Speakers
Bishop Joseph Strickland
Bishop of Tyler
Curriculum Vitae
Bishop Joseph Edward Strickland was born the sixth child of Raymond and Monica Strickland on October 31, 1958 in Fredericksburg, Texas and relocated to Atlanta, Texas in June of 1963. He entered Holy Trinity Seminary and the University of Dallas, studying for the Diocese of Dallas in August of 1977, and earned a Bachelor of Philosophy in May of 1981. He continued his education at Holy Trinity and the University of Dallas and his Master of Divinity Degree in May of 1985 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas on June 1, 1985.
He was assigned as a newly ordained priest to Immaculate Conception Church in Tyler, Texas in June of 1985. Upon the erection of the Diocese of Tyler on February 24, 1987, Fr. Strickland joined the presbyterate of the new diocese and was named the first Vocation Director for the Diocese in March of 1987 by Bishop Charles Herzig. He completed his canonical studies with a Licentiate in Canon Law in May of 1994 and was assigned by Bishop Edmond Carmody as Rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, Texas in June of that same year. He continued to serve as Rector and also as Judicial Vicar of the Diocese.
On February 1, 2010, Bishop Corrada appointed him as Vicar General, which he served as until September of 2011. At that time, Bishop Corrada was installed as the second Bishop of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and he appointed Fr. Strickland as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Tyler sede vacante. On September 29, 2012 it was announced that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI had chosen him as the Fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler. Bishop Strickland was ordained to the episcopacy on November 28, 2012.
Fr. Don Calloway, MIC
Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, a convert to Catholicism, is a member of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Before his conversion, he was a high school dropout who had been kicked out of a foreign country, institutionalized twice, and thrown in jail multiple times. After his radical conversion, he earned a BA in philosophy and theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio; MDiv and STB degrees from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.; and an STL in Mariology from the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. He leads pilgrimages to Marian Shrines around the world and is the author of 14 books. His latest best-selling book is Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father.
Leah Darrow
Leah Darrow is the founder of the Lux app, the first Catholic app for Catholic women that focuses on community, prayer, and formation. She is the author of The Other Side of Beauty, and host of the top-rated Christian podcast, Do Something Beautiful. Leah received her Masters in Theology from the Augustine Institute in 2016, graduating with magna cum laude honors. Leah is married to Ricky Soldinie, an Augustine Institute graduate as well, and together chase after their six kids.
Fr. John Parks
,Fr. John Parks was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Phoenix on June 5, 2010 and has served as parochial vicar of St. Daniel the Prophet and St. Timothy Parishes. He has also served as the chaplain of Notre Dame Preparatory and the Vicar for Evangelization of the Diocese of Phoenix.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Arizona State University, a Master of Arts in Catholic Thought and Life and a Master of Divinity from Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. Fr. Parks recently finished a Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.
On July 1st, 2020, Fr. Parks was assigned as the Pastor of St. Theresa Parish and School in Phoenix, AZ where he currently serves in building the Kingdom of God.
Fr. Parks is also the spiritual advisor to Blessed is She, an international online women’s ministry assisting women in building community online and in person.
Most importantly, Fr. Parks loves being a priest and is immensely grateful for Jesus’ merciful love for him.
Fr. David Michael Moses
Fr. David Michael Moses (he goes by “Fr. David Michael”) grew up in Nassau Bay, Texas, the fifth of six children. Having started college when he was 14, he graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with a degree in the Humanities (Pre-Law) when he was 18. He was then accepted to the University of Houston Law School, but ultimately felt called to the priesthood and entered seminary for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. After studying philosophy at Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, he returned to Houston to continue his formation at St. Mary’s Seminary, where he earned his Master of Divinity and STB.
In addition to his seminary studies and spiritual formation, Fr. David Michael has had just enough time to develop his music, performing a series of “Concerts for Life” that have collectively raised over $400,000 for pro-life groups in Houston. As a seminarian, Fr. David Michael was assigned to St. Faustina’s for the summer in 2014. At 25 years of age, he was ordained to the Priesthood on June 1st, 2019.
Fr. John Lankeit
Fr. John Lankeit was born in Billings, Montana, April 24, 1967, but spent most of his life in Washington State. He began discerning the priesthood shortly before graduating from college in 1989 while living in Seattle, WA.
Prior to priesthood, Fr. Lankeit earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a minor in psychology from Seattle University. He went on to work for the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team in corporate marketing. Later in his 12-year career in corporate America, he worked in the coffee and high-tech industries, did corporate training, and late in his career was beginning to do voice acting on the side.
From the time he was very young, his faith in God was strong, though his catechetical formation was grossly inadequate, as was the case with most Catholics in his generation. Despite earning a comfortable salary and enjoying professional success, he found himself hungry for deeper meaning in his life.
In Lent of 2000, his job brought him from Seattle to Phoenix. A year and a half later, in Fall of 2001, he entered St. Meinrad Seminary to begin formation for the priesthood. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 3, 2006, at Ss. Simon & Jude Cathedral on the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs of Uganda.
After serving as an associate pastor for just under a year-and-a-half at St. Anne Parish in Gilbert, he was assigned as parochial administrator of Blessed Sacrament in Tolleson in late 2007 and named pastor there in 2009. On June 1, 2010, Fr. Lankeit was named Rector of SS Simon and Jude Cathedral, where he served until Easter Sunday of 2021.
Fr. Lankeit is passionate about the universal call to holiness, priestly and religious vocations and building a culture of life. He loves being a priest and is delighted to be serving as Parochial Vicar at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale.