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St. Mary's Seminary & University

The Gift of Spiritual Fatherhood

Join this three-day, seven-session conference led by five outstanding presenters exploring the hierarchies of spiritual fatherhood in pastoral ministry. During the three-day program participants will be immersed in the pastoral, spiritual, theological, liturgical and psychological dimensions of the priesthood.

Dates: Monday – Wednesday, Nov. 16-18, 2026
Arrive: Monday, 4 p.m.
Depart: Wednesday, 3 p.m.
Cost: $475 Overnight Stay (Includes all meals, room stay, use of the grounds, and facilities)
$275 Commuter Rate (Includes all meals)

View/Download the event flyer.

Schedule

Registration Deadline: Monday, November 2, 2026

Registration Link: 

 

 

Commuter Registration Link: 

 

 

Presenters

Father James Bradley, JCD

Father Bradley, a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham (UK) is an assistant professor of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.
He is a participant in the international research project, “Anglican Traditions in the Catholic Church.” He is published in a number of canonical and liturgical journals as well as reading music, theology and canon law at the universities of Bristol, Oxford and London.
He earned a doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America and is completing a doctorate in Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology at the University of Vienna, Austria.

Father Robert Gahl, PhD

Father Gahl is associate professor in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and Director of the Church Management Program. He is also associate professor of Ethics in the School of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. He also taught courses at Harvard, MIT and Italy’s Center for Advanced Defense Studies.
Ordained to the priesthood by St. John Paul II, Father Gahl has published on the narrative structure of the moral life, cognitive behavioral therapy, corporate social behavior and Catholic social doctrine.

Arland K. Nichols

Mr. Nichols, president and founder of the St. John Paul II Foundation since 2014, is an educator and non-profit executive. He is popular speaker and successful writer, recently authoring the 4th edition of the Handbook on Critical Life Issues.
Mr. Nichols earned a B.A. in philosophy from Texas A&M, an M.Div. in Theology from University of St. Thomas, and pursued doctoral studies in bioethics at Regina Apostolorum in Rome.
He leads the St. John Paul II Foundation as it serves, educates and supports medical professionals, married couples and clergy.

 

Daniel Paris, Psy.D., M.A.

Dr. Paris, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Virginia, specializes in trauma-focused modalities. Dr. Paris has experience working in community mental health agencies, university counseling centers, psychiatric hospitals and the U.S. intelligence community.
Dr. Paris is an adjunct faculty member in the psychology program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and at Divine Mercy University.
With masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Divine Mercy University, he also holds a masters in theology from the Augustine Institute and has over a decade of experience in the formation of Catholic missionaries with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.

Michael Toscano

Mr. Toscano is Senior Fellow, director of the Family First Technology Initiative for the Institute for Family Studies, which was awarded a Heritage Innovation Prize in recognition of his efforts to advance laws nationwide to make technology safer for kids.
He is a leader of the “Future for the Family” movement and his writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The New York Post, National Affairs, First Things, Compact, The American Conservative, National Review, and elsewhere.
He is co-author with Peter Wood of “What Does Bowdoin Teach? How a Liberal Arts College Shapes Students.”

For more information, contact:

Center for Continuing Formation
St. Mary’s Seminary and University
5400 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21210
410-864-4102

center (at) stmarys.edu