Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, S.J.
(Archbishop of Halifax)
Born in Montreal in 1944, Archbishop Prendergast entered the Jesuit Novitiate in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1972. He received his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from the Toronto School of Theology, taught at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax from 1975-81, was Rector of Regis College in Toronto from 1981-87, as well as professor of New Testament and Dean from 1991-94.
Between 1992 and 1994, he served on behalf of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops as Executive Secretary of a Vatican-mandated visitation of English-speaking Canadian seminaries. Following a sabbatical during which he was visiting professor at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, he was appointed auxiliary bishop for the Western Pastoral Region of the Archdiocese of Toronto in April of 1995.
Bishop Prendergast has translated two books by the French exegete, Xavier Léon-Dufour. He has also served as editor of several biblical and theological journals and was the author of a weekly column in the Catholic Register for a number of years.
Archbishop Prendergast has served on the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and on a number of CCCB commissions and committees. Presently he serves as a member of the Vox Clara Committee, the Theology Commission and is the Vice-President of the Atlantic Episcopal Assembly.
Archbishop Prendergast is Chancellor of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax and presently serves as a member of the Board of Governors of Catholic Christian Outreach, Catholic Missions, Catholic Near East Welfare Association and the National Evangelization Team.
He was named Archbishop of Halifax in June 1998 and installed on September 14, 1998. In January of 2002, the Holy Father appointed Archbishop Prendergast, S.J., Archbishop of Halifax, as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth. In May of 2003 Archbishop Prendergast was appointed as Pontifical Commissioner for the Fils de Marie.
Fr. Stefano Penna
(Priest of the Diocese of Saskatoon
currently teaching at St. Joseph College, University of Alberta, Edmonton)
A priest of the Diocese of Saskatoon Canada since 1986, Fr. Stephen Penna has served in both rural and urban parishes and worked as a chaplain to medical care facilities and college students. He has a licentiate in Dogmatic Theology at Rome’s Gregorian University and has pursued research in the Philosophy of Religion and modern Philosophical Theology at Yale University from which he has received a Doctorate in Religious Studies. Fr. Penna teaches at St. Joseph’s College at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He is an active evangelist across Canada especially engaged in animating Catholic Educational communities.
Fr. Brendan McGuire
(Pastor of Holy Spirit parish and school, Almaden Valley, San Jose, California)
Fr. Brendan McGuire is pastor of Holy Spirit Parish and School in Almaden Valley, San Jose, California since January, 2004 and currently serves as Chair of the Priests’ Council for the Diocese of San Jose. Ordained in May 2000, his first assignment was Associate Pastor at St. Lawrence Parish and Education Center in Santa Clara, California.
Before priesthood Fr. Brendan was Executive Director of PCMCIA, the PC Card trade association that promoted the international computer standard for laptop computers. He has a STB and master’s degree in theology from St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, CA. He also has an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering and Master’s degree in Computer Science and Math from Trinity College, Dublin. He is a native of Ireland and the youngest of twelve children.
Fr. Brendan has a unique perspective to the role of laity in leading a Catholic parish community and has recently restructured the parish to accommodate the eagerness of their involvement in decision-making. His model of leadership involves four leadership teams, the Staff Pastoral Team, the Stewardship Council, the Pastoral Council and the Finance Council. Each group brings a unique aspect to the leadership team and necessitates working in collaboration with the other groups for all parish-wide decisions. Central to the success of this model is the understanding of Stewardship as a sharing of everyone’s gifts for the greater good of the community.
He was a speaker at the International Catholic Stewardship Council, Western US Regional Conference of Stewardship and has given numerous parish retreats and presentations to diocesan clergy on stewardship. Fr. Brendan is author of two books, Seeds for the Soul: Sunday Homilies for Cycle C and Seeds for the Soul: Sunday Homilies for Cycle B and currently writing another two volumes.