PATTY SCHNEIER
Catholic Author and Speaker
Patty Schneier is a Catholic author, speaker, and radio host from the Archdiocese of St. Louis. For 21 years, she has travelled the country, inspiring Catholics to reignite their faith. Her book, Love Letters from Mom on What Matters Most, is a must-read for parents who want to pass the faith on to their children, and her podcast, The Daily Dose of Encouragement, is heard daily on Covenant Network Catholic Radio. Patty has been a guest on EWTN and is a recipient of the Archbishop Robert J. Carlson Excellence in Communications Award. She and her husband Larry have been married for 36 years; their oldest son is a priest for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
REV. JOHN MUIR
Pastor, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Avondale
Fr. Muir was born January 30, 1978 in Burlington, Vermont to Ron and Mary Muir, and baptized at St John Vianney Parish in Vermont on February 12, 1978. He has three sisters (Theresa, Katy, Mary Ellen), one brother (Kevin) and more than twenty nieces and nephews.
Fr. Muir attended Arcadia High School in Phoenix, where he played baseball and soccer. During high school he was very active in the Life Teen Youth Group at St. Theresa Parish in Phoenix. After high school Fr. Muir attended Regis University in Denver, CO and graduated in 2000 with degrees in Communication Arts, and Spanish. During college he spent a semester abroad in Limerick, Ireland.
Fr. Muir heard the call to apply to seminary and enter priestly formation while on a Jubilee Year pilgrimage in 2000. He studied Philosophy at St John Vianney seminary in Denver, from 2000-2003, followed by Theology at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago, from 2003-2007. He was ordained a deacon by Francis Cardinal George on October 28, 2006, and ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas Olmsted, Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, on June 2, 2007. Following ordination he completed a 2 year Licentiate degree in Theology at the Liturgical Institute in Chicago.
Fr. Muir’s assignments include: Parochial Vicar St. Joan of Arc Parish, Phoenix, 2008-2010; Assistant Director, ASU Newman Center, 2010-2013; Administrator/Pastor St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, Anthem, AZ, 2013-2015; Assistant Director Office of Worship, Diocese of Phoenix, 2008-present; and Pastor St. Thomas Aquinas, Avondale, July 1, 2015 – present.
Fr. Muir enjoys spending time with family and brother priests. His hobbies are reading, sports, music, and teaching. His passion is finding new ways to invite people into the life of being a disciple of Jesus in the heart of the Catholic Church.
DAMON AND MELANIE OWENS
Co-Founders of Joyful Ever After
Married 27 years, Damon and Melanie Owens are founders of Joyful Ever After and hosts of The Catholic Marriage Summit 2020. Since 1993, Melanie, full-time homeschooling mother of eight, and Damon, first executive director of the Theology of the Body Institute, have trained over 20,000 couples in marriage, NFP, and Theology of the Body.
Melanie earned her BA in Sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and her MSW at the University of California at Berkeley. Presenters at the 2015 World Meeting of Families and the 2017 USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders, Damon and Melanie keep a full international speaking schedule at conferences, seminars, universities, high schools, seminaries, and parishes on the good news of marriage, sexuality, Theology of the Body, Theology of the Family, adoption, and NFP.
Damon has published numerous articles, appears regularly on many radio and television programs (EWTN, Catholic Answers, Ave Maria, Relevant Radio, Immaculate Heart Radio, ABC World News Tonight, CBS News, NPR), and has hosted and produced three 13-part television series for EWTN. He is also an accomplished gospel singer honored with a solo during the 1995 NJ Papal Mass at Giants Stadium presided by Pope St. John Paul II.
In 2018, Pope Francis honored Damon with the papal Benemerenti Medal in recognition for his service to the Church in support of marriage and family. Damon and Melanie are the parents of eight and live outside of Philadelphia.
MOST REV. EDUARDO A. NEVARES
Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
The Most Reverend Eduardo Alanis Nevares was ordained as the first Auxiliary Bishop for the Diocese of Phoenix on July 19, 2010, at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Avondale. He began his priesthood as a Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette on July 18, 1981, and was later incardinated into the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, in May 2007.
Prior to his arrival in Phoenix he served as Vice Rector of the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, after serving as the Co-Director of Vocations in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, from 2002 until 2008. Before serving in Tyler, he was the Pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Lufkin, Texas. For 25 years, Bishop Nevares served as a Missionary of Our Lady of La Salette before he sought incardination to the Diocese of Tyler.
He grew up in a loving, devout Roman Catholic family. His parents were not rich, yet they sent all of their children to Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish School.
As his mother would leave the four older children at school, they would both attend daily Mass together. It was seeing his mother’s love and devotion for the Eucharist that began to instill in Bishop Nevares a desire to be a priest.