passion as using fine art to communicate matters of faith, believing that art can be a communion with the soul.

His devotional images bring scenes from the Gospel and the lives of Christ, Our Lady, and the saints to life with warmth and reverence. Ascension makes his paintings available to Catholic homes, parishes, and prayer spaces through its collection of Mike Moyers art prints, including the Rejoice! series.

Dr. Christine Anne Mugridge is a Catholic author, theologian, and communications specialist. The founder of Sacred Arts Communication, a Catholic apostolate for sharing faith and Catholic culture, she has served the Church’s mission of evangelization through media, writing, and international speaking, including work in support of Vatican communications initiatives. She is the author and editor of God’s Call to Women: Twelve Spiritual Memoirs and the author of Called by Name.

Ester Munt-Brooks grew up in Barcelona and became a touring musician as a teenager, leaving school at fifteen. After falling in love with an American in her mid-twenties (her husband, Arthur
Brooks) with whom she didn’t share a language, she built a life across continents—raising three
children and gradually moving from a secular background to becoming a Catholic educator and
theology student.

After completing her master’s in theology at the Augustine Institute, Ester speaks in both
English and Spanish across the U.S. about faith, love, and lived experience. And she and Arthur
now teach together, his science of happiness and meaning meeting her understanding of faith,
love, and what it actually takes to build a life worth living alongside another person.

Krisztina Kállai Nagy is a talented Hungarian artist and illustrator who has illustrated numerous children’s books in her home country, as well as for publishers in the United States and United Kingdom.

Regina Neville is one of the authors of GPS and a life-long Catholic who has had a career in education and theatre. She has a bachelor’s degree in education and theatre from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. She has over twenty-five years of teaching experience paired with administrative leadership in the arts and education. Regina continues to work with students in theatre programs in addition to leading policy and governance for education organizations. She and her husband, Tom, have three children.

Deacon Matt Newsome is a Catholic campus minister, author, and preacher who has served at his alma mater, Western Carolina University, since 2008. A convert to Catholicism, he holds a master’s degree in theology from Holy Apostles College & Seminary and was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Charlotte in 2018. He and his wife have seven children.

Andrew Newton is a secondary English teacher and freelance editor/proofreader who has been writing in various forms for over a decade. He lives in Michigan with his wife and child, where he draws inspiration from the people and natural beauty around him.

David Niles is a Catholic media leader and author from Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2014, he and his longtime friend Adam Minihan helped launch St. Michael Catholic Radio, which now broadcasts EWTN programming and local Catholic content across the Tulsa area, and the two co-host the popular podcast The Catholic Man Show, dedicated to authentic masculinity and everyday Catholic living.

For Ascension, David and his wife, Pamela, together with Adam and his wife, Haylee Minihan, co-authored Living Beyond Sunday: Making Your Home a Holier Place — a practical, encouraging guide to shaping a home’s rhythms and routines so families can grow in holiness all week long, not just on Sunday.

Pamela Niles is a Catholic author, wife, and mother from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her husband, David Niles, is co-host of The Catholic Man Show and a leader at St. Michael Catholic Radio, and together the Nileses — alongside their close friends Adam and Haylee Minihan — have devoted themselves to helping ordinary families live the faith at home. Pamela has shared that mission with Catholic audiences including on Ascension’s Girlfriends podcast.

For Ascension, she co-authored Living Beyond Sunday: Making Your Home a Holy Place, a warm, practical guide to shaping your home’s rhythms, spaces, and routines so the whole family can grow in holiness all week long — not just on Sunday.

Ashley Noronha, STL, is co-founder and executive director of the Truth & Beauty Project, which she founded with her husband, John, in Rome in 2017. Together, they help others encounter Christ through the beauty and richness of the Christian tradition, using the Eternal City as a living classroom for faith and formation. Ashley and John have lived in Rome since 2008.

Ashley has served as the Rome Correspondent for Relevant Radio since 2012 and previously served as an official of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications under Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. She is a professor of communications at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, and her work has spanned journalism, television, higher education, media training, leadership development, and communications consulting.

Ashley holds a Licentiate in Church Communications and a master’s degree in Moral Theology. Through her work with John and the Truth & Beauty Project, as well as her work in Catholic media and education, she is passionate about helping others encounter truth through beauty, deepen their love for the Church, and live as joyful witnesses of the Catholic faith.

John Noronha is co-founder and Director of Formation of the Truth & Beauty Project, which he founded with his wife, Ashley, in Rome. With a background in engineering and theology, he is an international speaker, retreat leader, and educator who helps others encounter the Catholic faith through sacred art, architecture, history, and the beauty of the Christian tradition.

Henri J.M. Nouwen was a Dutch-born Catholic priest, professor, psychologist, and beloved spiritual writer whose work has inspired millions of readers around the world. After teaching at the University of Notre Dame, Yale University, and Harvard University, he left academia to join the L'Arche Daybreak community in Canada, where he served alongside adults with intellectual disabilities.

Known for his honesty, vulnerability, and deep spiritual insight, Henri was the author of thirty-nine books, including The Return of the Prodigal Son, The Wounded Healer, Life of the Beloved, The Inner Voice of Love, and In the Name of Jesus. His works have been translated into more than thirty-five languages, and his enduring spiritual legacy continues to touch readers through new publications drawn from his archives.

Nell O’Leary, JD, is speaker, author, and strategic consultant who encourages people to share their gifts and marvelousness. Her strategic consulting has included work for the Word on Fire Institute, Friends of the Bridegroom, and the National Eucharistic Revival newsletter, and has appeared on Ascension Presents.

Nell has contributed to over a dozen books, edited 40 books and over 3,000 devotional essays, and led thousands people in finding and building community over the past two decades. Her debut title with Ascension is "Ascension Planner 2026: A Tool for Daily Catholic Living."

Nell and her husband live with their five children in Saint Paul, Minnesota with lots of chai tea to keep her fueled.

Melissa Overmyer is a dynamic evangelist, author, and speaker. She is the founder of Something Greater Ministries, which fosters prayer, Scripture study, and community while presenting the teachings of the Catholic Church. Author of several books, including "From Worry to Wonder", Melissa is a convert to Catholicism and has her master’s degree in Catholic theology with a concentration in Sacred Scripture. Melissa is passionate about archeology and Biblical history and leads pilgrimages to the Holy Land. She is the mother of four daughters and lives with her husband in Washington, D.C.

Damon Owens, an international speaker and evangelist for over 20 years, is the founder and executive director of joyTOB, a ministry devoted to building up marriages and families in joy and God’s love. A certified speaker for the Theology of the Body Institute and presenter at the 2015 World Meeting of Families, Damon keeps a full international speaking schedule, visiting conferences, marriage seminars, universities, high schools, seminaries, and parishes with the good news of marriage, sexuality, Theology of the Body, Theology of the Family, adoption, and Natural Family Planning (NFP). Damon and his wife Melanie taught NFP for 14 years and served as NFP Coordinators for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Damon currently lives outside Philadelphia with Melanie and their eight children.

Patrick O’Hearn is a devout Catholic author, content writer, literary consultant, and speaker with a passion for the saints. As a little boy, he grew up reading about the lives of the saints and likes to say that he has “more friends in heaven than on earth.” He spent close to three years in a Benedictine monastery before discerning a call to marriage. He graduated with a Master’s in Education from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a Bachelor’s in Marketing from St. Ambrose University.

Patrick’s love for the saints drives him to passionately share their stories and ministries. His writings have appeared in Catholic Exchange, Crisis Magazine, and The National Catholic Register. He has authored several books for adults and was a contributor to Fr. Donald Calloway’s book 30 Day Eucharistic Revival: A Retreat with St. Peter Julian Eymard.

Patrick’s debut title with Ascension is Saints Come in All Shapes and Sizes, a fun board book featuring the characteristics of many well-known saints and an encouragement for every child to dream of becoming a saint. Patrick also wrote the award-winning picture book Go and Fear Nothing, a children’s book about the story of Our Lady of Champion. When he’s not writing about saints, Patrick enjoys leading pilgrimages to places where his favorite saints lived and served the Lord.

Patrick and his wife, Amanda, live in the southern countryside with their children and their large, beautiful garden.

Mari ("Mah-dee") Pablo is a proud hispanic and cradle Catholic whose life was wrecked in the best possible way when she finally decided to stop fighting and surrender it all to Him. She holds bachelor degrees in theology and psychology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, as well as a master’s degree in theology from the Augustine Institute. Mari has worked in ministry for over fifteen years, as a youth minister, high school theology teacher and consultant.

Mari is the founder of In His Heart ministries, a bilingual ministry dedicated to bring hearts closer to His Sacred Heart. Mari is well known for her dynamic presentations at the annual Steubenville Youth Conferences and other national outlets. Mari is a presenter in several Ascension presents programs including "YOU: Theology of the Body" for teens, Ascension Presents and "Connected: Catholic Social Teaching" for this generation.

Mari's mission is simple, to encourage others to refuse to settle for the things of this world, but rather to strive for more, to strive for Him.

Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, Scripture scholar, and one of the most recognizable teachers in Catholic media, best known for his long-running work as a host on EWTN. Ordained in 1976, he holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Vanderbilt University, is a gifted linguist fluent in a dozen languages, and is bi-ritual, celebrating the liturgy in both the Roman and Maronite rites.

He is the founder and president of Ignatius Productions, a Catholic media apostolate, a Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and the author of more than twenty books, including a popular series of Catholic Bible study guides. For Ascension, he wrote Go In Peace: Your Guide to the Purpose and Power of Confession, a warm and practical guide to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Chris Padgett is a Catholic speaker and recording artist who travels around the world giving talks, missions, and concerts. Chris is an author, a presenter in the Chosen Confirmation program, and has served as a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio.

Chris and his wife, Linda, live with their children in Syracuse, New York.

Marco Pappalardo is an Italian author, journalist, and educator based in Catania, Italy. He teaches literature and has also taught courses on communication at the University of Catania and the St. Thomas Theological Institute in Messina. He writes on faith, education, young people, and media for several Italian publications and serves as Press Officer for the Cathedral Basilica of Catania. He is the author of numerous books published by leading Catholic publishers, several of which have been translated into multiple languages.

Fr. Michael-Joseph Paris of St. Thérèse, O.C.D., is a Discalced Carmelite friar of the Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a contemplative order devoted to seeking union with God through friendship with Jesus Christ in the spirit of Mary. He serves as subprior and director of postulants at the Carmelite community of Holy Hill in Hubertus, Wisconsin. Raised in Maryland, he returned to the faith as a young man after a period away from the Church, drawn back through Scripture and prayer toward a call to the priesthood. 

 Fr. Michael-Joseph studied philosophy at St. John’s University in New York and theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., in 2011. After several years in parish and campus ministry, he entered the Discalced Carmelites in 2016, later studying Carmelite spirituality in Ávila and Madrid and earning a License in Spiritual Theology from the Pontifical University of Comillas in 2022. He professed his final vows in 2023. A member of the Institute of Carmelite Studies and host of its Carmelcast podcast, he joined Ascension as co-host of Catholic Classics for its third season, guiding listeners through St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul.

Martina Peluso is an Italian illustrator and artist originally from Naples and based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Working in both traditional and digital media, she is known for her vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and attention to detail. Inspired by travel, nature, and diverse cultures, she brings a rich range of influences to her illustrations.

Dr. Edward Peters is a canon lawyer, author, and educator whose work has helped Catholics better understand the Church's canon law. He has served in a variety of canonical roles for dioceses and ecclesiastical tribunals throughout the United States and was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a referendary of the Apostolic Signatura, the Holy See's highest judicial tribunal.

Dr. Peters is the author of numerous books and articles on canon law. He and his wife, Angela, have six children.

Father Jacques is the first priest ordained in the Community of the Beatitudes. He began preaching retreats regularly in France and abroad and has consolidated his principal retreat themes into different books on spirituality. These books have sold over a million copies in 24 languages. Jacques Philippe’s writings on themes such as prayer, interior freedom, and peace of heart have become classics of modern Catholic spirituality. Fr. Jacques Philippe is one of the presenters of When You Pray.

Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. is an Assistant Professor of Dogmatic and Moral Theology at the Dominican House of Studies and the Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He was ordained a priest in 2016 and holds a doctorate from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is the author of several books including "Prudence", "Your Eucharistic Identity", and "Training the Tongue". He is a regular contributor to several podcasts including "Godsplaining" and "Catholic Classics".

Matthew Pinto founded Ascension in 1998 and was the president and chief executive officer from 1998 to 2021. He is a recognized leader in Catholic marketing and communication in the Church in the United States. Matt has been at the forefront of several Catholic ministries and initiatives since he began full-time service to the Church in 1991, including Ascension Press, CatholicExchange.com, the Theology of the Body Institute, and Spark Catholic Communications.

He is a best-selling Catholic author, whose books include the teen question-and-answer books Did Adam & Eve Have Belly Buttons?, Did Jesus Have a Last Name?, and Do I Have to Go: 101 Questions about the Mass, the Eucharist, and Your Spiritual Life, as well as the Amazing Grace series. Matt also co-authored A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions About “The Passion of the Christ“, which went on to sell more than a million copies and reached #6 on the New York Times Religion Best-Seller List.

Matt is a recipient of the Catholic Leadership Institute’s Award for Outstanding Catholic Leadership (2004). He has served or presently serves on the boards of the Theology of the Body Institute, the Association of Catholic Publishers, and John Paul the Great University.

Matt and his wife, Maryanne, live in Pennsylvania, and are the parents of six children.

Dr. Brant Pitre is a native of Louisiana, he earned his Ph.D. in New Testament and ancient Judaism from the University of Notre Dame and serves as Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology. He is the author of bestselling books including Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, The Case for Jesus, and Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, and he is beloved for showing how the Jewish context of the Bible illuminates the Catholic faith. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have five children.

Tara Plymouth is a Catholic author and former Director of Public Policy for the Catholic Medical Association who co-authored the bioethics pamphlet Created in His Image: Modern Medicine and the Dignity of the Human Person.

Dr. Gregory Popcak is a pastoral counselor, author, speaker, and the founder and executive director of the Pastoral Solutions Institute. His work integrates Catholic theology and counseling psychology to help individuals, couples, and families build stronger, healthier relationships rooted in faith.

Greg is the author of numerous books and programs on marriage, parenting, and family life. Together with his wife, Lisa, he hosts More2Life Radio on EWTN, where they offer practical, faith-filled advice to listeners around the world. Greg and Lisa live in Steubenville, Ohio, and are the parents of three children.

Lisa Popcak is a certified Family Life Coach, lactation consultant, and professional educator specializing in learning styles, early childhood development, adoption, and attachment. Together with her husband, Dr. Gregory Popcak, she co-hosts More2Life, a call-in advice program heard on nearly 400 EWTN radio affiliates and SiriusXM, and the couple co-founded the Pastoral Solutions Institute, an internationally recognized Catholic tele-counseling practice providing more than 12,000 hours of counseling each year.

Lisa and Greg are the co-authors of more than twenty books applying Catholic wisdom and psychological insight to marriage, family, and everyday life, including Just Married, Then Comes Baby, Holy Sex!, and Parenting with Grace. They were featured speakers at the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and are recipients of the Couple to Couple League International’s Fr. Richard M. Hogan Award for their work promoting the Catholic vision of marriage and sexuality.

Dr. Scott Powell is a teacher, theologian, and author who has been teaching the Bible and the Catholic faith to audiences of all ages for decades. Currently, he is currently a Director and Professor of Theology at the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver.

Scott and his wife Annie founded and direct Camp Wojtyla, a Catholic outdoor adventure program for youth based in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Scott holds a doctorate in Catholic Studies from Liverpool Hope University in England and has authored a number of books, articles, and book chapters on topics of theology, the Bible, and ecology, as well as on Catholic culture and its relationship to the modern world.

With a passion for making complex ideas simple and accessible, Scott has spoken at parishes, universities, and conferences around the world and has worked on Ascension’s “Exodus: Called to Freedom” and “Walking with Christ: A Journey through the Gospel of Luke.” Scott and Annie live near Boulder, Colorado with their three children: Lily Avila, Samuel Isaac, and Evelyn Luca.

Bishop Fernando Prado Ayuso, CMF is a Spanish Claretian missionary, theologian, journalist, and Bishop of San Sebastián. Before becoming bishop in 2022, he served for two decades as director of Publicaciones Claretianas and taught theology of religious life. An accomplished author and editor, he interviewed Pope Francis for The Strength of a Vocation: Consecrated Life Today, published by Ascension in English.

The Messy Family Project is the marriage and family ministry of Mike and Alicia Hernon of Steubenville, Ohio — parents of ten children and grandparents of a growing brood — devoted to empowering moms and dads to embrace their sacred calling. What began in 2015 as a hobby podcast recorded at their kitchen table grew entirely by word of mouth into one of the most popular podcasts for Catholic parents, and in 2018 the Hernons left their jobs to serve families full time. Their message is simple and freeing: family life is messy and unpredictable, but the messiness is the crucible in which God pours his grace.

Through their podcast, coaching, retreats, courses, and free downloadable resources, the Messy Family Project helps couples strengthen their marriages, parent with intentionality, and build a vibrant Catholic culture in the home. They have shared that message with Ascension audiences as featured guests on Dr. Edward Sri’s All Things Catholic podcast.

Bader Rabadi, L.C. is one of the presenters of Jesus: the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Bob Rice is a presenter, author, singer, songwriter, and international speaker, as well as a professor of catechetics at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. His weekly podcasts include They That Hope and Speaking with Deacons. He has led worship at Steubenville Conferences for more than fifteen years, and his books include Between the Savior and the Sea and A 40-Day Spiritual Workout for Catholics.

Fr. Patrick Riviere is a priest of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in south Louisiana and currently serves as administrator of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morgan City, LA. Born and raised in Thibodaux, he studied biology at Nicholls State University. He received a master of arts degree in theological studies with a concentration in spiritual theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and was ordained in June 2019.

Since then, Fr. Patrick has served in several parish and diocesan roles, most recently as priest-secretary to the Office of the Bishop and in the diocesan Office of Parish Support, assisting parishes in their mission of formation and evangelization.

Dr. Biff Rocha’s area of interest is the intersection of rhetoric and religion. He earned his master’s degree in speech communication and rhetoric from Miami University in beautiful Oxford, Ohio. While there, Biff enjoyed coaching the Miami University debate team. He was a missionary for a decade with the interdenominational parachurch organization, Campus Crusade for Christ. Eventually Biff earned a doctorate in Catholic theology. Biff has taught catechetics at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, theology at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, and the American Experience at the University of Dayton.

Fr. Dempsey Rosales Acosta is a Catholic priest, biblical scholar, and educator dedicated to helping others encounter Christ through Sacred Scripture. He serves as Executive Director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago, where he brings years of experience in higher education, pastoral formation, and theological leadership.

Before joining Loyola, Fr. Dempsey served as a professor of theology and Director of the Center Semillero for Hispanic/Latino Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, and later as the university's Interim President. A respected biblical scholar, he has authored numerous books and scholarly articles, served as a consultant for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on biblical translation, and contributed to theological education through graduate programs in both English and Spanish. He holds advanced degrees in philosophy, theology, biblical studies, and Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

Ascension was blessed to collaborate with Fr. Dempsey on La Biblia en un Año (con Fray Sergio Serrano, OP).

Jonathan Roumie is an actor best known around the world for his portrayal of Jesus in The Chosen, the groundbreaking series about the life of Christ. A devout Catholic of Egyptian, Greek, and Irish heritage, Roumie has spoken movingly about how playing Jesus — especially through the Passion — has transformed his prayer life, his experience of the Eucharist, and his understanding of suffering. He is also a prominent voice in Catholic media and a frequent advocate for daily prayer.

For Ascension, Roumie has been a featured guest on the Ascension Presents platform, including in-depth conversations with Fr. Mike Schmitz on vocation, reverence, and the cost of portraying Christ, a Divine Mercy special with Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, and the video celebrations marking the fifth anniversary of The Bible in a Year.

Rev. George Rutler, S.T.D., is a Catholic priest, author, speaker, and longtime pastor known for his preaching, writing, and love of sacred art and culture. A former Episcopal priest, he entered the Catholic Church in 1979 and was ordained a Catholic priest in 1981.

Fr. Rutler has served parishes in New York City for more than four decades and has hosted a weekly television program on EWTN since 1988. He is the author of more than twenty books on theology, history, the saints, and the Catholic faith.

Roxane Beauclair Salonen, an award-winning children’s author and freelance writer, covers religion for her city’s daily newspaper, writes a prolife column for her diocese, serves as a Catholic radio host and speaker, and contributes to CatholicMom.com, the National Catholic Register, and various other publications.

Prior to co-authoring What Would Monica Do in 2022 with Patti Maguire Armstrong, Roxane co-authored the pro-life memoir of Ramona Trevino, a former Planned Parenthood employee.

Roxane and her husband, Troy, live in Fargo, North Dakota, where they have raised their five children.

Matheus is a Brazilian illustrator and art director who has been working professionally with illustration since 2015. His work focuses primarily on Catholic and sports illustration, as well as logo and crest development.

He works across editorial illustration for books, social media, and products, combining strong anatomical realism with stylized cartoon influences to create a distinctive visual language. His approach is driven by attention to detail, versatility, and the ability to adapt his visual style to different projects while maintaining a recognizable artistic identity.

Based in Brazil, Matheus works with both local and international clients, bringing a detailed and thoughtful approach to every project.

Matheus is the author and illustrator of the Pray and Paint water reveal book series from Ascension.

Elizabeth Scalia is a Benedictine Oblate, author, and editor whose writing explores the Catholic faith with honesty, wit, and spiritual insight. She is the author of several books, including the award-winning Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life and Little Sins Mean a Lot.

Elizabeth has served in editorial roles with Our Sunday Visitor, Word on Fire, Aleteia, and Patheos, and is widely known to readers as "The Anchoress." She and her husband live on Long Island.

Devin Schadt is a husband, father, author, speaker, and the co-founder of Fathers of St. Joseph, an apostolate dedicated to the renewal of authentic fatherhood. Through his writing and ministry, he encourages men to embrace their vocation with the courage, humility, and strength exemplified by St. Joseph.

Devin is also a host of The Catholic Gentleman podcast. He lives in the Midwest with his wife and their five daughters.

Fr. Mike Schmitz, a Catholic priest and evangelist well known for his social media videos and podcasts, hosted the 2021 breakout podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™, which became the #1 podcast on the Apple charts after its January 2021 launch, and is the most popular Catholic podcast of all time. The Bible in a Year was Chartable’s #1 global podcast in religion for several years, and was covered by news outlets including CBS, Fox, and The New York Times Magazine.

Jayne Schofield is a freelance children’s illustrator and designer based in Lancashire, England. She specializes in board books, novelty and activity books, creating playful, colorful artwork using traditional and digital techniques.

Dr. Alan Schreck is one of the authors of Epic: A Journey Through Church History.

Suzy Senior is an award-winning children's author from Yorkshire, England. She loves writing picture books and retelling Bible stories for young children. After studying Religious Studies and Philosophy, she has worked in publishing sales for over 20 years, visiting wonderful bookstores across the UK. In her spare time, she enjoys going on adventures with her family, live music, and getting out in the nearby countryside.

Fr. Sergio Serrano is a member of the Dominican Province of St. Martín de Porres, which serves the Church in the south of the United States. Fr. Serrano took his religious vows as a Dominican in 2003 and was ordained a priest in Dallas, Texas in 2007. He has been a parochial vicar at the Dominican parish of St. Dominic Guzmán in New Orleans, Louisiana as well as the pastor of the historic church of St. Dominic Guzmán in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Today Fr. Serrano is the parish administrator of St. Francis Xavier parish as well as the director of the Center of Jesus the Lord in New Orleans. Additionally, he serves as the director of the Hispanic Apostolate for the Archdiocese of New Orleans, as a lecturer for the Congar Institute, and is a doctoral candidate in Pastoral Ministry at the University of Barry in Miami, Florida

Jennifer Sharpe is a Catholic mother who is passionate about helping all believers develop a loving relationship with Jesus, especially in the Eucharist. A convert to Catholicism who saw a need for engaging books for Catholic children, Jennifer is the author of several books, including Ascension’s award-winning My First Interactive Mass Book. This title won two Association of Catholic Publishers Excellence in Publishing Awards, achieving a rare first place in two categories: Children’s Picture Books and Spanish.

Jennifer lives with her husband and children in Oklahoma.

Mark Shea is a popular Catholic writer, apologist, and speaker. A convert to the Catholic faith from Evangelicalism in 1987, he has spent decades explaining and defending Catholic teaching with wit, erudition, and a storyteller’s touch, through books such as By What Authority? and the Mary, Mother of the Son trilogy, along with years of columns, blogs, and radio appearances.


For Ascension, he co-authored A Catholic Guide to Narnia: Questions and Activities for the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe .He also contributed to Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind.

With over twenty years of ministry experience, Fred Shellabarger has dedicated his life to helping others encounter the redeeming love of Christ. For more than eight years, he served the Diocese of Sioux City as Director of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Family Life, supporting pastors and parish leaders in forming disciples and strengthening parish life. He now serves at Mater Dei Parish in Sioux City, where he helps others grow in faith and deepen their relationship with Christ. As co-founder of Draw Near and co-host of its podcast, Fred strives to create spaces where people feel loved, valued, and seen; to help ignite hearts with the love of God.

He and his wife of twenty years are the proud parents of seven children whose joy, creativity, and faith continually remind him of God’s goodness. Fred’s life and ministry are shaped by one conviction: no wound is too deep, no situation too broken, and no heart too distant for the transforming love of Christ.

Bishop William S. Skylstad is Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Spokane and a former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Ordained to the priesthood in 1960, he has spent more than six decades faithfully serving the Church as a parish priest, seminary rector, diocesan leader, and bishop. He served as Bishop of Yakima from 1977 to 1990 before being appointed the fifth bishop of Spokane, where he led the diocese until his retirement in 2010.

Throughout his ministry, Bishop Skylstad has been recognized for his commitment to pastoral leadership, evangelization, and service to those in need. Even in retirement, he has remained active in ministry, offering spiritual guidance through Catholic Charities and continuing to serve the Church in various capacities. In 2025, Providence Health Care honored him with the Sr. Peter Claver Award in recognition of his lifetime of humble service.

Bishop Skylstad's work with Ascension includes the Manual of Indulgences, a practical guide that helps Catholics better understand the Church's teaching on indulgences and grow in the life of grace.

Thomas Smith served as the director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School. He is a frequent guest on EWTN and Catholic radio, as well as a sought-after parish mission and conference speaker. Thomas is co-author with Jeff Cavins of Revelation: The Kingdom Yet to Come Bible Study. He speaks, offers parish missions, and teaches online at gen215.org and at Catholic events around the country.

Gayle Somers (BA, MTS), a former evangelical Protestant, was received into the Catholic Church with her family in 1995. She has been writing and leading parish Bible studies since 1996. She is the author of Ascension’s Galatians: Set Free to Live Workbook and has contributed to a Catholic women’s Bible.

Gayle’s latest project with Ascension is Whispers of Mary: What Twelve Old Testament Women Teach Us About Mary, an accessible and engaging book about Marian typology for Catholics.

Gayle lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her husband. She is a grandmother to five delightful grandchildren who live just down the street.

Robert Spencer is an author and researcher who has written extensively on religion, history, and current affairs. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including two New York Times bestsellers, and has lectured internationally on his areas of expertise. A Melkite Greek Catholic, Spencer has also written on Catholic theology, apologetics, and inter-religious dialogue.

Spencer is the co-author of Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics and a contributor to Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, a collection of essays that equips Catholic students to thoughtfully engage the intellectual and cultural challenges they may encounter on college campuses.

Lavinia Theodoli Spirito grew up in Rome Italy. She attended the University of Michigan, the University of Kentucky College of Law, and the Augustine Institute, where she earned Masters in Theology. She founded and currently is Teaching Leader for Catholic Way Bible Study based in Lexington Kentucky and available nationwide on cwbs.org. 

Lavinia is adjunct Lecturer for the Saint Meinrad Deacon Formation Program and gives Priest retreats and retreats for  all interested in hearing about the power of the Holy Spirit through the study of the Scriptures. She is associated with Renewal Ministries as Mission Teacher.  She contributed to the Ave Maria Women's Bible and to the Companion volume for the Bible in a Year.  She also leads pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Italy, France and many other interesting places. 

She and her husband Michael live in Lexington, Kentucky, have two adult daughters and one grandchild.

Beth Sri is a graduate of Benedictine College and was ​among the first FOCUS missionaries.
Married to Dr. Edward Sri and the mother of eight ​children, Beth has a heart for those around her, ​encouraging young adult women as well as fellow wives ​and mothers to meet Jesus in their call to marriage and ​motherhood through mentorship, small group ​gatherings, and connecting one-on-one.

Beth and Dr. Sri have authored two Ascension books together: The Good, the Messy and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life as well Pocket Guide to Prayer, both published by Ascension. Beth is also a contributor to the Ascension Planner 2025: A Tool for Daily Catholic Living.

Beth helps lead retreats in Denver for Life-Giving ​Wounds, a ministry for adult children of divorce for ​which she also serves on the national board of directors.

Though not Italian, Beth relishes cooking up autentico ​Italian pastas for her growing family. When she is not in ​the kitchen making a quadruple batch of something or ​chauffeuring children somewhere, she can be found on ​a long run in the Colorado sunshine, curled up with an ​annotated Jane Austen novel, or boisterously cheering ​for her kids at their soccer games.

Beth and her husband, Edward, live in Colorado with their 8 children.

Dr. Edward Sri is a theologian, well-known Catholic speaker, and author of several best-selling Catholic books and resources. His work with Ascension includes Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a groundbreaking Catholic study program filmed in 40 locations across 4 continents. Together with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Jeff Cavins, and Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Dr. Sri guides viewers on a spiritual pilgrimage through Foundations of Faith that will transform the way participants understand Catholic teachings and live the Catholic Faith.

Dr. Sri’s other study programs with Ascension include A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion and When You Pray: A Clear Path to a Deeper Relationship with God. He has also authored several books with Ascension, including the Pocket Guide to Prayer, co-written with his wife, Beth and Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR.

Dr. Sri is the host of the acclaimed Ascension podcast All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri. Together with Curtis Martin, Dr. Sri is a founding leader of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), of which he serves as senior vice president of Apostolic Outreach.

Dr. Sri lives with his wife Beth and their children and grandchildren in Colorado.

Glenn T. Stanton is the director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family where he studies the family from a sociological, anthropological, and theological perspective. He also debates and lectures extensively on the issues of gender, sexuality, marriage and parenting at universities and churches around the world.

Stanton is a senior contributor at the Federalist and a regular opinion writer for World magazine. The author of 9 books primarily on the family and sexuality, his latest book is The Myth of the Dying Church: How Christianity is Actually Thriving in America and the World.

He had a major leadership and creative role in three major film projects Focus on the Family has produced: Irreplaceable, The Family Project, and This is a Child. Stanton earned a master’s degree in philosophy, history and religion from the University of West Florida.

Chris Stefanick is a Catholic speaker, author, television host, and founder and president of Real Life Catholic, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people encounter Jesus Christ and live their Catholic faith. His ministry has reached millions through live events, television, radio, and digital media. He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and a recipient of the Papal Benemerenti Medal. Chris and his wife, Natalie, have six children. Chris Stefanick is one of the presenters of Chosen.

Fr. Thomas D. Stegman, S.J. (1963–2023), was a Jesuit priest and one of America’s leading New Testament scholars. A native of Nebraska, he served for many years at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, including six years as its dean, and was beloved as a teacher, preacher, and mentor. His scholarship focused especially on St. Paul — his commentary on Second Corinthians in the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series is widely used — and he wrote and lectured extensively on the Word of God until his death in 2023 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Donna Steichen is a longtime investigative journalist and Catholic author whose work has appeared in numerous Catholic publications. Through her writing and research, she explores issues affecting the life of the Church and encourages readers to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith.

Donna and her husband, LeRoy, are the parents of four children.

Joel Stepanek graduated from Fordham University with a master of arts degree in religion and religious education with an emphasis in youth and young adult ministry. In addition to being director of resource development for Life Teen, he currently serves as adjunct faculty for Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Joel is the author or co-author of several books, including Chasing Humility: 8 Ways to Shape a Christian Heart, and True North: A Roadmap for Discernment, and is a contributing author and presenter in The 99. Above all, Joel is a husband to Colleen and father to Elijah and Sophia, who are his greatest adventure.

​Ruth Stricklin is a mural artist and designer from Phoenix, Arizona, who co-founded New Jerusalem Studios (NJS) alongside her husband, Geoff, in 2014. Her profound commitment to authentic liturgical renewal within the Catholic community is beautifully exemplified through her work. A convert to Catholicism, Ruth's journey into the world of Catholic sacred art began with a transformative encounter with beauty in the liturgy, which she came to understand as an encounter with Christ himself.

Dr. Andrew Swafford is professor of theology at Benedictine College and a national speaker on a variety of Catholic topics including Sacred Scripture, St. John Paul II, and the moral life. Together with Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, he is co-author of What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith and co-host of Ascension’s video series under the same title, filmed at 30 holy sites in Rome. With his wife, Sarah, Dr. Swafford is also co-author of Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships. He is also the general editor of, and a contributor to, Ascension’s best-selling Great Adventure Catholic Bible and the Catholic Guide to the Old and New Testaments (2 volumes).

Among Dr. Swafford’s other publications are Ascension’s Bible studies on Romans and Hebrews. Dr. Swafford holds a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake and a master’s degree in Old Testament and Semitic Languages from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Dr. Swafford is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Academy of Catholic Theology, and is a featured fellow at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Both he and Sarah are available for speaking engagements and can be contacted via Twitter or their website, The Swaffords.

Dr. Swafford is an avid student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and lives with his wife Sarah and their six children in Atchison, KS.

Sarah Swafford is the founder of Emotional Virtue Ministries. She speaks internationally on a variety of topics including faith, relationships, and interior confidence. Engaging audiences of all ages, Sarah shares her message at school assemblies, retreats, rallies, parishes, and conferences around the world including FOCUS and Steubenville Conferences in the United States and Canada.

Sarah is a well-known author on dating and relationships and is cohost of an EWTN series on the same topic. She is also a contributor to Chosen, Ascension’s Confirmation program. In 2022, Sarah became a co-presenter in What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, together with her husband, Dr. Andrew Swafford, and Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio. In 2023, Sarah and her husband also published Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships.

Both Sarah and Andrew are available for speaking engagements and can be contacted through their website, The Swaffords.

Sarah resides in Atchison, Kansas with her wonderful husband and their children: Thomas, Fulton, Cate, Kolbe, John Paul, and Avila.

Rose Sweet is a sparkling personality with a passion to help people “put their religion into their relationships.” Having suffered early on through multiple divorces, Rose began a furious search for the truth of her heart’s deepest aches and discovered the riches of the Theology of the Body (TOB). She’s since been a pioneer in national divorce healing ministry, has appeared on Catholic radio and TV, and is the creator of Ascension’s Surviving Divorce, a 12-video parish program. With 30+ years of experience, she was the only speaker on divorce, remarriage, and annulment at the 2015 World Meeting of Families.

In the last twenty years, Rose has expanded her work to include parish missions, coaching groups and individuals in the interior life, as well as writing more than fourteen books to help others heal and strengthen their relationships. Rose is a respected speaker who has presented at the 2014 and 2016 Theology of the Body Congresses, the 2017 USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders, and the 2020 and 2021 TOB Virtual Conferences.

Rose lives in the Southern California desert with her husband, Bob, and a growing collection of cacti.

Claire Swinarski is the author of books for both adults and children, including Girl, Arise! and In Full Bloom. A former FOCUS missionary and graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Claire writes and speaks about faith, vocation, and the beauty of everyday life. She is also the host of The Catholic Feminist podcast, a top-ranked spirituality podcast with nearly two million downloads.

Claire's writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Seventeen, America, Verily, Radiant, Blessed Is She, FemCatholic, and many other publications.

She lives outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband and two children.

Dr. Paul Thigpen is a bestselling Catholic author, editor, and historian whose books have sold widely across the English-speaking Catholic world. A former Protestant pastor who entered the Catholic Church in 1993, he earned his Ph.D. in historical theology from Emory University and has served as a professor, magazine editor, and editor at TAN Books. Among his dozens of titles are the perennial bestseller Manual for Spiritual Warfare and numerous works of apologetics, devotion, and history.


For Ascension, he was one of the co-authors of the New York Times bestselling A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions About The Passion of The Christ, the million-selling companion to the 2004 film that helped countless viewers understand the biblical and Catholic roots of what they saw on screen.

Teresa Tomeo is a bestselling author, syndicated Catholic talk show host, and speaker with a passion for helping others encounter Christ and navigate today’s culture through the lens of faith and truth. After achieving success as a secular television news reporter and anchor, Tomeo experienced a profound reversion to the Catholic Faith that transformed both her personal life and professional mission, leading her to leave secular media in 2000 and dedicate her work to evangelization.

With more than 40 years of experience in television, radio, and journalism, Tomeo is a widely recognized Catholic media personality who brings clarity and insight to conversations at the intersection of faith and everyday life.

Through her work with Ascension, including as a presenter of No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion and author of Noise: How Our Media-saturated Culture Dominates Lives and Dismantles Families, Tomeo helps Catholics enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s suffering and equips them to live their faith with confidence and conviction.

She resides in Southeastern Michigan and central Italy, with her husband, Deacon Dominick Pastore, who leads with her marriage and diaconate couples’ retreats, and Catholic pilgrimages.

Nichelle Soriano Torno is passionate about sharing her Catholic faith with young people and their families. She first grew in her relationship with God after encountering Christ in Adoration on a high school retreat. Through this experience, she discovered her identity and worth as a beloved daughter of God and became assured of his presence and guidance in her life. She began to serve the Church as a teen, and later as a young adult student leader through her college campus ministry.

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Communicology and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Nichelle’s passion for sharing the faith led her to professional youth and young adult ministry. Now a mother, she realizes how important it is to help raise children in the faith, which is what inspired her new book with Ascension: A Place for Me in God’s Family Tree. In this book, she teams up with her cousin, Jordan Vicente Yango, who brings her words to life with his whimsical illustrations.

Nichelle, her husband and her son live and play on the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii.

Ordained in 2001, Fr. Mark Toups is known for his joyful, encouraging spiritual advice as he helps Catholics develop habits of daily prayer. His many books and studies with Ascension all serve as resources for Catholics to deepen their prayer lives and encounter the Lord in meaningful ways, particularly through meditation upon the Scriptures and through celebration of the holy seasons of Advent and Lent.

Fr. Toups is a priest for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, for which he is pastor of Our Lady of the Isle in Grand Isle, Louisiana. In addition to his pastoral work, Fr. Toups is an adjunct faculty member for the Institute for Priestly Formation, specializing in communications, development, and spiritual direction. Fr. Toups received his M.Div. from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. A college graduate of Nicholls State University, he is a native of Houma, Louisiana.

Fr. Toups is the author of Oremus: A Catholic Guide to Prayer, the Rejoice! Advent Meditations series, and the Lenten Companion series from Ascension.

Dr. John M. Travaline is a physician, professor, and Catholic medical ethicist who has spent his career at the intersection of faith and medicine. A professor of thoracic medicine and surgery at Temple University’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine in Philadelphia, he practices as a pulmonologist and writes and lectures widely on St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body as a lens for the practice of healing — including as co-editor of Catholic Witness in Health Care: Practicing Medicine in Truth and Love

Taylor Tripodi is a full-time musician, singer-songwriter, and worship leader based in Cleveland, Ohio, who was named one of the top thirty Catholic music artists in 2018. A graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, she has a degree in catechetics and theology and has worked in full-time youth ministry. She contributed to Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation and blogs for Ascension. Her most recent EP is Awakening.

Jeffrey Tucker is a writer and editor whose work has ranged across economics, culture, and the sacred music of the Church. A longtime advocate for the recovery of Gregorian chant in Catholic parishes, he served for years as managing editor of Sacred Music journal, co-founded the Chant Café blog, and is the author of Sing Like a Catholic, a collection of essays on restoring beauty to Catholic worship.

For Ascension, he contributed to Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, the collection of essays by prominent Catholic thinkers helping students recognize and answer the ideologies they will meet on campus — addressing the pull of consumerism.

Steven Umbrello is the Managing Director at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and a research fellow at the University of Turin. He is also an associate researcher at the Collège des Bernardins, where he works on digital humanism, and was previously a research fellow at the Delft University of Technology. He is the editor of several international academic journals, such as the International Journal of Technoethics, the Journal of Responsible Technology, and the Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He was formerly a Stiftung Südtiroler Sparkasse Global Fellow at Eurac Research, where he worked on the philosophy, religion, and society program, and a researcher at the Bruno Kessler Foundation, where he worked on the ethics of generative AI.

He is the author of several books, including "Technology Ethics: Responsible Innovation and Design Strategies" (Polity, 2024), "Can AI Ever Be Human?: Consciousness Explored" (CUA, 2026), and "Mediated by Meaning: Consciousness and Conversion in the Thought of Jordan Peterson" (Pickwick, 2026). He also has a forthcoming book with Ascension exploring artificial intelligence and the Catholic perspective on technology, ethics, and the human person.

Jerry Usher is one of the most familiar voices in Catholic radio. He was the founding host of Catholic Answers Live, the popular nationwide call-in apologetics program, which he hosted for well over a decade, and he later created and co-hosted Take 2 with Jerry & Debbie on EWTN Radio. Through decades in Catholic broadcasting he has helped countless listeners understand and embrace the teachings of the Church.

A dedicated promoter of Catholic media as a tool for evangelization, Usher has worked in radio production, hosting, and ministry development across the country.

Kevin Vost was raised Catholic but spent twenty-five years in an atheistic wilderness until he encountered the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas and re-embraced Christ and his Church. Kevin obtained his doctorate in clinical psychology (Psy.D.) from Adler University in Chicago with internship and dissertation at the SIU School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Center’s Memory and Aging Clinic. He taught psychology and gerontology at schools including the University of Illinois at Springfield and Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee. An author of over twenty Catholic books, Kevin strives to share the timeless wisdom of Thomas Aquinas with Catholics of our time.

Father of Eric and Kyle, grandfather of Eryn, Henry, Colin, and Aleyna, Kevin lives with his wife Kathy and their dog Lily in Springfield, Illinois, where he enjoyed great drafts of coffee while reading timeless Thomistic tomes.

Kevin Vost passed away in April of 2023.

Raised Catholic, Linda has catechized children from preschool to sixth grade, with a particular passion for preparing second graders for their first sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion. She has served as a small group leader for many of Jeff Cavins’ Great Adventure studies by Ascension. After seeing how The Bible Timeline changed the lives of so many adults, Linda, along with Lisa Bromschwig, Regina Neville, and Emily Cavins, decided to bring this incredible gift to the children in their homes and parishes. GPS was born from their passion for translating The Bible Timeline into a format that young Catholics can enjoy and remember for the rest of their lives. Linda and her husband, Phil, reside in Minnesota and have three adult children.

E. Ron Watson is a humble and dynamic writer who witnessed Maria Middleton’s last five months of life while she was a patient in the hospital where he worked. Maria’s life deeply enriched his, so Ron sought to share her story. He knew it had the potential to awaken faith in some and deepen it for others, both young and old.

Ron’s career spans various roles including newspaper reporter and editor, banking vice president, government public information officer, freelance wordsmith, and finally, 20 years as communications director for a community health system. He has also been an active volunteer in parish and archdiocesan affairs. In retirement, he volunteers in the press office of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa and is president of a fledgling scholarship fund for Catholic school students. He is married to Diane, a love at first sight. They raised 3 children and have 2 grandchildren. Ron is working on a new nonfiction work and a garden that is too big, while trying to find time for fly-fishing.

Ron's debut title with Ascension is "Think Hope: Maria Middleton's Life of Unyielding Trust in God."

Dr. Steve Weidenkopf is an adjunct professor at the Christendom College Graduate School of Theology in Alexandria, Virginia, where he teaches courses in Church history and the crusades. He is the creator, co-author, and presenter of Epic: A Journey through Church History as well as Epic: The Early Church.

In addition to his work with Ascension, Dr. Weidenkopf is the author of many books about Church history, the Middle Ages, and the crusades. He is a member of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East–an international academic group dedicated to the field of crusading history–as well as a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Dr. Weidenkopf and his wife, Kasey, live in Northern Virginia and have six children and one grandchild.

Amy Welborn is the author of over 20 books on Catholic spirituality, apologetics, and history, including the best-selling Great Adventure Kids Catholic Bible Chronicles, published by Ascension. Her writing has been featured in several renowned publications, including the New York Times, Catholic News Service, The Catholic Digest, and Our Sunday Visitor. Amy holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Tennessee and a master’s in Church history from Vanderbilt University.

Amy has five children, ages 39 to 17, and lives in Birmingham, Alabama with the youngest.

Shannon Wendt is best know as the founder and CEO of "Chews Life," a nationally-respected apostolate promoting devotion to the Rosary in the midst of daily life. Shannon is additionally an author, speaker, business coach, wife, and homeschooling mother of eight. She created the "Excuse-Proof Rosary Bracelet" and also founded "The Way of the Rosary" community.

By sharing her deeply personal journey, including the sorrow of miscarriage, Shannon inspires others to journey with Our Lady through the mysteries of Christ’s life. As we journey through the mysteries of our own lives, we are led deeper into the Heart of Jesus.

Shannon's debut title with Ascension is "The Way of the Rosary: A Journey with Mary Through Scripture, Liturgy, and Life".

Dr. Christopher West is the president of the Theology of the Body Institute (TOBI) and a professor of theological anthropology in the jointly sponsored Master’s program that the TOBI shares with Pontifex University. Dr. West is the author of multiple best-selling books as well as numerous video and audio programs. These books and programs, along with his global lecturing and popular podcast Ask Christopher West, hosted by his wife, Wendy, have made him one of the world’s most recognized teachers of Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. His work has been featured in The New York Times, ABC News, Fox News, MSNBC, and in countless Catholic and evangelical media outlets.

Dr. West and Wendy live near Philadelphia with their children.

Andrew Whitmore is a theologian with a passion for helping Catholics understand moral theology. After a profound reversion to the faith during his undergraduate, Andrew earned an advanced degree in theology from the Catholic University of America (PhD). During his studies, he specialized in St. Thomas Aquinas’ treatment of the virtues. His other academic interests include biblical and sacramental theology.

Andrew currently serves as an assistant professor of theology at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, where he teaches courses including Moral Theology, Bioethics, Christology, and Grace. In addition to teaching moral theology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, he also frequently gives public talks to laity and teaches moral theology to candidates for the permanent diaconate throughout the country.

Andrew is married to his wife, Shannon, and together they raise their two children. As a married couple, Andrew and Shannon have given talks for Catholic marriage preparation courses.

Shannon Whitmore is a homeschooling mom with a passion for sharing the truth of God’s love for the human person as well as the beauty of the vocation to marriage and family life. She graduated from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family in 2015 with a master’s degree in theology. After more than a decade of working in religious education, youth ministry, and sacramental preparation, Shannon finally realized her dream of becoming a full time stay-at-home mom and a part-time writer.

Shannon lives in northwestern Virginia with her husband, Andrew, and their two children: John and Felicity.

Mary Ann Wiesinger is associate director of the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of Oakland, California, where she is responsible for the Basic and Master Catechist Certificate Programs (English and Spanish). Mary Ann is a presenter in Chosen.

Dr. Petroc Willey is a professor of theology (catechetics) at Franciscan University of Steubenville and has spent more than three decades serving the Church through Catholic higher education, teaching, and research. Appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, he is passionate about helping others understand and hand on the Catholic faith.

Dr. Willey is the author and co-author of numerous books on catechesis, theology, and marriage, and has hosted the EWTN series Handing on the Faith. He and his wife, Katherine, have four children.

Dr. Peter Williamson holds the Adam Cardinal Maida Chair in Sacred Scripture at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. He is the co-editor of the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture and author of two of its volumes, Revelation and Ephesians. He is also the author of Catholic Principles for Interpreting Scripture.

Dr. Williamson is a contributor to Ascension’s The Great Adventure Catholic Bible.

Meredith Wilson is a former educator and an editor at Ascension, helping create inspiring resources for adults and youth. She studied English at Christendom College and is passionate about bringing children what is true, good, and beautiful. She enjoys writing for children and spending time in the great outdoors.

Emily Wilson Hussem is a speaker, YouTuber, author, wife, and mom who shares her faith both online and at events around the globe. Emily writes, speaks, and creates Catholic videos on femininity, faith, and relationships which have a combined follower count of over 240,000 people. Emily’s 6 books, 3 in-depth video series, and countless talks have inspired and encouraged women of all ages. Together with her husband Daniel, Emily co-founded and directs “Marcam,” a TV show for Catholic kids.

Mary Wolff is a Catholic speaker who has served as a volunteer at the Magdala Center in the Holy Land. She is a presenter in Ascension’s Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life, a ten-session study on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Christine E. Wood is an Australian theologian, educator, and catechist with extensive experience in systematic and biblical theology. She holds a Ph.D. in theology from Marquette University and an M.A. in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is the founder of the Verbum Domini Biblical & Catechetical Institute and President of the St. John Centre for Biblical Studies in Australia, and has spent more than two decades working in evangelization and catechesis. Dr. Christine Wood is one of the presenters of Foundations of Faith.

Sally Ann Wright is a British children’s author, trained teacher, and longtime children’s publishing professional. She has written numerous books for young readers, including children’s Bibles and faith-based stories, and has also served as a Sunday school teacher and Christian education consultant. She lives near London, England, with her family.

Jordan is an up and coming illustrator currently serving the Lord in lay ministry with youth in Seattle. While growing up in a Filipino-American family, Jordan was exposed to the beauties of Catholicism throughout his life, but he didn’t truly practice or understand his faith until he began exploring it in college. Through the University of Washington’s Newman Center and under the guidance of his peers and local Dominican Friars, Jordan experienced a radical conversion. During his senior year, he served as a peer minister at the Newman Center. Upon graduation, Jordan began his career in lay ministry in the Archdiocese of Seattle, where he currently serves as Youth Minister at St. Charles Borromeo Parish.

Andrea Zachman is an award-winning writer and the faith formation coordinator at St. Michael Catholic Church in St. Michael, Minnesota. Before taking the position at her church, she served her community as a corrections officer and a search and rescue diver. She counts scuba and competitive shooting competitions among her hobbies. Andrea converted to the Catholic faith in 2007, and she and her husband, Nathan, have four children.

Author of the Ascension title, The Sacred That Surrounds Us: How Everything in a Catholic Church Points to Heaven, Andrea finds joy in teaching the Catholic Faith.

Hope Zelmer is a high school theology teacher and contributor to The Bible in a Year: Family Edition Parent’s Guide. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2015 and her master’s degree through Notre Dame’s Echo Program in 2017. Originally from East Tennessee, Hope lives in the greater Chicago area with her husband and daughter.

Drea Zigarmi was an author, educator, and leadership expert whose work helped shape the field of leadership development for more than four decades. As one of the founding partners of Blanchard, he co-developed Situational Leadership® II, one of the world's most widely taught leadership models, and devoted his career to helping leaders foster trust, growth, and healthy organizations.

Drea co-authored several influential books on leadership and served for many years as a professor in the Master's in Executive Leadership program at the University of San Diego. He lived in Escondido, California, with his partner, Susan Fowler, and was the father of two daughters and grandfather of five.

Katrina Zeno is a Catholic author and speaker who writes and teaches on the theology of the body, relationships, and the dignity and identity of women. She is the author of several works, including The Gift of Your Femininity and Living Together Before Marriage.

Dr. John Zmirak is a Catholic writer, editor, and cultural critic known for his sharp wit and vigorous defense of the faith. A native of Queens, New York, he earned his doctorate in English from Louisiana State University and has served as a college teacher, journalist, and senior editor at The Stream. He is the author of numerous books, including the popular Bad Catholic’s Guide series, which pairs orthodox Catholicism with irreverent humor.

For Ascension, he served as editor of Disorientation: How to Go to College Without Losing Your Mind, assembling leading Catholic thinkers — from Peter Kreeft to Jimmy Akin — to prepare students for the intellectual and moral challenges of campus life, ideology by ideology.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf — known to readers around the world simply as “Fr. Z” — is an American Catholic priest, columnist, and one of the earliest and most widely read priest-bloggers. A convert from Lutheranism, he was ordained in Rome by Pope St. John Paul II in 1991. Through his long-running blog and years of columns on liturgical translation, he has helped generations of Catholics pay closer attention to the words and worship of the Church.

Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471) was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and a leading figure of the Devotio Moderna, the renewal movement that called Christians to a deeply personal, interior devotion to Christ. He spent nearly his entire adult life at the monastery of Mount St. Agnes in the Netherlands, copying manuscripts, writing, and directing souls.

He is universally remembered as the author of The Imitation of Christ, the most widely read Christian devotional book after the Bible — a work whose quiet counsel to follow Jesus in humility, detachment, and love has formed saints for six centuries. Ascension publishes The Imitation of Christ in its Catholic Classics line, and the book has been guided chapter by chapter for modern listeners through Ascension’s Catholic Classics podcast.

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (c. 1614–1691), born Nicolas Herman in the Lorraine region of France, was a Discalced Carmelite lay brother of the Paris monastery whose humble hidden life became one of the great treasures of Christian spirituality. A soldier and footman before entering religious life, he spent decades in the monastery kitchen and later repairing sandals — and there, among the pots and pans, he learned to converse continually with God, doing every small task for love of him.

After his death, his letters and recorded conversations were gathered into The Practice of the Presence of God, a little book that has taught millions to find God in the ordinary present moment. Ascension publishes The Practice of the Presence of God in its Catholic Classics line, and the book is explored episode by episode in season five of Ascension’s Catholic Classics podcast with Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., and Rebecca Dougherty.

The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are a religious community dedicated to living the Gospel in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Through a life of prayer, fraternity, service to the poor, and evangelization, the friars seek to witness to the hope of Christ and participate in the renewal of the Church and the world.

Founded in 1987, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal serve communities around the world through parish ministry, youth outreach, evangelization, and works of mercy. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are one of the presenters of Chosen.

Sr. Maris Stella is a member of the Sisters of Life who is dedicated to helping others encounter the transforming love of Jesus Christ. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, she served as a Naval Officer, where she experienced a profound encounter with Christ in the Eucharist that opened her heart to religious life and led her to discern her vocation. After five years of military service, she entered the Sisters of Life in 2006 and professed her final vows in 2014.

Sr. Maris Stella holds a Master of Arts in Theology from the Augustine Institute and currently serves in leadership within her community, helping to form others in the consecrated life.

Through her work with Ascension, including her role as a presenter for When You Pray: A Clear Path to a Deeper Relationship with God, she invites others to grow in awareness of their identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.

She continues to serve in a variety of missions, accompanying women, leading retreats, and contributing to evangelization efforts, always seeking to share God’s mercy and affirm the dignity of every human person.

The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, also known as the Nashville Dominicans, are a religious congregation of Catholic women dedicated to a life of prayer, community, study, and apostolic service. Founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1860, the sisters have a particular commitment to Catholic education and serve in schools, parishes, and other ministries throughout the United States and around the world. The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia are one of the presenters of Chosen.