Café Catholica

New Frontiers in Defense of Human Dignity

Speaker: Julie Fritsch, Director of Pro-life Office.

Celebrant: Rev. Mario Arroyo

Location: St. Cyril of Alexandria, 10503 Westheimer Rd. Houston, TX 77042

Julie Fritsch is the Director of the Pro-Life Activities Office for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.  She received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and her law degree from Vanderbilt University.  She is completing a certification in Bioethics through the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Ms. Fritsch practiced law in New Mexico where she also lobbied for immigration and employment rights initiatives.  Prior to joining the Archdiocese, she coordinated the transitional housing programs for Catholic Charities in Tulsa, including a residence for women in crisis pregnancy situations. 

A Call To Sainthood: Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, Patron of Young Adults

Speakers: Rev. Luke Millette and Kevin Becker  (NYC)

Celebrant: Rev. Mark Goring CC

Location: Catholic Charismatic Center, 1949 Cullen Road, Houston, TX 77023

Rev. Luke Millette

Kevin Becker is a young adult that lives in NYC. He comes to Café Catholica to share a testimony about Blessed Frassati patron of young adults. In 2011, Kevin fell from the second floor of a house, fracturing his skull in five places and damaging every lobe of his brain. Doctors thought he would not make it. His family prayed through the intercession of Bl. Frassati and in less than three weeks after his injury he was walking out of the hospital, tossing a football with his brother. Not only was he completely healed, he says that he’s better than he was before his injury. The records of Kevin’s case have been sent to the Vatican; and his recovery may well be the miracle that leads to Frassati’s canonization.

Seeking a Real Connection

Speaker: Rev. Agustino Torres CFR, (Pure Heart NYC)

Celebrant: Rev. Ray Cook, OMI

Location: Catholic Charismatic Center, 1949 Cullen Road, Houston, TX 77023

Originally from South Texas, Father Agustino has been working in active ministry within the Church mostly with youth, the poor and the pro-life movement. He entered the Franciscan friars of the renewal in 1999 and now serves as a member of the general counsel for his community. He studied the Theology of culture of Saint John Paul II under Avery Cardinal Dulles and graduated from St Joseph Seminary Magna Cum Laude with Masters of Arts (Dogma) and a Masters of Divinity.  He has been a part of founding various apostolate around the world including a chapel building project in the mountains of central America, Catholic Underground in NYC, St Anthony’s Shelter in the Bronx and Corazon Puro now in different parts of the world. He is the founder of Latinos Por la Vida an initiative to educate and equip Latino leaders in the Pro-Life movement.

The Church’s Response

Speaker: Daniel Cardinal DiNardo

Celebrant: Daniel Cardinal DiNardo

Location: Catholic Charismatic Center, 1949 Cullen Road, Houston, TX 77023

His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo is the metropolitan archbishop of Galveston-Houston and pastor to its 1.3 million Catholics (and over 4 million non-Catholics) and 440 priests in 146 parishes and 60 schools spread over 8,880 square miles. His seats are St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in Galveston and the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston.

Born in Steubenville, Ohio, and raised with three siblings in Castle Shannon near Pittsburgh, Cardinal DiNardo attended St. Anne grade school and the Jesuit-run Bishop's Latin school before enrolling in St. Paul Seminary and Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He received his master's degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and degrees of Sacred Theology from both the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome.

He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Pittsburgh on July 16, 1977 and served as parish pastor, seminary professor, spiritual director, and in the chancery. From 1984 to 1991, he worked in Rome as a staff member for the Congregation for Bishops, as director of Villa Stritch (the house for American clergy), and as adjunct professor at the Pontifical North American College. In 1991 he returned to Pittsburgh, serving as pastor to several parishes and again in the chancery.

He was appointed coadjutor bishop of Sioux City, Iowa and ordained there as a bishop in October 1997. As his Episcopal motto he adopted: Ave Crux Spes Unica, meaning "Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope." He succeeded retiring Bishop Lawrence Donald Soens of Sioux City in November of 1998.

He was named coadjutor bishop (later coadjutor archbishop) of Galveston-Houston in January 2004 and succeeded Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza on February 28, 2006. On June 29, 2006, he received the pallium from Pope Benedict XVI. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in November of 2007 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. As a member of the Sacred College, he served as a Cardinal-Elector in the Papal Conclave of 2013, which saw the election of Pope Francis to the See of Peter. In November of the same year, he was elected by his brother bishops as the Vice-President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for a three-year term, and in November 2016, he was elected as President of the USCCB. He is a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Pontifical Council for the Economy, and is on the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Be Not Afraid of God’s Call

Speaker: Sister Bethany Madonna SV (Sister of Life NYC)

Celebrant: Rev. Pat Garrett

Location: St. Simon and Jude, 26777 Glen Loch Dr. The Woodlands, TX 77381

Sister Bethany Madonna traded in the beaches of Florida for the skyscrapers of New York City in 2007 to enter the Sisters of Life, a religious community dedicated to protecting and enhancing the sacredness of human life. She currently serves as an assistant to the novice director, helping to form young Sisters in religious life. She loves sharing the message of life and love. She was a speaker at the past World Youth Day in Poland 2016.