Some of the most pivotal moments during this year’s summer event.
Standing in the lobby of the The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, California, was a large display featuring many of the American saints and blesseds who have helped shape our nation: St. Katharine Drexel, St. Junípero Serra, Blessed Stanley Rother, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Damien of Molokai, and soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen.
Above them were the words: “This country was shaped by great saints and is called to raise up more.”
It was a blessed reminder for attendees at this year’s Napa Institute’s 16th Annual Summer Conference that ran from July 22-26.
This year’s keynote delivered by Arthur Brooks started:
“Welcome to the most important event of the year for the American Catholic Church.”
His message was shared on the first full day of Napa’s Summer Conference to a room filled with hundreds of Catholics, laity, priests, religious and bishops. The theme for this year’s much anticipated conference was “A More Perfect Union: Renewing Our Faith to Renew the Nation in America 250.” Over the course of four days, dozens of outstanding speakers inspired more than 700 attendees with hope for the American Church and wisdom for bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ into the public square.
This annual summer event is known for bringing together entrepreneurial and mission-minded Catholics for formation, community and worship. For the second year in a row, the conference expanded into a full week of programming with the Annual Arts Festival and the Renaissance Rising Film Contest, held on Monday and Tuesday. Chaired by award-winning actor and director David Henrie, the festival welcomed nearly 350 actors, creators, producers and entertainment professionals to celebrate the arts and discuss how beauty and virtue can be brought back to mainstream entertainment.
Henrie, who hosts EWTN Studios’ Seeking Beauty, described the festival by saying, “This is Florence,” referring to it as the place where a new Renaissance in entertainment is taking shape and will continue to flourish, as Florence was the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance.
For the first time, the Napa Institute hosted a film contest awarding $100,000 to a young filmmaker for the creation of a short film that will premiere at next summer’s festival. After reviewing hundreds of submissions, a select group of finalists traveled to Napa to pitch their projects before a panel of judges. Brandon Manderson took home the grand prize for his film, Las Mañanitas.
After a week of inspiring talks, meaningful conversations, and celebrating the sacraments alongside bishops and priests from across the country, here are a few highlights that made this year’s conference so memorable:
In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, two remarkable American heroes were honored during Saturday evening’s gala: Harrison Schmitt, the former NASA astronaut who became the second-to-last man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, and Britta Curl-Salemme, Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team.
Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie and members of the Come and See Foundation joined an exclusive screening of the first episode of The Chosen: Season 6. Following the premiere, Roumie sat down with Live Action founder and podcaster Lila Rose to discuss filming the new season, particularly the emotionally demanding crucifixion scenes, which, he shared, have profoundly deepened his own spiritual life.
This year, more than 15 bishops attended the conference, including U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops president Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, and Bishop Elias Zaidan, Maronite eparch of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles. Having shepherds with us throughout the week for prayer, worship and conversation was a tremendous blessing — especially their celebration of some of the 150 Masses that took place over the course of the week.
Brian Burch, the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, traveled from Rome to speak about the unique relationship between the Holy See and the United States. He reflected on celebrating the Fourth of July with the Holy Father, describing it as a joyful celebration of their shared love for America. He recounted a beautiful moment, saying, “We went out, he [Pope Leo] walked down the stairs, my wife handed him a flag, my kids had sparklers, and he waved an American flag and sang ‘God Bless America.’” Ambassador Burch also noted that “the media has it almost entirely wrong” about the Holy See-U.S. rapport, telling attendees that “the amount of cooperation, the amount of closeness” between the Holy Father and the United States is strong.
This was my fifth Napa Institute Summer Conference. Every year brings new opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work through friendships, conversations and collaborations, but this year truly felt like the best one yet. I left Napa Valley filled with hope and joy. The Holy Spirit is alive in the Catholic Church in America.
See you next year, Napa.
