MOST REV. SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE
Archbishop of San Francisco
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was born in San Diego on June 5, 1956. He attended public school through 12th grade and earned his BA in philosophy from the University of San Diego in 1978. He earned a second bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1981. Archbishop Cordileone was ordained to the priesthood on July 9, 1982. He continued his studies at Gregorian University from 1985-89, earning a doctorate in canon law.
He was appointed Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of San Diego in 1990 and served as an assistant to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1995-2002. On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, where he served until his appointment as Bishop of Oakland on March 23, 2009. On July 27, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the ninth Archbishop of San Francisco. He was installed on October 4, 2012.
Archbishop Cordileone chairs the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage and sits on the Committee for Canonical Affairs. He is a member of the Governing Board of the International Theological Institute and the Subcommission on the Liturgy for the Anglican Ordinariates.
CHRISTOPHER J. STRAVITSCH, DMin
Chairman of the Board, St. John Paul II Foundation
Dr. Chris Stravitsch is Co-founder of the St. John Paul II Foundation and Chairman of the Board. He has a passion for creating new ministries that meet today's most pressing needs, especially the pastoral needs of couples and families. Dr. Stravitsch earned a Doctor of Ministry from The Catholic University of America, Washington DC, where he focused his research on the spiritual formation of spouses and families. He earned a dual degree in Pastoral Counseling from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas, which consisted of an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy and M.A. in Pastoral Ministry, and he earned a B.A. in Psychology from Texas A&M University. Dr. Stravitsch is the President and Founder of Rejoice Counseling Apostolate, an apostolate which serves parishes by providing onsite Catholic counseling services. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Dr. Stravitsch and his wife, Sarah, reside in Katy, Texas, with their five children.
DR. JOHN & MRS. CLAIRE GRABOWSKI
Married for 33 years, John and Claire have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. They have done pre-Cana marriage ministry together for over 20 years, post-Cana ministry for 8 years, and served as a member couple from the United States on the Pontifical Council for the family since their appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Together they are the authors of the commentary on the anniversary edition of Familiaris consortio (Boston: Pauline, 2015), and One Body: A Program of Marriage Formation for the New Evangelization. (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Press, 2018). They have spoken together to groups of laity, priests, and bishops across the United States. They are regular guests on Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak’s “More to Life” show on EWTN radio.
Claire has been a Catholic educator, stay at home mother, in-home childcare provider, financial administrative assistant, and care-giver and companion to the elderly. She has been a mentor to women and couples and has been active in a variety of lay ministries for many years.
John has taught moral theology at The Catholic University of America for the last 26 years. He has three times been appointed as a theological consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In 2015 he was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as an expert (adiutor) at the Synod of Bishops on the Family. His books include Sex and Virtue: An Introduction to Sexual Ethics (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003) and Transformed in Christ: Essays on the Renewal of Moral Theology (Naples, FL: Sapientia Press, 2017). He also wrote the Foreword to the 1997 English edition of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (Pauline, 1997).
REV. JOSEPH ILLO
Pastor, Star of the Sea Catholic Church
Fr. Joseph Illo was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1961. He received a B.A. in English Literature from the Pennsylvania State University in 1983, worked at Ignatius Press in San Francisco and then studied at Blackfriars Studium, Oxford (England) before completing a philosophy degree at the Dominican University of St. Thomas (“the Angelicum”) in Rome. He received an M.A. in theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Stockton, CA, in 1991.
He has served in four parishes, one term as vocations director, and two years as chaplain at Thomas Aquinas College in Southern California. He is currently pastor at Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco. He has worked with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity for fifteen years, giving retreats and seminars to them around the world. He belongs to two priestly fraternities, the St. John Fisher Society, and the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests of Mother Teresa, of which he serves as North American Counselor.
Fr. Illo enjoys all outdoor sports, especially backpacking, skiing, cycling, kayaking, and snow camping. He especially treasures his brother priests, and all the good people from the assignments in which he has served.