JOHN & CLAIRE GRABOWSKI
Catholic Authors and Speakers
Married for 39 years, John and Claire Grabowski have 5 children and 12 grandchildren. They have done pre-Cana marriage ministry together for over 30 years, post-Cana ministry for 10 years, and served as a member couple from the United States on the Pontifical Council for the Family after 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), One Body: A Program of Marriage Formation for the New Evangelization. (Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Press, 2018), and Raising Catholic Kids for their Vocations (Charlotte, NC: TAN Books, 2019). They have spoken together to groups of laity, priests, and bishops across the United States and abroad. They have also appeared together on EWTN television and Relevant Radio programs.
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 33 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 A Catechism for Family Life: Insights from Catholic Teaching on Love, Marriage, Sex, and Parenting, edited with Sarah Bartel (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018). He also wrote the Foreword to the 1997 English edition of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (Boston: Pauline, 1997).
RYAN HANNING, PhD
Fellow, San Juan Diego Institute
Dr. Hanning is a Professor of Theology and Catholic Studies and is a founding Fellow of the San Juan Diego Institute which serves several Universities, non-profits and religious apostolates, and a Fellow of the Havard Institute for Virtuous Leadership Institute and the Institute of Catholic Theology. In addition to teaching and consulting, Ryan also serves as Asst. Editor at Hearth & Field a Christian Agrarian Journal and writes and speaks internationally on education, theology, ecological ethics and virtuous leadership. He is the co-author of The WillPower Advantage: Building Habits for Lasting Happiness, along with Tom Peterson, Founder of Catholics Come Home. Ryan currently homesteads in Tennessee with his beautiful wife Rebecca, and their ten well socialized homeschooled children.
RACHEL TOWNSEND
Senior Program Coordinator and Team Leader, St. John Paul II Foundation
Rachel Townsend is a Senior Program Coordinator and Team Leader for the St. John Paul II Foundation where she serves to support the parishes and couples across the country who are sponsoring and participating in the Together in Holiness Formation series. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Texas A&M University and graduated with Honors in Psychology distinction. Prior to joining the St. John Paul II Foundation, she worked as a Career Counselor for Champions School of Real Estate helping students to achieve their career and licensing goals. Over the years, she has volunteered at her parish community as a member of the altar guild and is currently a parishioner of Presentation of the Lord Catholic Church in Montgomery, Texas.
REV. MSGR. PATRICK J. WINSLOW
V.G., Vicar General & Chancellor
The Very Rev. Patrick J. Winslow, V.G., has served as vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte since 2019.
As vicar general, Monsignor Winslow reports directly to the bishop on matters related to clergy and vocations, and acts in
place of the bishop in his absence. As chancellor, he also oversees the diocese’s day-to-day administrative and business
operations.
A noted preacher and canon lawyer, he came to the Charlotte diocese in 2002 and has served with distinction in several
important roles, including as Promoter of Justice and as an ex-officio member of the Lay Review Board. As Promoter of
Justice for the diocese, his responsibility was to provide for the public good and serve as prosecutor in Church court
proceedings.
Monsignor Winslow is a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, two groups of priests who serve as
advisors to the bishop. He also serves as clergy formation advisor to St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte and sits on the
diocesan Vocations Board.
A native of upstate New York, he studied chemistry in college before discerning a call to the priesthood in 1993. He was
ordained a priest in 1999 and served in parishes and as a maximum-security prison chaplain in the Diocese of Albany, New
York, before moving south and becoming incardinated into the Charlotte diocese in 2002.
In North Carolina, he served as pastor at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish in Charlotte, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish
in Jefferson and St. Frances of Rome Catholic Mission in Sparta, and St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish in Tryon before
becoming pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Parish in Charlotte in 2012, where he served as pastor until his appointment
as vicar general and chancellor in 2019.
In 2015, he was named a “Missionary of Mercy” by Pope Francis for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, one of only two priests from
the Charlotte diocese and among only about 50 priests from the United States to serve in this unique role. These priests from
around the world were specially selected by the pope to highlight the mercy of God throughout the holy year, by preaching
and offering the sacrament of reconciliation.
He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 2012.
A gifted preacher and Scripture scholar, Monsignor Winslow has contributed to numerous Bible studies through Catholic
Scripture Study International, which publishes more than 30 Bible and faith-related study programs.
Monsignor Winslow is the fifth chancellor for the Charlotte diocese.
CONOR GALLAGHER
CEO of TAN Books, founder of The Well-Ordered Family
Conor Gallagher did his undergraduate work in philosophy at Franciscan University. He received both his MA in philosophy and JD from the Catholic University of America. He clerked for The Honorable Robert Conrad, Chief Judge of the Western District of North Carolina.
He is currently the CEO of TAN Books. He is the Executive Director of the Benedict Leadership
Institute at Belmont Abbey College, and also on the Board of Trustees for Belmont Abbey College. He is a Board Member at Saint Joseph College Seminary for the diocese of Charlotte.
He is the author of “If Aristotle’s Kid Had an iPod: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Parents”, “Still Amidst the Storm: A Family Man’s Search for Peace in an Anxious World”, “Parenting for Eternity”, and he has a series of shorter books coming out, including “You Are Never Too Busy” and “You Have Only One Problem”. He and his wife Ashley are the parents of fifteen children.
He has also created Well-Ordered Family – a transformative approach, blending business tools with family life. With his six-part Family Management System, Conor aims to help families reclaim order and clarity amidst the chaos of modern life.