ACP Speakers 2025

Kelly Wahlquist is founder of the national women’s ministry WINE: Women In the New Evangelization. She travels the country speaking at Catholic conferences and retreats and leads women’s pilgrimages (WINE & Shrine) through Italy with Teresa Tomeo.

Kelly is the author of Created to Relate: God’s Design for Peace & Joy, and creator and editor of Walk in Her Sandals: Experiencing the Passion of Christ through the Eyes of Women; Gaze Upon Jesus: Experiencing Christ’s Childhood Through the Eyes of Women; and Called by Name: 365 Daily Devotions for Catholic Women. Through WINE, Kelly is the publisher of The Mother of Jesus is Wonderfully Real, a book written for children of all ages.
 
She also is director for the Catechetical Institute at The Saint Paul Seminary in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Kelly, her husband, Andy, and their three children live in Minnesota.

Fr. Leo Patalinghug is a priest member of a community of consecrated life, Voluntas Dei (The Will ofGod). He is the creator and founder of an international food and faith movement called Plating Grace, founder and chair of the nonprofit group The Table Foundation, and creator of the Plating Grace and Grub Food Truck. He is a best-selling author (including his latest book Dining with the Saints), acclaimed international speaker, radio host, host of The Father Leo Show on YouTube, and a weekly international food and faith show on EWTN, Savoring our Faith. He also holds a degree in Mariology that he obtained in Rome during his time there. His unique background as a chef and his experience as a two-time black belt martial arts instructor and former award-winning break dancer and choreographer have earned the attention of major media outlets, including the Food Network where he won "Throwdown with Bobby Flay!" The mission to see food as a gift from God to nourish your family and to strengthen relationships is making this world a better place one meal at a time.

Bishop James Conley was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., in September 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. Prior to that, Conley served four years as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver.

Conley converted to the Catholic Church during his junior year at the University of Kansas and five years later entered seminary for the Diocese of Wichita. He studied at St. Pius X Seminary in Erlanger, Ky., Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and in Rome before his ordination to the priesthood in May 1985.

Conley was a priest and later a pastor in the Diocese of Wichita, where he directed the Respect Life Office. In 1996, he was called back to Rome where he spent 10 years, serving as an official in the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, chaplain to the University of Dallas Rome Campus and as adjunct instructor of theology for Christendom College Rome Campus.
Conley returned to Wichita in 2006 and two years later was appointed auxiliary bishop for the
Archdiocese of Denver. Conley has been a close friend of Archbishop Coakley since their youth. They both grew up in the Kansas City area and attended the University of Kansas, where they studied in the university’s acclaimed Integrated Humanities Program.

Andreas E. Widmer is an Associate Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship at The Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business, where he has been shaping minds since 2012. He also serves as the director of the Art & Carlyse Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship. Andreas co-foundedThe SEVEN Fund, a philanthropic organization that promotes enterprise solutions to poverty. His extensive experience as a business executive spans high-tech, international business strategy, consulting, and economic development.

As an author, Andreas has explored the intersection of leadership, entrepreneurship, and spirituality. His
book, “The Pope & The CEO: Pope Saint John Paul II’s Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard”, draws from
his experiences serving as a Swiss Guard for Pope John Paul II and his subsequent career in business.

His advisory roles include the Zermatt Summit, Transforming Business at the University of Cambridge,
the Archbridge Institute, St. Jerome Institute High School, New Paradigm Fund, and SENT Ventures. He
is also an advisor to the Rising Tide Foundation in Switzerland. In recognition of his contributions to the
Church and society, Andreas was awarded an honorary doctorate by St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in
Philadelphia in 2018 and Pope Francis bestowed the Pontifical Equestrian Order of Saint Sylvester
Pope and Martyr on Andreas in January, 2024.

Andreas argues that we have lost sight of the human person as the center of the economy, and that
investing in employees is in fact the only opportunity with infinite returns. He considers his biggest
accomplishment to have built a great marriage together with his wife, Michelle, and his greatest joy is
seeing the character of their teenage son, Eli, develop and grow.