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.

LEONORA BUTAU, PhD
Associate Fellow, St. John Paul II Foundation

Dr. Leonora Butau is an Associate Fellow at the St. John Paul II Foundation. Leonora moved to Houston from England, where she taught Christian Ethics and Christian Spirituality at St. Mary’s University, London, for eight years, and where she led efforts to empower Catholic couples, educators and young adults in St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. While in London, she also worked for Caritas Social Action Network, the charitable agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. She earned a B.A. in Theology and Religious Studies and an M.A. in Bioethics and Medical Law from St. Mary’s University, London, and has a Ph.D. in Bioethics from the University of Surrey, (England). Leonora is blessed to be married to Rufaro and to enjoy the gift of their two sons, Jesse and Louis.

MOST REV. DAVID A. KONDERLA
Bishop of Tulsa

Bishop David A. Konderla is the second of twelve children, son of the late David and Ann Konderla. He grew up in Bryan, Texas; graduated from Bryan High School in 1978; and worked for several years as a machinist before entering the seminary in 1985.

After graduating from the University of Dallas in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in history, he earned his Master of Divinity from the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary’s Seminary, and was ordained on June 3, 1995.

Bishop Konderla served at St. Louis Parish in Austin and St. Luke’s Parish in Temple before his assignment as associate pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station. After almost four years with the Aggies, he was named as Vocation Director for the Diocese of Austin, where he served the diocese for four years. He then returned to St. Mary’s as pastor and Director of Campus Ministry in August 2005.

Bishop Konderla was appointed the fourth Bishop of Tulsa on May 13, 2016 by Pope Francis. He was ordained and installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa on June 29, 2016.

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.

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).

ANNAMARIE OMANGA
Panelist

Originally from Chicago, Annamarie Omanga has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education.  She began her career in the middle school classroom and then spent 6 years directing a tutor/mentor program for inner city youth in Chicago.  Annamarie then took her teaching skills to the business arena, where she started in training and development and then enjoyed a career in Human Resources with Cap Gemini America and AIG.  Annamarie has been married to Billy Omanga for fourteen years and is at home full time raising two daughters and two sons.  The Omangas are parishioners at St. John Vianney Parish in Houston. 

MATTHEW DAVID WATSON
Panelist

Matthew David Watson is the Upper School Head at Aristoi Classical Academy, a K-12 charter school in Katy, TX. He received his B.A. in History from George Fox University, summa cum laude. Mr. Watson has worked in private and public K-12 education since 2003, along the way earning an M.A. in Early American History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He and his wife, Jenny, have five children and are parishioners at Saint Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church in Katy, where they serve in the marriage preparation ministry.

PATRICK CANNIZZARO
Panelist

Pat has been married for 7 years and has three children; he works in financial services. His home parish is St. Bartholomew in Katy. Pat and his wife, Joanna, are self-proclaimed marriage enthusiasts. They were speakers for the Chicago Archdiocesan marriage preparatory program, they have been featured at Theology on Tap, and they remain involved in marriage prep ministry.

VERONICA VALLONE, LMFT-A
Panel moderator

Veronica Vallone is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist-Associate currently working in research with MD Anderson, focusing on healthy lifestyle change and neuromodualtion. She and her husband, Mark (a youth minister at St. Anthony of Padua) met while earning their undergraduate degrees at Franciscan University of Steubenville. They have a beautiful and rambunctious 5-year-old daughter.

GABRIELA KARASZEWSKI
Panel moderator

Gabriela Karaszewski, M.S., M.A. is currently the Director of the Office of Young Adults & Campus Ministry at the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Obtained a M.A. in Pastoral Studies from University of St. Thomas and Master of Science from University of Washington. Serves as member of the National Advisory Team for Young Adult Ministry for the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth at the USCCB. Previously was the Director of Faith Formation for 10 years at a parish in Texas. Originally from Mexico, married to a Polish man and they have two daughters.