Bishop Steven J. Lopes - February 7, 2019

In high school, he began to discern the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood. He continued his discernment during his studies at the St. Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco, where he majored in theology and minored in philosophy and German.

With the encouragement of his family, he entered St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif. for one year, then completed his seminary education at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.  

He studied philosophy and liturgy at the University of Innsbruck. He then earned three degrees – including a doctorate – in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he has also served as an adjunct faculty member. 

On June 23, 2001, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Francisco by Cardinal William J. Levada (then Archbishop Levada).

As a priest of the Archdiocese, he served as an associate pastor at two parishes: St. Patrick Catholic Church in San Francisco and St. Anselm Catholic Church in Ross, Calif. 

In 2005, he was named an official of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office responsible for promoting and preserving Catholic teaching. For seven of his 10-plus years at the Vatican, he served as secretary to the Cardinal Prefect. He was named a monsignor in 2010. 

Pope Francis named him the Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter on Nov. 24, 2015. 

https://ordinariate.net/bishop-lopes

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, a Catholic nun whose humanitarian work has drawn the attention of Bill and Chelsea Clinton, Forest Whitaker and other high-profile supporters, has dedicated her life to helping girls formerly held captive by warlord Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

A native of Paidha, Uganda, she began serving the people of her country after joining the Catholic order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1976. As director of St. Monica’s since 2001, Sister Rosemary has given hope to more 2,000 young women, many of whom were abducted, raped, tortured and forced to kill their own family members as soldiers in Kony’s army. In addition to providing a safe harbor for the former abductees, who are often shunned and persecuted by the people of their own villages, she has given them a way to support themselves through job training in tailoring, catering and other skills. Currently, approximately 250 girls and 250 children live at St. Monica’s. Sister Rosemary also oversees a second school in Atiak, Uganda.

Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe’s inspiring story is told in Sewing Hope, a documentary produced by filmmaker Derek Watson and narrated by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, and a book of the same name co-authored by Reggie Whitten, co-founder of Pros for Africa, and professional writer Nancy Henderson (Dust Jacket Press, 2013). All proceeds from book sales go to help the girls at St. Monica’s.

Carolyn Woo grew up in a refugee culture in Hong Kong, where millions fled the Communist revolution.

As early as the fourth grade, Woo translated utility bills and tax notifications for relatives who were unable to read English, the official language of her native country. Dinner table conversations featured stories of acquaintances who had lost material possessions, social positions and professional credentials.

Woo, who enrolled at Krannert at the age of 18, packed her undergraduate industrial management education into three years and continued graduate studies in industrial administration, completing 53 hours in 11 months. While earning both her master’s degree and a PhD in strategic management, Woo was forced to think more clearly, write more precisely, argue more persuasively and make a higher commitment to excellence.

She went on to join the Krannert faculty and left her position as Purdue’s executive vice president for academic affairs in 1997 to become dean of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

From 2012 to 2016, Woo headed an organization – Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – that started 70 years ago resettling refugees from war-torn Europe and remains fully engaged in responding to the plight of displaced people.

Woo led CRS using her quarter of a century experience gained at Purdue’s Krannert School of Management as a solid foundation. Her global treks included leading CRS delegations to Ethiopia, Haiti, and Iraq. In 2015, Woo was one of five presenters in Rome at the release of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.

Woo’s memories as a student, faculty and administrator at Krannert and Purdue run the spectrum, helping shape the four points of her own professional compass – commitment to excellent teaching, innovation, rigor and generosity.

Those guiding principles remain part of Woo’s fiber.

She says Krannert “stood out for its bold, innovative, and industrial-strength research methods requirements” and that she particularly benefitted from the faculty investing in students and each other’s success.

Woo calls universities a “place of learning, where people are constantly breaking through the carriers to take you to tomorrow. It’s a constant reminder to grow and refresh. That attitude has helped me a lot.”

Archbishop Coakley spoke to the Assembly of Catholic Professionals about the current state of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He touched on the progress of various endeavors such as the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, along with other ministries.