Conference 2026: Spiritual Direction in the Age of Pope Leo
NOTA BENE: Registration materials will arrive by mail as usual. Questions? [email protected]
Schedule
Thursday, October 22, 2026
3:00 Registration opens
5:00 Vespers & Dinner
7:00 Welcome and Session for New Spiritual Directors
8:00 Reception
Friday, October 23, 2026
6:45 Morning Prayer
7:00 Mass
8:00 Breakfast
8:45 First Presentation: Augustinian Spirituality Pt. 1
9:45 Coffee Break
10:00 Second Presentation: Augustinian Spirituality Pt. 2
11:30 Lunch
2:00 Third Presentation: Report
from the USCCB CCLV
3:15 Business Meeting
4:00 Optional Holy Hour
5:00 Vespers & Dinner
7:00 Social with Conversation and Sharing
Saturday, October 24, 2026
7:45 Morning Prayer
8:00 Mass
8:45 Breakfast
9:30 Fourth Presentation: Brother Lawrence
10:30 Coffee Break
10:45 Fifth Presentation: Pope Leo’s Person and Teaching
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Outing
This year’s outing will be an historic Cincinnati sight seeing cruise from 3:00-4:30pm
5:30 Banquet at the Semiary
Sunday, October 25, 2026
9:00 Sunday Mass
10:00 Brunch
Dr. Joe Kelley is Professor Emeritus of Religious and Theological Studies at Merrimack College where he taught for 50 years, serving also as provost and vice president.
A retired clinical psychologist, Dr. Kelley also earned a Ph.D. from Boston University in the Psychology of Religion. He serves as president of the Augustinian Heritage Institute.
Dr. Kelley is author of six books and multiple scholarly articles, most recently A Primer in Augustinian Spirituality from New City Press.
Fr. Daniel Chowning, a Carmelite friar of the Washington Province, entered the order in 1978 and now serves as Provincial Superior. Father Chowning holds degrees from Georgetown University, Catholic University of America and the University of Salamanca, Spain.
He is the author of Healed by Love: Contemplation as Path of Healing according to St. John of the Cross, published by Liturgical Press, 2025.
Msgr. Frank Lane, a priest of Columbus, OH, has many years of experience in seminary formation and retreat preaching. Holding a Masters in Theology from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and a Ph.D in European History from Ohio State University, Msgr. Lane has taught at various institutions, notably Kenyon College and the Pontifical Josephinum Seminary, and has published widely.
