Seat of Wisdom Faculty

Msgr. James Bartylla 
Msgr. Bartylla was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin December 20, 1961, the son of Donald and Carol (Thompson) Bartylla. He attended 78^th Street School, Bell Middle School, and Horning Middle School Milwaukee; Waukesha South (High School), Waukesha; UW-Whitewater (B.A. – Accounting), UW-Milwaukee (M.S. – Finance) and UW-Madison (J.D.), and Mundelein Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois, where he studied Philosophy. He finished his seminary education at the North American College in Rome, where he was ordained a deacon at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on October 5, 2000.

 Fr. Bartylla was ordained to the priesthood May 25, 2001 by Bishop William H. Bullock at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison. Since ordination he has served as Associate Priest Secretary; parochial vicar at St. Andrew (Verona) linked with St. William (Paoli), Immaculate Conception (Kieler) linked with St. Joseph (Sinsinawa); Temporary Administrator at St. Mary (Bloomington) linked with St. John (Patch Grove); and pastor of St. Ignatius (Mt. Horeb) linked with St. Mary (Pine Bluff).  He was the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Madison for 6 years prior to being appointed Vicar General for the Diocese of Madison in December 2009. 

 Msgr. Kevin D. Holmes
 Msgr. Holmes was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on August 14, 1957, the son of the late Ernest and Phyllis (Vogel) Holmes. He attended St. Patrick School, Janesville; Holy Name Seminary (High School), Madison; and the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, where he received his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy. He finished his seminary education with four years at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he was ordained a deacon at St. Michael Church on April 4, 1983.

Fr. Holmes was ordained to the priesthood on June 15, 1984, by Bishop Cletus F. O’Donnell at St. Raphael Cathedral in Madison. Since ordination he has served as parochial vicar at Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary, Sun Prairie and Our Lady Queen of Peace, Madison; and as pastor of Holy Redeemer, Madison; St. Michael, Dane; and St. Aloysius, Sauk City, where he also served the Hispanic Community of Sauk County, and as administrator of the parishes of St. Mary, Merrimac and St. Camillus, Durward’s Glen.

Msgr. Holmes has also served the Diocese of Madison in various other capacities. He is currently a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, the Diocesan Implementation Commission, the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, as well as Bishop Robert Morlino’s delegate on the Board of St. Paul University Catholic Center. He served for seven years on the Diocesan Marriage Tribunal, and as Judge Delegate for a local tribunal investigating a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, whose cause for beatification is pending in Rome. Msgr. Holmes has taught in the Education for Parish Service program at Edgewood College, and in the Diocesan Lay Institute.

In March 2007, Bishop Morlino announced that Rome named him Prelate of Honor, with the title Monsignor. He is also a Knight Commander in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and Chaplain to Knights of Columbus Council 6568 at the University of Wisconsin.

Msgr. Holmes has been in Rector of the Cathedral of St. Raphael t since the fall of 2006.

Ann Lankford 
Ann Lankford is the Director of the Office of Catechesis and Evangelization for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin. She has held this position for seven years. She received her MA in Theology and Christian Ministry with a specialization in Catechetics from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1998 and received the St. John Bosco Conference Certification in the Apostolate of Director of Religious Education. She is currently on the writing team for the Association for Catechumenal Ministry.

 

 

 Marc Laudonio  Marc, originally from Kenosha, WI was born in 1981.  He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree in Communication Arts in December of 2003.  After growing up Lutheran he became an Evangelical Protestant in high school and was planning on going to a Protestant seminary after college to become a youth minister.  However, during his later college years he began to wrestle with theological, historical, and spiritual questions that did not seem to be sufficiently answered in the Evangelical Protestant faith.  Through a long process of reading, conversations, prayer, and most of all, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he found himself discovering the fullness of the Christian faith on the doorstep of the Catholic Church and entered the Church in 2006.  

He currently lives in Madison with his wife, Julie and their son Dominic.  Marc has served as Director of Evangelization and Catechesis at the Cathedral parish of Madison since 2007 and is currently working on his Masters of Theological Studies degree through the Augustine Institute, a Catholic graduate school based in Denver, CO.  Marc loves outdoor activities, movies, music, reading, the Chicago Cubs, good food, coffee, beer, wine, playing board games, and hanging out with his wife and little son, Dominic!

 Mr. Paul Matenaer
Paul graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 with a B.A. in Religious Studies and received his Masters of Theological Studies magna cum laude from Ave Maria University in 2009. After two years as the Director of Religious Education at St. Ann Parish in Stoughton, Paul currently teaches theology and history at St. Ambrose Academy in Madison and serves as their Director of Development. In addition, Paul teaches RCIA classes and Theology Mini-Courses at St. Paul’s University Catholic Center in Madison and is proficient in Spanish and Latin. When not in the classroom, Paul loves spending time with his lovely wife and their two young children.

Dr. Constance Nielsen
Dr. Constance Nielsen received her Ph.D. In Religious Studies from Marquette University in the area of Ethics, specializing in the Church's social teaching. She has taught theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee as well as here in Madison at Saint Ambrose Academy. She has also given many talks around the Madison area on social teaching, including a class here at the Diocesan Lay Institute. She is currently an adjunct professor at Marquette University and working in the Respect Life office of the Milwaukee Archdiocese.

 

Mary Pristelski
Mary serves as an instructor for the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis. For over 30 years she worked as a surgical nurse, including Nurse Clinician of a Transplant Team and Head of General Surgery. Although her main job was in nursing she took evening and weekend classes in Theology during this time. She worked as head of Art and Environment and on the Liturgy Team in parishes wherever her work took her. She has been a catechist and taught art in the Catholic School system. She was Pastoral Associate for St. Cecilia's parish in Mt. Prospect. She helped to start and lead the Health Care Ethics Team for St. Raymond's in Mt. Prospect. For the last five and a half years she has been head of Art and Environment, a 132 member team, a member of the Core team for adult education, taught scripture and has given Theology talks for St. Mary's in Huntley. She has written all of the lectures and series which she has given at St. Mary's and at the pastors request has rewritten programs and discussions for various adult ed. series. She graduated with her Masters in Theological Studies from Ave Maria University in June 2009.

Chris Schmelzer   
Chris has a BA from Hamline University in Theater and Communication Arts. He also earned a Masters in Theological Studies from Ave Maria University Institute for Pastoral Theology in 2009. He is an experienced high school teacher and catechist. As a catechist he has taught adult formation, faith formation for junior high and high school, and he has played a variety of roles leading Confirmation classes and retreats. Chris is currently a branch office manager for a large life insurance company and has been married to his wife Patti for 34 years. They have 4 children and are members of the Cathedral Parish in Madison.

 
Fr. Randy Timmerman
Fr. Timmerman was born in Dubuque, IA July 23, 1966, the son of Joseph and Geraldine (Langmeier) Timmerman. He attended Holy Ghost Grade School, Dickeyville, WI; Holy Name Seminary (High School); UW-Madison (Elementary Education), and Mundelein Seminary (M. Div.). He was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ on May 29, 1993 by Bishop George Wirz at St. Raphael Cathedral, Madison, WI.

Thomas Smith  Bringing a wealth of experience and insight on the Word of God to audiences across the United States, Thomas is a repeat guest on EWTN and Catholic Radio, as well as a saught after parish mission and conference speaker.  He is the co-author of Revelation:The Kingdom Yet To Come and an international presenter for The Great Adventure Bible Timeline.  He has taught as an adjunct professor at the St. Francis School of Theology in Denver and is the former Director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School.  Thomas lives on his family ranch in southeastern Idaho, where he farms and writes for his website (www.gen215.org) and the Catholic News Agency.

  
Christopher West – renowned educator, best-selling author, and theologian – serves officially as a research fellow and faculty member of the Theology of the Body Institute near Philadelphia, PA. His popular week-long courses offered through the Institute continue to draw students from around the globe. Christopher has also lectured on a number of other prestigious faculties, including St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver and the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

As one of the most sought after speakers in the Church today, he has delivered over 1000 public lectures on four continents, in over a dozen countries, and in over 200 American cities. His multiple books, study guides, and audio and video programs also reach an international audience. Christopher appears regularly on EWTN and has been seen by millions defending the faith on Fox News, ABC News and MSNBC. Of all his titles, he is most proud to call himself a devoted husband and father. He lives near Lancaster, Pennsylvania with his wife Wendy and their five children.