Blaj, Mihăiţă
Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Iași (Romania) on June 29, 2004, he holds a degree in Theology. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on July 1, 2012, and was first assigned to the Apostolic Nunciature in Ecuador as Attaché. He subsequently served at the Apostolic Nunciatures in Georgia (2015–2019) and Chad (2019–2022), before being transferred to the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State in January 2022.
In addition to Romanian, he speaks Italian, French, English, Spanish, and German. On November 19, 2025, Pope Leo XIV appointed him Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State.
Chabi, Kolawole Osa
An Augustinian friar of the Province of Nigeria, born in Kilibo, Benin, he obtained a Master’s degree in Systemic Functional Linguistics from the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) in 2004. After making his religious profession in the Order of Saint Augustine (Jos, Nigeria, 2008), he pursued theological studies at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome, where he specialized and earned a PhD in Theology and Patristic Studies in 2017.
He served as Librarian of the Augustinianum from 2016 to 2023, while also holding the position of Assistant Professor. Since 2023, he has been a tenured (permanent) Professor, teaching courses dedicated to the thought of Saint Augustine. Since 2024, he has held the office of Academic Quality at the Institute.
He also collaborates as a Visiting Professor with the Accademia Alfonsiana (Rome) and with the Augustinian Institute of Makurdi (Nigeria). He is a member of several scientific committees, including that of the T&T Clark Studies in Historical Theology series (eds. Brian C. Brewer, Joel Elowsky).
D'Souza, Richard
Rev. Fr. Richard D’Souza SJ, originally hails from Goa, India. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1996, and finished his two years novitiate in Belgaum, India. This was followed by a year of study of Humanities in Pune. In 2002, he completed his graduation in Physics at St. Xaviers’ college in Mumbai and proceeded for his Masters in Physics to the University of Heidelberg, where he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy for his thesis work. He returned to Pune in 2005 to complete a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy. In 2007, he founded and ran the St. Paul’s Community College in Belgaum to help school dropouts find gainful employment. After finishing his Bachelors in Theology in 2011 in Pune, he returned to Goa and ran a popular theology programme for the laity called “Deepen Your Faith”. In 2012, he started his doctoral studies in Astronomy at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, in Garching, Munich, graduating in 2016. In 2016, he joined the staff of the Vatican Observatory. He completed a postdoctoral research program at the University of Michigan from 2016 to 2019. In 2019, he transferred to the headquarters of the Vatican Observatory in Rome. He currently serves as the Director of the Specola Vaticana both at Castel Gandolfo and at Tucson, Arizona.
Estévez de Cominges, Benjamín
Dr. Benjamín Estévez de Cominges was born in Vigo, Spain, on 15 April 1974. He obtained a Master of Science in management from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America, and graduated in higher engineering from the Universidade de Vigo and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, both in Economía and then in Administración y Dirección de Empresas from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. He was director general for economic affairs of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain. Since 17 December 2021 he has served as delegate for the administration of the Dicastery for Evangelization in the Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches. In February 2024, The Holy Father appointed him Secretary General of the Secretariat for the Economy.
Mares, Courtney
Courtney Mares is the inaugural Vatican Editor for OSV News, appointed in January 2026 and based in Rome, where she leads expanded coverage of the Vatican and global Catholic affairs. A graduate of Harvard University, she has spent nearly a decade reporting on the Vatican, Pope Francis, and international religious freedom, working from bureaus across three continents.
Mares is the author of Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers (Ignatius Press, 2023), a biography examining the life and legacy of the first millennial saint. Her journalism has focused particularly on Vatican diplomacy, global Catholic news, and issues of religious freedom. She is also a recipient of the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.
McCulloch, Robert
Fr. Robert McCulloch SSC, an Australian priest, is Procurator General of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, and also Procurator-General of the Mission Society of the Philippines. He is a consultor to the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, and chairman of the committee established by the Pakistan Episcopal Conference for the translation of official church documents into Urdu. He has a doctorate in Sacred Liturgy from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome and taught for twenty-seven years at the National Catholic Institute of Theology, Karachi, Pakistan. Since 1978 he has worked to increase the education and basic health care of the poor and mainly non-Christian people of Pakistan. In 2012, he was decorated by the Government of Pakistan for his services.
Noronha, John and Ashley
As speakers, media personalities, theologians, and pontifical university professors, John & Ashley share a passion for the renewal of faith and culture. In 2017, the Noronhas founded the Truth & Beauty Project, curating encounters with knowledge and beauty to explore what it means to embrace Christian living. Since 2012, Ashley has been the weekly Rome Correspondent for the Relevant Radio Network and was formerly the host of the weekly Television news show, Voice of the Vatican. She was a Vatican Official at the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and has been featured on various global TV news networks as an expert on Vatican issues. She's an Instructor of Media Training at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and taught "The Art of Leadership & Communication" at the European University in Rome. In 2010, Ashley created a course called "Media Training for Priests" and since has been teaching it at the NAC, as well as for ICTE sabbatical priests, and to priests and seminarians all over the world. She serves as a Communications Coach specializing in Conflict Resolution, Crisis Communications, Public Speaking, and Media Training. Before she did a Masters in Theology and an STL in Communications, Ashley was an executive in lifestyle marketing for Kraft Foods, Discover Card, JCPenney, 3Com and Universal Pictures. John is a Professor of Art & Architecture, Theology, and Technology. He has a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering and Master’s degrees in Computer Engineering and Information Systems. John worked for many years in the telecommunications industry and lead the Technology and Initiatives Group at Verizon Global Telecommunications. He later did Master’s degrees in Philosophy and Theology and is a Wilbur Fellow at the Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal. John was also a professional tap dancer!
Nwachukwu, Fortunatus
Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu was born in 1960 in Nigeria. in 1984 he obtained the Baccalaureate in Theology summa cum laude and received priestly ordination in 1984 by the imposition of the hands of Anthony Gogo Nwedo, Bishop of Umuahia. In 1990 he gained a licentiate degree and completed the defense for his doctorate in sacred scriptures at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Between 1991 and 1992 he did specialisation studies in textual criticism of the Old Testament at the Jesuit Faculty, Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt, Germany. He was a student of the Pontifical Diplomatic Academy in 1992-1994. In 1994 he gained a doctorate in Theology and entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See. Two years later, he gained a doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of San Tommaso d'Aquino Angelicum. After working in Rome in the second section of the Secretariat of State, and serving for five years as the Head of Protocols, he was consecrated Bishop in 2013 by Pope Benedict XVI. After serving as apostolic nuncio in Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago and the Antilles (2012-2021), in 2021 Pope Francis appointed him Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva and to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Representative of the Holy See to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In 2023 Pope Francis appointed him Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches. He speaks several languages including English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, modern Hebrew, as well as Arabic.
Petrosillo, Marta
Graduate in Communication Sciences. In 2002 Marta began her journalistic career collaborating with the Sir news agency and later with other Catholic publications. From 2011 to 2020 she served as spokesperson and head of the press office of Aid to the Church in Need in Italy. She is an expert on religious freedom, particularly on the situation of Christians in Iraq and Pakistan, and regularly participates in roundtables and conferences on the topic. She is often consulted on the subject by Italian and international media. Her analyses and interviews have been published by L’Osservatore Romano, Al Jazeera, Fox News, La Repubblica, Le Figaro, and Corriere della Sera. From 2014 to 2020 she was a correspondent and columnist for the Dutch weekly Katholiek Nieuwsblad, covering Vatican politics. Since March 2024 she has served as Director of ACN International Aid to the Church in Need.
Puig, Fernando
Rev. Prof. Fernando Puig (b. 1968, Terrassa, Spain) is Rector of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, a position he assumed on 1 October 2024..
He is Full Professor of Church Organization and Government Law at the University’s School of Canon Law. Rev. Prof. Puig holds a PhD in Private Law from the Universities of Barcelona and Girona, as well as doctorates in Canon Law and Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
His academic research focuses on canon law and the governance of ecclesiastical institutions, including the Roman Curia, synodality, episcopal ministry, and consecrated life. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and contributions in specialized academic journals on the organization and governance of ecclesial realities and structures.
Sánchez Galera, María Dolores
Prof. Maria Dolores Sanchez Galera was born in Spain and gained a Bachelor of Laws in 2001 in Public Comparative Law by Glasgow University, where she was a Post-graduate researcher in Comparative Law. She got a European Master’s degree on the history and comparison of the political and legal institutions of Mediterranean Europe; and a PhD in Environmental Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, being a research fellow at a European RTN until 2006. As a former Legal Officer of the International Development Law Organization was in charge of the World Bank legal training programs in Access to Justice in Post-conflict areas and was researcher for The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law. She has lectured on European Law and Environmental Law and currently collaborates as a freelance researcher for different charity foundations and organizations; and she was international cooperation officer for Caritas Catania.
With over 10 years experience in applied research in the field of Environmental Law, EU Law, Development and Innovation Programmes related to the field of Sustainability, Energy, Environment and Education and Culture, she is currently collaborating as Senior Research Advisor for the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Sanders, Matthew
Matthew is the Founder and CEO of Longbeard, a technology company focused on building artificial-intelligence tools and digital infrastructure in service of Catholic institutions worldwide. Founded in 2015, Longbeard has worked with organizations including the Holy See and academic institutions to develop digital platforms, websites, and AI systems that expand access to Church teaching and archival resources.
A former infantry officer in the Canadian Forces and later a seminarian, Sanders has specialized in projects at the intersection of faith and emerging technologies, leading the development of initiatives such as Magisterium AI and Vulgate, platforms designed to digitize and make accessible theological and historical materials.
As CEO, he oversees Longbeard’s global collaborations in artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and knowledge-management projects aimed at supporting the Church’s educational, pastoral, and research missions, while frequently speaking internationally on the ethical and cultural implications of AI.
Valcarcel, Amaya
Amaya Valcárcel is a Spanish refugee lawyer and humanitarian advocate with more than three decades of experience in refugee protection and international policy. She began her career as a Protection Officer with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, serving in both Spain and the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya from 1995 to 1997.
In 1998, Valcárcel joined the Jesuit Refugee Service as Policy Coordinator, focusing on refugee policy in Africa and South Asia while undertaking missions to crisis regions. Alongside her policy work, she lectured on refugee law and, from 2002 to 2003, coordinated the Master’s Degree in Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation at the Pontifical University of Comillas.
Between 2003 and 2005, she worked at the Arrupe Center for People with a Disability in Cambodia, supporting rehabilitation and inclusion initiatives. She later served (2006–2008) as Secretary General of the Spanish Commission for Refugees.
Since 2009, based in Rome, Italy, Valcárcel has worked at the JRS International Office as International Advocacy Officer, leading global advocacy initiatives that promote the rights and protection of refugees and forcibly displaced persons worldwide.
Wang, Stephen
Mgr Stephen Wang is a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Westminster. He is currently Rector of the Venerable English College in Rome – one of the five seminaries serving the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Since his priestly ordination in 1998 he has worked in pastoral ministry in various London parishes, schools, hospitals and prisons. He has been Dean of Theology at Allen Hall Seminary, Visiting Lecturer in Philosophy at St Mary's University and Visiting Lecturer in Theology at Heythrop College. Most recently he worked as Senior University Chaplain at Newman House Student Centre and as Catholic Chaplain at the London School of Economics. He is the author of Aquinas and Sartre, A Way of Life for Young Catholics , How to Discover Your Vocation, The New Evangelisation, and The Christian Faith. His most recent book is Sycamore: The Catholic Faith Explained. He is involved in various evangelisation projects including the Sycamore programme and the Pause for Faith YouTube channel.
Wauck, John
Organizing Committee President, Rev. Prof. John Wauck (USA), a Chicago native, studied history and literature at Harvard University and holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Prior to ordination, he wrote speeches for the attorney general of the United States and the governor of Pennsylvania. He has written for many publications, including American Scholar, Christian Science Monitor, The New Criterion, Beliefnet, and the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars Quarterly. He has also commented on Church affairs for CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS, Associated Press TV, Reuters, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Time magazine, and U.S. News and World Report. Currently he teaches Literature and Communication of the Faith at Santa Croce.