2021 CONFERENCE (Save the Date: June 1-4 in Spokane, WA)
Details to follow soon, stay tuned
CANCELLATION — 2020 CONFERENCE
Dear Friends,
After much prayer, consultation and discernment, it is with deep regret that I must announce the cancellation of the 2020 Sacred Liturgy Conference. As you know, we are in unprecedented times and the health and well-being of our faculty and participants must take priority over all other concerns. If you are a registered participant, you should have received an e-mail with refund instructions. Stay safe and consider joining us for next year’s Conference in Spokane, WA June 1-4, 2021. God bless you all!
Dr. Lynne Bissonnette-Pitre
Executive Director, Sacred Liturgy Conference
Gerhard Cardinal Müller
His Eminence Gerhard Cardinal Müller is a German cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained a priest in 1978 by Cardinal Volk, served in three parishes then took up the Chair of Dogmatic theology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. Nominated by Pope John Paul II to be Bishop of Regensburg on October 1, 2002, he was subsequently appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and served from 2012 until 2017. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2014 and has also served as President of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission. Cardinal Müller is a prolific writer and to date has authored more than 500 academic publications.
Reverend Cassian Folsom, OSB
Fr. Cassian Folsom, OSB, is a scholar of sacred music and liturgy, a cancer survivor, and the founder and prior emeritus of the Monks of Norcia. Born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1955, Fr. Cassian studied music before joining the monastic community of Saint Meinrad in 1974. He founded his monastic community in Rome in 1998 and transferred it to Norcia in the year 2000. Over the last 15 years, the Monastery di San Benedetto has grown, attracting new vocations and pilgrims from around the world. He recently retired as prior but continues to serve the community and teach liturgy at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm in Rome.
John Haas, PhD
Dr. John Haas is the former President of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. He has held various teaching positions and is known nationally through the St. Charles Forum on EWTN. Originally ordained to the ministry in the Episcopal Church, he converted to the Catholic Church and has become one of her most eloquent and articulate spokesmen. Dr. Haas is a member of the Medical Moral Commission of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and is a consultant to the Committee for Pro-Life Activities of the USCCB. In 2012 he was named to the Governing Council of the Pontifical Academy for life by Pope Benedict XVI. Dr. Haas is also the Founder / President of the International Institute for Culture.
Dom Alcuin Reid
Dom Alcuin Reid is the Founding Prior of the Monastère Saint-Benoît in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France – a new foundation of classical Benedictine observance celebrating the usus antiquior of the Roman rite. After studies in Theology and in Education in Melbourne, Australia, he was awarded a PhD from King’s College, University of London, for a thesis on twentieth century liturgical reform (2002), which was subsequently published as The Organic Development of the Liturgy with a preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. He has lectured internationally and has published extensively on the Sacred Liturgy. His writings have been translated into Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Lithuanian and Polish.
Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, OSB
Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, OSB is the founder of Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, a new religious congregation currently headquartered in the Diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The former Rosalind Moss was born into a Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York, but converted to evangelical Christianity and then to Catholicism. She worked as a full time staff apologist with Catholic Answers and also co-hosted a show on EWTN before leaving to found her religious congregation.
Reverend Pius Pietrzyk, OP
Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP is a priest of the Order of Preachers and currently teaches at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, CA. He completed his theological studies at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. where he also completed a licentiate in theology (STL), writing on the Trinity in St. Thomas Aquinas. Fr. Pius then studied Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and earned both a licentiate (JCL) and doctorate (JCD) in canon law. His doctoral dissertation focused on juridical persons in the Code of Canon Law and in American law.
Reverend Gabriel Mosher, OP
Fr. Gabriel Mosher, OP entered the Dominican Order of Preachers in 2007. He made his first vows a year later and was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 2015. In addition to his duties as Parochial Vicar of Holy Rosary Parish in Portland, Oregon, Rev. Gabriel is the director of the parish RCIA, is a member of the board of directors for Mater Dei Radio and is chaplain for the local Knights of Columbus council.
Anthony E. Clark, PhD
Dr. Anthony Clark is the Edward B. Lindaman Endowed Chair and Professor of Chinese History at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Clark is the author and editor of several books and articles on Chinese history, covering topics ranging from the complex history of Catholicism and Christian missions in late imperial China, to classical Chinese religion and philosophy. Over the past decades, Professor Clark has travelled extensively in China, where he studies China’s multilayered Catholic history and the Chinese Church’s rich legacy of devotional and liturgical practice.
Kevin M. Clarke, PhD
Dr. Kevin Clarke is Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, CA, where he teaches Scripture and patristics. He is a scholar of Biblical Theology and Patrology (the study of the Church Fathers) whose research focuses primarily upon patristic readings of Scripture. His Ph.D. dissertation under the direction of Dr. Michael Waldstein focused on Maximus the Confessor’s Biblical way of understanding Christ’s humanity in the monothelite controversy. His dissertation included substantial original translation work of Maximus’s thought.
Edward E. Schaefer, DMA
Dr. Edward Schaefer is professor of music at Florida State University. He also chaired the department of music at Gonzaga University for 12 years and directed a choral program at Gonzaga that distinguished itself with invitations to perform at state, regional and national conventions of music educator and choral director associations. Schaefer holds a certificate in advanced leadership studies from Gonzaga University, the DMA in liturgical music from The Catholic University of America, and MM, MSM, and BM degrees from Southern Methodist University. Dr. Schaefer is a deacon in the Catholic Church, and he continues to direct a small schola that sings chant and polyphony.
Lucas Viar
Lucas Viar is the director for Granda Liturgical Arts in the United States. After completing his degree in Architecture he went on to specialize in Sacred Art and Architecture, Museum Studies, Restoration and Cultural Heritage at “La Sapienza” in Rome and EPC in Segovia. He has previously worked for the City Museums of Florence and the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage. A lifelong enthusiast of the Sacred Arts and the Heritage of the Church, Lucas takes part in many initiatives related with the dissemination and appreciation of these subjects, such as the School of Liturgy of the diocese of Alcalá, the Pater Program, the Centro Fede e Cultura in Florence or Nartex. He is also a contributor for Liturgical Arts Journal and New Liturgical Movement.
Reverend Theodore Lange, STL
Fr. Theodore Lange is a priest in the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, and is currently serving as Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena in Veneta and Chaplain/teacher at Marist Catholic High School in Eugene. He was appointed a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis in 2016 and is State Chaplain for the Knights of Columbus. Past service includes: Formation Direction/Adjunct Professor/Assistant to Director of Spiritual Formation at Mt. Angel Seminary, Prison Chaplain, Parochial Vicar at Shepherd of the Valley and Our Lady of Fatima. Fr. Theo has preached numerous retreats and days of reflections through his time serving as a priest in the Archdiocese. He has been involved with the Sacred Liturgy Conference since its beginning, and currently serves as MC during the conference lecture sessions.
Alex Begin
Alex Begin is a co-creator, executive producer, and host at Extraordinary Faith TV and has been promoting the Latin Mass for almost three decades. Harvard’s youngest graduate in 1982, Alex founded a software company and went on to own and co-own several small businesses. Alex has extensive experience training priests and bishops in how to celebrate the Tridentine Mass and Sacraments and travels worldwide providing this service.
Douglas Schneider
Douglas Schneider is the Director of Sacred Music at Saint Joseph Parish in Salem, Oregon. He previously served as Organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Oregon, and Assistant Organist at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral. During his tenure at Saint Joseph’s he has helped to foster the music and musicians for what has now become a weekly Traditional Latin Mass. He has also overseen the acquisition and fundraising for the rebuilding of a 1952 three-manual Casavant pipe organ which will be installed in Saint Joseph’s church during the summer of 2019.
Reverend David B. Gaines
Fr. David Gaines was ordained a Priest of Jesus Christ on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 27th, 2014. He served his first four years of the priesthood in Walla Walla, WA and is now serving in Spokane as Parish Administrator for St. Francis Xavier Parish and St. Patrick Parish. He has a deep love for the Sacred Liturgy and has been instrumental in having the Diocese host the Sacred Liturgy Conference in Spokane, WA. He believes it is through this Opus Dei of the Liturgy (the work of God), that our lives and our beliefs are transformed in Christ.
Mary Sims
Mary Sims has been teaching and directing sacred music in the Archdiocese of Seattle for nearly seven years. She directs music for Masses in the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms, leading professional, beginner, Spanish, English, and children’s choirs. Mary has served in rural and urban parishes, with the consistent goal of raising the bar for beauty in the liturgy, working within the abilities and means of the community. She has found success in every setting, demonstrating that all parishes are able to integrate the beauty of Gregorian chant and tradition to the liturgy.
Lynne Bissonnette-Pitre, MD, PhD, LGCHS
Lynne Bissonnette-Pitre is a phychiatrist, scholar, musician and iconographer. She has lectured nationally, led retreats and has been organizing the Sacred Liturgy Conferences since 2013. She is the co-founder and director of Schola Cantus Angelorum and is the Executive Director of the Sacred Liturgy Conference.