Seat of Wisdom Faculty

Bishop Robert C. Morlino is the Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Madison.  Born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Bishop Morlino graduated from the Jesuit-run Scranton Preparatory High School.  He entered seminary for the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and was ordained to the priesthood for that Jesuit Province on June 1, 1974.

His education includes a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Fordham University, a master's degree in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, the Master of Divinity Degree from the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and a doctorate in Moral Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, with specialization in fundamental moral theology and bioethics.

Father Morlino taught Philosophy at Loyola College in Baltimore, St. Joseph University in Philadelphia, Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's College, in Indiana. He also served as an instructor in continuing education for priests, religious and laity and as director of parish renewal programs.

In 1981, Father Morlino became a priest of the Diocese of Kalamazoo and served there as Vicar for Spiritual Development, Executive Assistant and Theological Consultant to the Bishop, as Moderator of the Curia, and as the Promoter of Justice in the Diocesan Tribunal. He served as administrator of a number of parishes, and as rector of St. Augustine Cathedral in Kalamazoo.

Father Morlino was scheduled to begin a full-time faculty appointment as professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit when, on July 6, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Ninth Bishop of Helena, Montana.  Bishop Morlino was appointed the Fourth Bishop of Madison on May 23, 2003 and installed on August 1, 2003. 

Msgr. James Bartylla 
Msgr. Bartylla was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin December 20, 1961, the son of Donald and Carol (Thompson) Bartylla. He attended 78^th Street School, Bell Middle School, and Horning Middle School Milwaukee; Waukesha South (High School), Waukesha; UW-Whitewater (B.A. – Accounting), UW-Milwaukee (M.S. – Finance) and UW-Madison (J.D.), and Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, where he studied Philosophy. He finished his seminary education at the North American College in Rome, where he was ordained a deacon at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on October 5, 2000.

 Fr. Bartylla was ordained to the priesthood May 25, 2001 by Bishop William H. Bullock at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison. Since ordination he has served as Associate Priest Secretary; parochial vicar at St. Andrew (Verona) linked with St. William (Paoli), Immaculate Conception (Kieler) linked with St. Joseph (Sinsinawa); Temporary Administrator at St. Mary (Bloomington) linked with St. John (Patch Grove); and pastor of St. Ignatius (Mt. Horeb) linked with St. Mary (Pine Bluff).  He was the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Madison for 6 years prior to being appointed Vicar General for the Diocese of Madison in December 2009. 

 Msgr. Kevin D. Holmes
 Msgr. Holmes was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on August 14, 1957, the son of the late Ernest and Phyllis (Vogel) Holmes. He attended St. Patrick School, Janesville; Holy Name Seminary (High School), Madison; and the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, where he received his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy. He finished his seminary education with four years at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he was ordained a deacon at St. Michael Church on April 4, 1983.

Fr. Holmes was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1984, by Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison. Since ordination he has served as parochial vicar at Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary, Sun Prairie and Our Lady Queen of Peace, Madison; and as pastor of Holy Redeemer, Madison; St. Michael, Dane; and St. Aloysius, Sauk City, where he also served the Hispanic Community of Sauk County, and as administrator of the parishes of St. Mary, Merrimac and St. Camillus, Durward’s Glen.

Msgr. Holmes has also served the Diocese of Madison in various other capacities. He is currently a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, the Diocesan Implementation Commission, the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, as well as Bishop Robert Morlino’s delegate on the Board of St. Paul University Catholic Center. He served for seven years on the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal, and as Judge Delegate for a local tribunal investigating a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, whose cause for beatification is pending in Rome. Msgr. Holmes has taught in the Education for Parish Service program at Edgewood College, and in the Diocesan Lay Institute.

In March 2007, Bishop Morlino announced that Rome named him Prelate of Honor, with the title Monsignor. He is also a Knight Commander in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and Chaplain to Knights of Columbus Council 6568 at the University of Wisconsin.

Msgr. Holmes has been in Rector of the Cathedral of St. Raphael t since the fall of 2006.

 

Fr. D. Stephen Smith, Ph.D.
He attended St. Clement Grade School in Lancaster, Wis., Holy Cross Seminary in LaCrosse, Wis. and was selected as a Basselin Scholar to The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  He received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. Degrees in Philosophy from The Catholic University.  He also completed the course work for an S.T.D. degree in Dogmatic Theology.  He did post-doctoral studies at Campion Hall, Oxford University, U.K.  He taught at The Catholic University, The University of St. Francis in Elgin, Ill. and Edgewood College in Madison.

 

He has been the Ecumenical Officer of the Madison Diocese for fifteen years, was Director of Cemeteries for the Diocese and a board member of the Cemetery Committee and served on DSA Committee.  He served as an associate pastor at Madison-area parishes, Catholic Chaplain at Meriter Hospital in Madison and pastor at SS. Andrew-Thomas Parish in Tennyson/Potosi and St. Francis Xavier Parish in Cross Plains. He has been pastor at Christ the King Parish in McFarland for 10 years.

 Kris Kranenburg
Kris Kranenburg received a Master of Theological Studies degree, summa cum laude, from Ave Maria University. She also holds a B.S. in Advertising and an M.S. in Marketing Communication. Kris teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and has worked with parishes on websites, faith formation, and communication. She lives in Janesville, Wisconsin and is blessed with a wonderful husband and two amazing children.

 

 

 

Ann Lankford 
Ann Lankford is the Director of the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin. She has held this position for seven years. She received her MA in Theology and Christian Ministry with a specialization in Catechetics from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1998 and received the St. John Bosco Conference Certification in the Apostolate of Director of Religious Education. She is currently on the writing team for the Association for Catechumenal Ministry.

 

 

 Marc Laudonio  Marc, originally from Kenosha, WI was born in 1981.  He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree in Communication Arts in December of 2003.  After growing up Lutheran he became an Evangelical Protestant in high school and was planning on going to a Protestant seminary after college to become a youth minister.  However, during his later college years he began to wrestle with theological, historical, and spiritual questions that did not seem to be sufficiently answered in the Evangelical Protestant faith.  Through a long process of reading, conversations, prayer, and most of all, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he found himself discovering the fullness of the Christian faith on the doorstep of the Catholic Church and entered the Church in 2006.  

He currently lives in Madison with his wife, Julie and their son Dominic.  Marc has served as Director of Evangelization and Catechesis at the Cathedral parish of Madison since 2007 and is currently working on his Masters of Theological Studies degree through the Augustine Institute, a Catholic graduate school based in Denver, CO.  Marc loves outdoor activities, movies, music, reading, the Chicago Cubs, good food, coffee, beer, wine, playing board games, and hanging out with his wife and little son, Dominic!

Marie Lins
Marie serves as administrative assistant to the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis.  With a master's degree in theology from Ave Maria's Institute for Pastoral Theology, continuing experience as DRE (RCIA and adult faith formation) for St. Ignatius Parish in Mt. Horeb and St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff, and certification as a Marian Catechist, Marie does far more than her title implies.  Not only does she handle typical administrative tasks for the office, coordinate schedules and logistics for various events, and help develop and implement better procedures, but she is also involved in creating and implementing a number of OEC programs and events, while at the same time assisting the Seat of Wisdom Diocesan Institute as a adult faith formation presenter.

Paul Matenaer
Paul graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 with a B.A. in Religious Studies and received his Masters of Theological Studies magna cum laude from Ave Maria University in 2009. After two years as the Director of Religious Education at St. Ann Parish in Stoughton, Paul currently teaches theology and history at St. Ambrose Academy in Madison and serves as their Director of Development. In addition, Paul teaches RCIA classes and Theology Mini-Courses at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center in Madison and is proficient in Spanish and Latin. When not in the classroom, Paul loves spending time with his lovely wife and their two young children.

Dr. Constance Nielsen
Dr. Constance Nielsen received her Ph.D. In Religious Studies from Marquette University in the area of Ethics, specializing in the Church's social teaching. She has taught theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee as well as here in Madison at Saint Ambrose Academy. She has also given many talks around the Madison area on social teaching, including a class here at the Diocesan Lay Institute. She is currently an adjunct professor at Marquette University and working in the Respect Life office of the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

 

Steve Petrica
Steve Petrica served 12 years in the Anglican priesthood before coming into the Catholic Church in 2006, and is now preparing a second time for ordination.  In addition to serving parishes in Connecticut, Virginia, and Washington, DC, he has also had a career as a psychotherapist, a psychiatric researcher and administrator, and a behavioral health consultant.  He holds the Master of Divinity degree from Yale (where he was also a Research Fellow in religion and psychiatry) and the Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins.  Steve’s spiritual life has long been informed by Benedictine monasticism, having become a Benedictine “confrater” in 1980; and he came to Wisconsin in 2009 in order to try life with the Cistercian monks in Sparta.  Steve is also a world-class Beatles fan, having made the pilgrimage to Liverpool – twice – and has even managed to infiltrate the Abbey Road recording studios.

Mary Pristelski
Mary serves as an instructor for the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. For over 30 years she worked as a surgical nurse, including Nurse Clinician of a Transplant Team and Head of General Surgery. Although her main job was in nursing she took evening and weekend classes in Theology during this time. She worked as head of Art and Environment and on the Liturgy Team in parishes wherever her work took her. She has been a catechist and taught art in the Catholic School system. She was Pastoral Associate for St. Cecilia's parish in Mt. Prospect. She helped to start and lead the Health Care Ethics Team for St. Raymond's in Mt. Prospect. For the last five and a half years she has been head of Art and Environment, a 132 member team, a member of the Core team for adult education, taught scripture and has given Theology talks for St. Mary's in Huntley. She has written all of the lectures and series which she has given at St. Mary's and at the pastors request has rewritten programs and discussions for various adult ed. series. She graduated with her Masters in Theological Studies from Ave Maria University in June 2009.

Abbot Marcel Rooney, O.S.B.
Holds degrees in Music (M.A. Eastman Conservatory of Music, Rochester NY, 1971) and Theology (Undergraduate Theology – S.T.B. 1964, Catholic University, Washington DC; Liturgical Theology – S.T.L. 1975 and S.T.D. 1976. Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, Rome). Was a seminary professor of Liturgy and Scripture at the Conception Seminary, MO. (in the 60’s) and professor in the doctoral program of the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy, Rome (7 years). While at the Institute, he directed students in their thesis writing, published numerous articles, spoke at conferences, seminars and workshops around the world and assisted the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship. In 1993, he was elected Abbot of Conception Abbey and was advisor to the US Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy in Washington DC. In 1996, he was elected Abbot Primate of the Entire Benedictine Order, Rome, until his resignation, for health reasons, in 2000. He left retirement, at Bishop Slattery’s request, and worked on liturgical catechesis and formation in the Diocese of Tulsa, OK. (3 yrs). He is presently in the process of founding a Pastoral Institute of Sacred Liturgy, Music, and Art in Madison WI, at Bishop Morlino’s request.

 

Chris Schmelzer   
Chris has a BA from Hamline University in Theater and Communication Arts. He also earned a Masters in Theological Studies from Ave Maria University Institute for Pastoral Theology in 2009. He is an experienced high school teacher and catechist. As a catechist he has taught adult formation, faith formation for junior high and high school, and he has played a variety of roles leading Confirmation classes and retreats. Chris is currently a branch office manager for a large life insurance company and has been married to his wife Patti for 34 years. They have 4 children and are members of the Cathedral Parish in Madison.

 
Fr. Randy Timmerman
Fr. Timmerman was born in Dubuque, IA July 23, 1966, the son of Joseph and Geraldine (Langmeier) Timmerman. He attended Holy Ghost Grade School, Dickeyville, WI; Holy Name Seminary (High School); UW-Madison (Elementary Education), and Mundelein Seminary (M. Div.). He was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ on May 29, 1993 by Bishop George Wirz at St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison, WI.

Thomas Smith  Bringing a wealth of experience and insight on the Word of God to audiences across the United States, Thomas is a repeat guest on EWTN and Catholic Radio, as well as a saught after parish mission and conference speaker.  He is the co-author of Revelation:The Kingdom Yet To Come and an international presenter for The Great Adventure Bible Timeline.  He has taught as an adjunct professor at the St. Francis School of Theology in Denver and is the former Director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School.  Thomas lives on his family ranch in southeastern Idaho, where he farms and writes for his website (www.gen215.org) and the Catholic News Agency.

 

Sr. M. Marcia Vinje is a member of the Secular Institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. She has a BA in Religious Education from Mount Mary College, Milwaukee and an MA in theology with a concentration in Marian studies from the University of Dayton. She studied at the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio and is a member of the Mariological Society of America.

Her past experience includes teaching in Catholic schools, community formation, directing a retreat house, extensive work in adult formation, parish experience as a Director of Religious Education, and working for the Diocese of Madison. Presently Sister is the Youth and Family Minister for Saint Bernard Parish in Madison.

Most important is that she loves Mary, lives in a community that seeks to be Mary in the world today, and loves to enthuse others for the Blessed Mother.