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.
DR. LEONORA BUTAU
Theologian, Educator, Speaker
Dr. Leonora Butau is a theologian, educator, and speaker based in San Antonio, Texas, where she lives with her wonderful husband, Rufaro, and their three sons. After spending 8 years teaching Theology at St. Mary’s Catholic University in London, England, she moved with her family to Texas in 2018.
Dr. Butau has offered formation on topics in Spiritual Life, St. Joseph, Our Lady, Marriage and the Family, and the Theology of the Body to a wide range of audiences, including seminarians, diaconal candidates, and in parishes and schools nationally and internationally. She worked as a Program Director for the St. John Paul II Foundation in Houston, Texas. She is a Formator in the School of Mary, an apostolate dedicated to empowering Catholics in their spiritual life through the Church’s rich mystical tradition. She serves as a Board Member for Natural Womanhood, an Advisor for Pilgrim Ways, and also has the joy of teaching Theology at Incarnate Word High School in San Antonio, Texas.
MOST REV. JOSEPH E. STRICKLAND
Bishop of Tyler
Bishop Joseph Edward Strickland was born the sixth child of Raymond and Monica Strickland on October 31, 1958 in Fredericksburg, Texas and relocated to Atlanta, TX in June of 1963. The Stricklands were founding members of St. Catherine of Sienna Church in Atlanta, Texas.
He entered Holy Trinity Seminary and the University of Dallas; studying for the Diocese of Dallas in August of 1977, and earned a Bachelor of Philosophy in May of 1981. He continued his education at Holy Trinity and the University of Dallas and his Master of Divinity Degree in May of 1985 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas on June 1, 1985.
He was assigned as a newly ordained priest to Immaculate Conception Church in Tyler, Texas in June of 1985 and upon the erection of the Diocese of Tyler on February 24, 1987, he joined the presbyterate of the new diocese and was named the first vocation director for the diocese in March of 1987 by Bishop Charles Herzig.
He completed his canonical studies with a Licentiate in Canon Law in May of 1994 and was assigned by Bishop Edmond Carmody as rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, Texas in June of that same year.
He continued to serve as rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Judicial Vicar of the diocese until February 1, 2010 when Bishop Corrada named him Vicar General. He served in that capacity until September of 2011 when Bishop Corrada was installed as the second Bishop of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Tyler sede vacante.
On September 29, 2012 it was announced that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI had chosen him as the Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler. He was ordained to the episcopacy on November 28, 2012.