Category: Team South

2020 Youth Conferences

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Sarah Swafford

Sarah Swafford is the founder of Emotional Virtue Ministries. She speaks internationally on faith, relationships, and interior confidence to audiences of all ages at school assemblies, retreats, rallies, parishes, and conferences. She is the author of Emotional Virtue: A Guide to Drama-Free Relationships and cohost of EWTN’s At the Heart of Relationships. Sarah is a contributor to Chosen and What We Believe: The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, both published by Ascension. She resides in Atchison, Kansas, with her husband, Dr. Andrew Swafford, and their five children. Learn more about Sarah and Emotional Virtue Ministries at theswaffords.com.

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Mari Pablo

Mari Pablo is a proud Hispanic from Miami. She has degrees in theology and psychology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and the Augustine Institute. She has worked in youth ministry for over 15 years, including serving as a youth minister and as a high school theology teacher. Mari is currently serving with The Evangelical Catholic. She is a presenter for Ascension Press, including YOU: Theology of the Body and Connected: CST for this generation. Mari loves to dance, has a deep love for food but an even greater love for Christ, and is dedicated to helping others encounter him.

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Kris Frank

Kris Frank serves as the Chief Mission Officer for the National Eucharistic Congress. He previously served as the vice president of Vagabond Missions. Kris has had the privilege of traveling around the country, sharing the Gospel with teens and adults at retreats, camps, conferences, and parish missions. In addition, he has contributed to various evangelical and catechetical writing projects and publications over the years. In 2020, Kris published his first book, Hope Always: An Anchor for Life’s Storms. Kris lives in Steubenville with his wife, Grace, and their six children.

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Josh Blakesley

Josh Blakesley has acknowledged a simple calling: to make music that moves people into prayer and action. Josh and his bandmates have dedicated themselves to making music for liturgy in today’s era by answering the question, How do I create a song that will honor traditions, yet speak to people in the modern Church and lead them to worship? He has led music for 20-plus years at various events, churches, festivals, and conferences including Steubenville Conferences. In addition to touring, songwriting, and producing, Josh serves as the music director at St. Anthony of Padua in The Woodlands, Texas.

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Fr. John Burns

Father John Burns is a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He studied business at Notre Dame but then realized a deeper call to give his whole life to God. He was ordained in 2010, and in 2019, he completed a doctorate in moral theology on the topic of healing through forgiveness. Father John works extensively in healing and renewal ministry with communities of women religious. He is founder of Friends of the Bridegroom, an apostolate dedicated to the renewal of the Church through the renewal of the priesthood and women’s religious life.

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David Calavitta

David Calavitta is a passionate Catholic in love with Christ and his Church. He’s also very much in love with his wife, Brittany, and their two sons.  In addition to his speaking ministry, he currently serves as the director of Design and Marketing for Life Teen International.