Speakers
Johnnette Benkovic | Fr. Leo Patalinghug | Stephanie Wood Weinert | Greg Walton
Johnnette S. Benkovic
Johnnette S. Benkovic is Founder and President of Living His Life Abundantly® International, Inc., a Catholic evangelization apostolate with outreaches in television, radio, print, and internet communications. She is also Founder of Women of Grace®, a Catholic apostolate for Christian women that features a number of outreaches including conferences, curricula, study groups and more.
After years of being a non-practicing Catholic, Johnnette experienced a deep conversion back to her Catholic faith in 1981and discerned a call to share the Gospel message through the media. She has been a consistent presence in Catholic radio since 1987 and in Catholic television since 1988.
Johnnette is Executive Producer of The Abundant Life (seen internationally on EWTN), a television program that discusses contemporary issues from a Catholic perspective. She is also host of Women of Grace Live, a one hour call-in radio talk show that airs live five times a week. She is heard nationally on AM/FM stations and internationally via short wave, and satellite radio. For additional information about Living His Life Abundantly® International, Inc. and Women of Grace®, visit the websites listed above.
In addition, Johnnette is a popular conference speaker, retreat conductor, and seminar presenter, and has been published in major Catholic magazines. She is the author of several books including Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life (St. Anthony Messenger Press), Grace-Filled Moments (Our Sunday Visitor), Living Life Abundantly: Stories of People Who Have Encountered God (St. Anthony Messenger Press), Experience Grace in Abundance: Strategies For Your Spiritual Life (Simon Peter Press) and The New Age Counterfeit (Queenship).
Johnnette was married to her husband, Anthony, for nearly 34 years and became widowed in 2007. She is the mother of three adult children, two living.
Fr. Leo Patalinghug
Born in the Philippines and raised in the Baltimore area, Fr. Leo actually developed his love for cooking while attending the seminary at the North American College in Rome. There, he became friendly with several Italian restaurant owners and would often invite them back to the student kitchen to trade cooking secrets. They would teach him about rigatoni and lasagna; he would show them how to make hamburgers and ribs. Today he is a skilled cook who still enjoys learning how to make new dishes and loves the process of making a meal as much as sharing it at a table full of friends.
Fr. Leo was ordained in 1999 and served as a parish priest for five years at St. John's Church in Westminster, Maryland, where he was often invited to his parishioners' homes for dinner. To their surprise, he turn would turn the table and cook for them, using these opportunities to build friendships and engage in relaxed conversations in the kitchen. Those memorable and unstructured times spent making a meal together provided the inspiration for Fr. Leo's first book, Grace Before Meals: Recipes for Family Life.
Currently, he is a member of the faculty at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary, where he directs the Pastoral Field Education Programs for future priests.
Before becoming a priest, Fr. Leo pursued degrees in writing and political science, with the intention of studying law and journalism at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus. He also taught high school speech, debate and drama, and along with his brother, founded a martial arts school in 1988.
Fr. Leo studied philosophy at Theological College at Catholic University in Washington D.C. He holds advanced theological degrees from the Pontifical Gregorian University and Pontifical Maranium Institute in Rome.
A popular conference speaker with a growing national reputation for his ability to connect with teens and their parents, Fr. Leo has been a conference speaker and workshop leader at events across the United States and in Canada. He has frequently been asked to make more presentations based on his studies of the theology of beauty, teen spirituality, spiritual combat and praying as a family.
Along with cooking, Fr. Leo's hobbies include writing, singing, jogging and traveling, where he often gets a chance to broaden his multilingual talents. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has won a national competition in Arizona, a form of full-contact stick fighting. He enjoys working with students in youth groups and on college campuses and is also actively involved with prison ministry.
Stephanie Wood Weinert
Stephanie Weinert lives in Virginia with her husband Peter and newborn son Mark. She works from home for Family Life Center International (www.familylifecenter.net), a lay apostolate founded to spread the truths of the Catholic faith and strengthen marriage and family life around the world.
Stephanie is a freelance writer, frequent media personality, and conference speaker. Her print articles and interviews have appeared in numerous publications including The National Catholic Register, ENVOY Magazine, and Catholic Exchange. She writes a monthly column for single Catholics in Catholic Match Magazine. Her Catholic media appearances include EWTN's The Journey Home, Life on the Rock, Catholic Answers Live, and The Catholic Connection.
A convert to Catholicism and the oldest of 8 children, Stephanie graduated with highest honors from Ave Maria College in Michigan, with a degree in theology.
Before her recent marriage, Stephanie served as the coordinator of NextWave Faithful, a young adult division of Family Life Center International. She launched the first-ever Catholic talk radio show for teens that went worldwide: Next Wave Live, which aired weekly on the EWTN Radio Network. In 2004 she was honored as a recipient of the John Paul II Award for Outstanding Contributions in Defense of the Faith and Catholic Teachings.
With a passion for God and His Church, Stephanie has spoken to thousands of teens, college students, young adults, and their parents on topics relating to faith, evangelization, purity, homeschooling, campus life, and relationships.
Greg Walton
Greg Walton is a popular Catholic performing and recording artist who has performed hundreds of concerts throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He has shared the stage with some of the world's most popular artists, including Polarboy, Ceili Rain, DC Talk, and the Newsboys, at some of the world's largest gatherings, including World Youth Day, Creation Festival, Kingdom Bound Festival, NCYC, NCCYM and many other major conferences and events. As a recording artist his music has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades including 8 Unity Awards ("Catholic Grammy's), which are given by the United Catholic Music & Video Association for excellence in Catholic music and media.
With such an impressive track record, one might think that Greg had his sights set on stardom. Nothing could be further from the truth. Greg is first and foremost a dedicated husband, father of five, and Teen Faith Formation leader. His music is just one of the tools he uses to communicate his deep love of God and his commitment to the Catholic faith. As a liturgical composer with Oregon Catholic Press (OCP)/SpiritandSong.com, Greg's music is used in a variety of Mass settings.
Greg's ongoing commitment and focus on social issues continues to be a top priority for his ministry. He operates under JesusGlue Ministries, a non-profit organization he founded which continues to support social action and awareness relevant not only to the church, but to his community as well. His 2008 radio single-Tune of Ignorance-was recognized as the Alternative Category Winner at the 2009 Songdoor International Songwriting Competition and was named Song of the Year at the 2010 Unity Awards. The song also spent over 25 weeks on the Christian Radio Retail charts. The attention to this song has also developed into a new partnership with Catholic Relief Services. Greg Walton donates all proceeds from downloads of this song to assorted world relief organizations.
April 16, 2011
UNF Lazzara Theatre
Jacksonville, FL
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
$45 ticket includes parking and lunch. ($60 after March 31)
Parish Promoter Login