Retreat Leaders

After earning her PhD in Russian literature from UC Berkeley in 2011, Cameron Bellm traded the academic life for the contemplative life, informed by Ignatian spirituality and Catholic social teaching. Cameron is the author of “Prayer for a Pandemic,” which went viral in the early days of COVID-19. In May 2020 she published A Consoling Embrace: Prayers for a Time of Pandemic, an e-book collection of prayers, with 23rd Publications. Cameron has written many devotionals and is currently at work on her first book, The Sacrament of Paying Attention: Contemplative Practices for Restoring Sacred Human Communion, which will be published by Eerdmans in 2025. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.

Amy J. Cattapan, DM, Ed.D., is an award-winning author, speaker, and middle school English teacher living in the Chicago area. Her books for teachers include Sweet Jesus, Is It June Yet? and A Saint Squad for Teachers. She has also written two award-winning novels: Angelhood and Seven Riddles to Nowhere. Her latest book, a 30-day retreat with Mother Cabrini, will be released in 2025. Amy earned a bachelor’s degree in English Education (Marquette University), a master’s degree in Language Arts Instruction (Northeastern Illinois University), and a doctorate in curriculum and instruction (Loyola University Chicago). In 2020, Amy began assisting with retreats at Bellarmine. Since then, she has completed training in leading Ignatian-style retreats and has led retreats for teachers and parish workers across the country.

Philip Cooley, SJ, is a Jesuit in formation serving as a Theology and Spanish teacher at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee. He is a trained spiritual director and has facilitated retreats in Ignatian Spirituality for the past three years. After completing his undergraduate degree in Economics at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH, Phil worked in the Financial Services industry before discerning a call to the Jesuits. Phil enjoys learning languages, making music, football and basketball, and spiritual reading.

Rosanne Coury is a certified spiritual director and supervisor with education in Religious Studies, Theology, Education Administration and Psychology. Her work experience includes serving as a Director of Religious Education, Pastoral Minister, Campus Minister, Theology teacher, professional Coach, public Speaker and professional Writer and Editor. She and her husband have four adult children and three grandchildren. Although she is native Detroiter, she has lived in the Chicago area for most of her adult life.  She is an avid reader and musician who loves nothing better than a good conversation and shared song.

Fr Bill Creed, SJ has multiple academic degrees in theology and spirituality, in law and in counseling. His doctoral project focused on the parallels between the Twelve Steps of Recovery Programs and the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. He is a Jesuit priest from Chicago who is the co-founder of the Jesuit Renewal Center, chaplain and co-founder of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps in Chicago, founder of the Internship in Spiritual Direction in the Ignatian Tradition, and chaplain and co-founder of the Ignatian Spirituality Project for those experiencing homelessness and addiction. He has published a practical commentary on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and many articles on spirituality. He offers spiritual direction accompaniment and teaches Spiritual Direction Formation Programs, an Advanced Internship in the Spiritual Exercises, and online seminars on approaches to the Spiritual Exercises through Bellarmine Retreat House.

Terri Davis is classically trained and a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists.  She began her career singing with Cincinnati Opera and Washington Opera at Kennedy Center. Her career quickly expanded into performing musical theater, jazz, pop, liturgical and spiritual repertoire. She and Fr Michael have been friends and collaborators for over 30 years.

Rachel Forton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations and Religious Studies from Loras College (Dubuque, Iowa). She served as the Retreat and Communications Coordinator for Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House for six years and completed Ignatian Spiritual Direction Training there before stepping into the role of Women's Ministry Coordinator. She has a passion for helping others find God in all things through spiritual direction and retreat ministry, writing, and editing. Rachel serves on the "Prayer and Care" team of her MOPS Chapter (Mothers of Preschoolers) and finds it a great privilege to minister to women of all ages. Her most recent writings may be found at the Cora Evans website, promoting the cause for canonization of the mid-century mystic, wife, and mother (www.coraevans.com/blog/author/102). Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, Rachel now lives with her husband and young daughter and son in Palatine, IL.

Fr. Jim Flaherty, SJ, is a Retreat Director at Jesuit Retreat Center in Oshkosh, WI. He was previously the Director of First Studies and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University in Chicago. Prior to coming to Loyola University, he served as Pastor of Gesu Parish in Milwaukee, WI, after teaching philosophy at Marquette University. He has preached and/or directed retreats for many years at the Jesuit Retreat House, Demontreville Retreat House in St. Paul, MN, and Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL. He has earned an MDiv and MTS in Theology (Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, CA) and a PhD in Philosophy (New School University in New York City).

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Fr. Michael Graham, SJ holds degrees from Cornell College, the University of Michigan and the Weston School of Theology (now, the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). He entered the Jesuits in 1978 and was ordained in 1988. 

Fr. Graham was Xavier University's President from January 1, 2001 to June 30, 2021. Fr. Graham’s passion for the specifically Jesuit mission of Xavier animated his presidency in multiple ways.  He collaborated with a variety of professionals in the area of Jesuit Mission and Identity to shape and support work to share Xavier’s Jesuit ethos and heart with faculty, staff and students in such a way that its approach to that work is generally regarded as best-in-class.  He helped found a campus center for dialogue that became a crucial hub for inter-religious conversation in the Cincinnati region, and whose work engaged a wide variety of constituencies and topics in areas of justice, sustainability, immigration and more. He likewise championed diversity, inclusion and equity efforts on and off the campus and helped recruit transformative leadership to embed that work firmly within the fabric of the University.  

In his retirement, Fr. Graham looks forward to expanded opportunities for pastoral ministry, especially through various retreats at the Midwest Jesuit Province network of retreat houses, and to assisting Jesuit university trustees and senior executives understand better the Jesuit mission and identity of their schools so as to lead them more effectively and in fidelity to their origins. And, of course, he’ll keep his eyes and ears open for whatever ideas for his future his Provincial Superior may suggest. 

Al Gustafson is a spiritual director, retreat leader and creator of the online prayer chapel at Old St. Patrick’s Church. He is founder of the Career Transitions Center of Chicago, a not-for profit-organization serving the needs of those who are unemployed and in the throes of job transition. He serves on the board of the Institute for Catholic Bioethics at St. Joseph University in Philadelphia. He holds a doctorate of Ministry from Catholic Theological Union as well as degrees in accounting and theology.

Lauren Hackman-Brooks is a parent and spouse, a lay minister and educator, a spiritual director and retreat facilitator. She first came to Bellarmine as a campus minister on high school Kairos retreats and served on Bellarmine’s Board of Directors for nine years. Lauren holds a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dayton (Go Flyers!). She works for the Jesuit Schools Network supporting educators in Jesuit secondary and pre-secondary schools across North America. Lauren lives in Spokane, WA and can usually be found with a novel, in the kitchen, or on a mountain. 

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Lisa M. Hendey is the founder of CatholicMom.com and the bestselling and award-winning author of several fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children, including The Grace of Yes, The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion, and I’m a Saint in the Making. Lisa’s children’s project, the “Chime Travelers” fiction series for elementary school readers, is read in schools, children’s groups, and churches worldwide and is being adapted into an animated series. A podcast host, Lisa has produced and hosted multiple programs and has appeared on EWTN, CNN, CatholicTV, and various radio outlets. Her articles have appeared in Catholic Digest, America Magazine, National Catholic Register, and Our Sunday Visitor. Hendey travels internationally, giving workshops and retreats. She was selected as an Elizabeth Egan Journalism Fellow. Lisa has traveled and shared her writing from Rwanda, Tanzania, Colombia, the Philippines, Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Australia, and India to serve several non-profit organizations. Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in modern languages from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in Adult Education from Vanderbilt University. Lisa and her husband, Greg, are active members of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.

Molly Henry leads individuals and teams to learn, love, and live their strengths.  Molly uses her talents (in the CliftonStrengths themes of Learner, Input, Achiever, Connectedness, Activator) to design and facilitate engaging, transformative learning experiences. She has guided hundreds of individuals to discover their God-given talents, build them into strengths, and intentionally use these strengths to fully become the person God created them to be. Molly holds an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Sociology from DePaul University. She is a Gallup-certified Strengths coach and Principal at Molly Henry Strengths Coaching and Consulting.

Ruth Hoenick is a Spiritual Companion who facilitates 12 step retreats throughout the United States. Ruth has been actively involved in both AA and Al-Anon.  She appreciates the work of spirit in the exchange of sacred stories. She is Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh, retreat coordinator and current board member. She completed the Camino Ignaciano in Spain in 2022.  Ruth is a spiritual companion who brings the gifts of respectful listening and honest presence to individuals who desire courageous exploration of their sacred stories.

Fr. Bobby Karle, SJ is a Jesuit from the Midwest Province and co-founder of Ignatian Spirituality & Yoga. He began practicing yoga in 2009, between serving as a Jesuit Volunteer in Belize and entering the Jesuit order in 2010. During Jesuit formation, he completed a 500-hour yoga teacher training, a Masters degree in Philosophy from Fordham University, and a Masters of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, CA. Bobby was ordained a priest in 2021 and works as an associate pastor at St. Mary Student Parish in Ann Arbor, MI. In addition to serving as a priest, he is also in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Michigan.

Dev is a member of the St. Norbert/Our Lady of the Brook Parish, and a Ministry Coordinator there, focusing on OCIA instruction, Scripture Groups, and Bereavement.    A professional actor by trade, he has appeared in many area theatres—Marriott Lincolnshire, Goodman Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Drury Lane Oakbrook, to name a few, along with appearing in many regional and national television commercials for companies such as Coca-Cola, Crestor, and Coors Light.  He has been seen in training videos for State Farm, Walgreens, and Web MD, among others.    

Paula Kowalkowski has  worked as a music educator on the high school and college level for over 30 years.  She currently is the Music Director at St. Thomas Becket Church in Mount Prospect. Ms. Kowalkowski has a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Spirituality and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Loyola University Chicago/Institute of Pastoral Studies. Paula received a Certificate in Spiritual Direction with an emphasis on Ignatian Spirituality from the Midwest Jesuit Province. She has led retreats and speaks at parishes.  A widow and mother, Paula  is humbled and honored to be a part of the Bellarmine team and is looking forward to walking with you.

Sharon is a long-term transplant from North Carolina, calling Chicagoland home for 32 years. She is a Spiritual Director and retreat leader, formed in the Ignatian tradition at Loyola University. She is an experienced nonprofit leader and companions people who wish to deepen their relationship with God. One of her passions is accompanying people recovering from homelessness and addiction to encounter God’s love, hope, and healing at the Ignatian Spirituality Project, a Bellarmine Ignatian partner. Sharon and her husband have three adult children.

Fr. Jim Kubicki was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He entered the Jesuits in 1971, was ordained in 1983, and has served his community as vocation director and assistant to the provincial for formation and Native American ministry. From 1989 to 1995 he worked at the Sioux Spiritual Center, a retreat house for Native people and the center for the Rapid City Diocese’s Deacon and Lay Ministry Formation program. From 2000-03 he was the Assistant Director of Demontreville, a Jesuit retreat house in Minnesota. He also served as Director of St. Francis Mission on the Rosebud Reservation in western South Dakota from 2017-2022.

In 2003 he became the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, and traveled around the country giving talks, parish missions, and retreats.  He is a regular contributor to the national Catholic media network, Relevant Radio, and appears regularly as well on Catholic radio stations in Nebraska, Oregon and Ohio.  His book “A Heart on Fire: Rediscovering Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” was published by Ave Maria Press in 2012 and was awarded third place in the category of “Best Prayer and Spirituality Book of the Year” by the Association of Catholic Book Publishers. His second book, “A Year of Daily Offerings,” was published in October, 2016. 

Currently, Fr. Kubicki gives retreats around the country while serving as a spiritual director at the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Seminary. 

Listen to a talk by Fr. Kubicki.

Erin Maiorca has been the Executive Director at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House since 2019. She first attended a retreat at Bellarmine as a high school senior making a Kairos retreat. She fell in love with Jesus on that retreat. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois, and a Culinary Arts Degree from the Washburne Culinary and Hospitality Institute. She spent 20 years active in her parish and working in corporate America. She held positions in hospitality management, training, and communications nationally and globally for a fortune 500 company. She had a calling however, to serve the people of God in a different way. In 2012 she began a new chapter at Bellarmine serving as the Associate Director. A long-time student of the Ignatian traditions, she entered the Spiritual Direction internship program in 2016. Erin’s hobbies are cooking, reading, day-hiking, and kayaking. She and her husband Tom reside in Glenview, Il and have two adult sons.

Father Chris Manahan entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1993 at the age of 37 after a 15-year career as a newspaper reporter and editor in Minnesota and Iowa. After ordination in 2003 he served two years as a parish priest on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota; spent a year working with Jesuits in the Philippines and northeast India; served eight years on the staff of the Jesuit Novitiate where men discern whether to profess vows; and, for seven years was director of the Jesuit Retreat House on Lake Winnebago at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Father Manahan currently assists the provincial in caring for Jesuits in the Midwest Province awaiting final vows and for the province’s senior Jesuits who are 70 and older. He lives in the Taylor Street Jesuit Community in Chicago.  

After years as a practicing physician, medical educator, and administrator, Fr. Muccino, now serves as Associate Director of Pre-Health Professions Advising at the College of the Holy Cross. He is also teaches Critical Thinking and Diagnostic Reasoning  to preMed students at Holy Crosss. In addition, Fr. Muccino is Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMASS Chan Medical School where he facilitates team-based small group learning throughout all four years of the Medical School curriculum.

Throughout his Jesuit life he has allotted time to pursue his passion for giving preached conference retreats, workshops, and days of recollection to all seeking to grow in their relationship with God.

Carol Ann Munro is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.   In her 43 years of ministry, Carol Ann has served as a parish pastor, hospital chaplain, development officer, retreat leader and spiritual director. She is active in 12 step recovery in both AA and AlAnon, is a member of the Women’s Ministry Team at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, and a volunteer with the Ignatian Spirituality Project, which provides spiritual companioning for people recovering from homelessness and addiction.

Elizabeth has spent a lifetime steeped in the human experience of grief and loss. She grew up living above her parent’s funeral home and working alongside them as they helped families cope with the sorrow of losing a loved one. She learned early in life that grief is a universal human experience that requires empathy, community, and spiritual healing. She has completed the Companioning Others Through Grief and Loss Training at Siena Retreat Center. 

Elizabeth serves as a spiritual director for people of all faiths and for those who describe themselves as spiritual. She teaches Centering Prayer, meditation practices and how to develop a daily spiritual routine in our busy lives. In addition, Elizabeth leads retreats for  recovering alcoholics and addicts and their families in which grief and forgiveness are often topics. She is a member of Congregation Shalom, a Reform Jewish synagogue in Milwaukee. She has degrees in business and art and is a graduate of the Spiritual Guidance Training Program at Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin. Elizabeth has additional training in mindfulness and self-compassion.

Mark Kwaku Nimo comes from Ghana in West Africa. He is married to Mercy and has three daughters. Mark earned a Masters in Pastoral Studies from Catholic Theological Union in May, 2006 and an Ecumenical Doctor of Ministry in May 2012. He currently serves as Director of Faith Formation at St. Moses the Black Parish and Augustus Tolton Catholic Academy in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Through his involvement in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Mark has ministered in over forty-five countries worldwide on all continents.

For a period of ten years, Mark served as the representative for all Anglophone African countries on the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) office in the Vatican. Mark spent 6 months on the Island of Malta, for his discipleship training school (DTS) with the International Catholic Programme of Evangelization (ICPE) in 1990. After his training, he spent two years as a lay missionary in Uganda, East Africa working in discipleship training schools at the Emmaus Center (Luwero) and doing ministry to people with HIV/AIDS.

Fr. Roc O’Connor, SJ has served as a member of the Bellarmine Ministry Team since October, 2021. He also leads the children’s choir at St. Mary’s, Buffalo Grove for Wednesday morning Masses. Currently, Roc is also working on a book for adults regarding deepening our participation at liturgy. In 2020 OCP published his collection of eight new songs, All Shall Be Well: The Hand of God. 

Listen to a talk by Fr. Roc

Father Pacwa received his B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Detroit, summa cum laude. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1976 with the Society of Jesus, as a Master of Divinity and S.T.B. from the Jesuit School of Theology of Loyola University, magna cum laude. At Vanderbilt University, he received his Master of Arts as well as his Ph.D. in Old Testament. He is best known for his appearances on EWTN for over the last thirty years. Fr. Pacwa is a best-selling Catholic author and has written numerous books on a variety of topics about the Scripture and our Catholic Faith to continue to teach us and generations to come.

Listen to a talk by Fr. Pacwa.

Benjamin Rogers, SJ, is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and is currently a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

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Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ is a retreat leader, poet, story teller and spiritual director at the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL. He holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and a Doctor of Ministry from St Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL. He is the founder of Charis, a national Jesuit retreat ministry for young adults in their 20s and 30s. For 10 years he trained spiritual directors at Loyola University-Chicago. 

A prolific writer and speaker, Fr. Michael has published books, poems, CDs, and DVDs on prayer, discernment, and the sacraments with America Media, Franciscan Media, Paulist Press, Liturgical Training Publications and Audible. His latest co-authored book, published by Loyola Press, is What’s Your Decision? An Ignatian Approach to Decision Making. 

Fr Michael is also the President of Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry. His weekly video homilies can be seen online at www.HtoH.US. He has just completed writing and directing a 12-part video series entitled: Discern & Decide: Navigating Life’s Choice, An Ignatian Video Guide.

Listen to a talk by Fr. Michael.

The ministry team and other trained Spiritual Directors lead the spiritual direction of retreats and programs at Bellarmine.  

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Fr. Tom Weston, SJ, entered the California Province of the Jesuit Order in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1978.  Currently based in Oakland, CA, he has devoted most of his priestly life to counseling and retreat work with alcoholics and other addicts.  In addition to his Twelve Step work, he was part of a team that taught English to ministry students in Thailand and Vietnam each summer.  “Wherever he is, Fr. Weston sees the power of God working in people’s lives, but perhaps most acutely in his recovery work:  ‘People get well.  People come back to life.  Families come back together,” he says.  ‘It’s the Resurrection—and you see it all the time.’ ” (Tyson, Gail.  “Helping Others Find Sobriety.”  Mission 2008 Summer:  pg. 7.  Print.)

Vinita Hampton Wright recently retired from a 32-year career as a book editor, the last 22 years at Loyola Press (Chicago), a Jesuit ministry. She is the author of various books, fiction and nonfiction, and has been leading workshops and retreats for 20 years on writing, creativity, the intersection of creativity and spirituality, prayer, and Ignatian spirituality. She received her certificate in spiritual direction from Loyola University, Chicago, and has a growing practice now during her retirement. Her books on creativity and spirituality writing--The Soul Tells a Story (IVP) and The Art of Spiritual Writing (Loyola Press)--continue to help writers in their vocation.