Category Archives: Luncheon Speaker

June 5, 2026 – Dr. Kathryn LaFontana – “Catholic Women’s Colleges Negotiating an Identity for the Future

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The First Friday Club of Cleveland
Featuring

Kathryn LaFontana, PhD
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

Dr. Kathryn LaFontana is a seasoned academic leader in her 30th year in Catholic higher education, with expertise in mission-focused strategic planning, new program development, data-informed decision-making, and innovative instructional technology solutions. She came to Ursuline in 2017 from The College of New Rochelle, where she served in academic leadership roles over her six-year tenure.  Widely published in academic journals, the former Sacred Heart University psychology professor has more than two dozen peer-reviewed presentations and publications and is the 2024 recipient of the Collegium Visionary Award. She has a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Presenting
Catholic Women’s Colleges
Negotiating an Identity for the Future   

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WHEN
Thursday, March 6, 2026
Networking & Fellowship 11:00 a.m.
Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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November 6, 2025 – Fr. Joseph Brankatelli on the Military Chaplaincy

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The Military Chaplaincy  and the Soldiers Served

with Highlights of Military Chaplains Heros currently being considered for canonization
– Fr. Emil Kapaun and Fr. Vincent Capodanno

Featuring

Fr. Joseph Brankatelli, Administrator
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

Fr. Brankatelli was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland in 2008.  During his first assignment at Holy Family Parish in Parma, he encountered an Ohio National Guard soldier who had spent time in Iraq – this prompted a discernment of a call to become a military chaplain.  In 2011, with Bishop Lennon’s support, Fr. Brankatelli applied and was accepted into the Military Chaplaincy.   He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 where he was stationed at Bagram Airfield. From here he traveled to various remote bases to celebrate mass, the sacraments and minister to the soldiers serving in Afghanistan.  Following his tour in Afghanistan, Fr. Brankatelli was sent to Arlington National Cemetery for the next two years.  He was then sent to Fort Carson, Colorado where he served with Infantry soldiers who were sent to Eastern Europe to support NATO allies.  His final assignment was Fort Riley, Kansas, after which Fr. Brankatelli returned to Cleveland and resumed his work as a parish priest.  Fr. Brankatelli is currently the Administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in South Euclid. 

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WHEN
Thursday, November 6, 2025

Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.;  We invite you to arrive any time after 11:00 a.m. for mingling & fellowship!
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)

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October 2, 2025, The Order of Malta, American Association, with Nicolle C. McGowan, MD, DM

Join us on Thursday, October 2, to:

Learn about one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilization! 

Present in Palestine in around 1050, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem is a lay religious Order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. Its 13,500 members include Professed Friars and others who have made the promise of obedience. The other Knights and Dames are lay members, devoted to the exercise of Christian virtue and charity. What distinguishes the Knights and Dames of Malta is their commitment to reaching their spiritual perfection within the Church and to expending their energies serving the poor and the sick.

The Order of Malta remains true to its inspiring principles, summarized in the motto “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum”, nurturing, witnessing and protecting the Faith and assistance to the poor and the suffering, which become reality through the voluntary work carried out by Dames and Knights in humanitarian assistance and medical and social activities. Today the Order carries out these activities in over 120 countries.

Hear from Dr. Niki McGowan about the Order of Malta, American Association, and its newest affiliate, the Cleveland Area! Dr. McGowan is the Area Chair, Cleveland Area for the American Association, Order of Malta.

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WHEN
Thursday, October 2, 2025

Doors open for Fellowship & Networking at 11:00; Luncheon Buffet begins at 11:30; Presentation begins at 11:55 and will wrap up by 1:00

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary, Founders Room
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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September 4, 2025 – Classical Catholic Education with Mike Wisnor

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Featuring

Mr. Mike Wisnor, President
Incarnate Word Academy

Moderating a Panel on Classical Catholic Education

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WHEN
Thursday, September 4, 2025

Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.;  We invite you to arrive any time after 11:00 a.m. for mingling & fellowship!
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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July 31, 2025 – Fr. Joseph Koopman, Professor of Moral Theology at St. Mary Seminary

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Reverend Joseph Koopman
Professor of Moral Theology, St. Mary Seminary
presenting
The Moral Law:  A Burden or a Key to Our Happiness

Rev. Joe Koopman, M.Div, M.A., S.T.D., graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1996, after which he entered St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland in 2001, and served as a newly ordained priest at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Parma. From 2005 to 2009, Fr. Koopman attended the Accademia Alfonsiana in Rome, Italy, where he received a license and doctorate in theology. Since 2009, he has been a professor of moral theology at St. Mary Seminary, along with serving as an advisor in moral theology and ethics for the Diocese of Cleveland and the Ohio Catholic Conference of Bishops. (https://tobinstitute.org/about-the-institute/meet-the-faculty/) 

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WHEN
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.;  We invite you to arrive any time after 11:00 a.m. for networking & fellowship!
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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July 10, 2025 – Dr. Thomas Fielding, St. John the Evangelist Cathedral

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Singing with Understanding:

A Guide to the Church’s Instruction on Sacred Music
featuring

Dr. Thomas Fielding

Music Director, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist

Organist and composer Thomas Fielding, DMus. (b. 1975) is director of music for the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Cleveland OH and is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs’ School of Music where his principal teacher was Christopher Young. Previous studies were with Martin Jean and Robert A. Hobby. Fielding has taken first prize in the national Arthur Poister (Syracuse, NY) and San Marino (CA) performance competitions, has won several national composition prizes, has been the recipient of several full-tuition scholarship awards at IU and, as an undergraduate, won several music prizes offered by his alma mater Valparaiso University. He has played recitals throughout England and the Netherlands including two appearances at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. His scholarly work has been featured in The American Organist magazine. He has been commissioned by the Minneapolis AGO chapter to present a lecture-recital on the Esquisses Byzantines of Henry Mulet and he, along with Donna Walters, is co-authoring the book-biography of the composer. He was for four years the Dean of the Central North Carolina Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

As an active and commissioned composer, Dr. Fielding’s works appear in the catalogues of many publishers. His works have been performed by soloists, choirs and orchestras throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia in addition to the 2016 American Guild of Organists national convention in Houston, TX. His compositions have also been broadcast on National Public Radio on both Weekend Edition and Pipedreams. His works appear in the catalogs of Choristers’ Guild, E. C. Schirmer, GIA and Selah. Additionally, Paraclete Press has released three works of his so far, with several more in their publication queue. The first commercial recording of his prize-winning piece “Behold the Dark and Bitter Night” has been released on the Gothic label.

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WHEN
Thursday, July 10, 2025
(This presentation will take place on the second Thursday due to the July 4th Holiday.)

Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.;  we invite you to arrive any time after 11:00 a.m. for mingling & fellowship!
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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June 5, 2025, John Czarnetzky, Dean & CEO Ave Maria School of Law

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The First Friday Club of Cleveland invites you to our June luncheon featuring

John Czarnetzky
Dean & CEO, Ave Maria School of Law

Presenting

American Legal Education – The Catholic Solution

Dean Czarnetzky is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., 1982, Chemistry) and the University of Virginia (J.D., 1989).

Before law school, Dean Czarnetzky was an officer in the United States Army, where he served as an intelligence analyst, specializing in foreign chemical, biological and nuclear capabilities. After law school, he practiced bankruptcy and commercial law with Sidley & Austin in Chicago, and McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe in Richmond, Virginia.

Dean Czarnetzky joined the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1994, teaching courses in bankruptcy, corporate reorganizations, secured transactions, civil procedure, and  business associations. At “Ole Miss”, he was the five time winner of the “Outstanding Law School Professor”, and in 2016, he was the recipient of the Elsie M. Hood Award for the “outstanding professor at the University of Mississippi,” the highest honor awarded to faculty members at the University of Mississippi.

Dean Czarnetzky also serves as a legal adviser to the Holy See’s Mission to the United Nations, representing the Holy See in negotiations, including establishing the International Criminal Court and several international treaties, including one on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Dean Czarnetzky is a lay member of the Dominican Order and a third-degree Knight of Columbus.

Join us in June!

(This event was re-scheduled from the December 2024 weather cancellation.)

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WHEN
Thursday, June 5, 2025

Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.; we invite you to arrive any time after 11:00 a.m. for mingling & fellowship!
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

Register Here

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The Council of Nicaea’s 1,700th Anniversary: An Occasion to Get to Know Eastern Christianity

Featuring

Fr. Andrij Hlabse, SJ

Fr. Andrij Hlabse, SJ

Fr. Andrij M. Hlabse, S.J., is a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic priest and a Jesuit.  He was born and raised in the Cleveland area, where there is a large Ukrainian community; his family practiced the Catholic faith in both the Byzantine and Latin Rites, “breathing with both lungs” as Pope Saint John Paul II encouraged.  A graduate of St. Ignatius High School, Fr. Andrij earned his bachelor’s degree in music performance and romance languages and literatures at the University of Notre Dame.  As an accomplished jazz saxophonist, he had the opportunity to play with nationally known performers. After entering the Society of Jesus in 2007, Fr. Andrij earned graduate degrees in philosophy from Fordham University, and in theology from the Gregorian University and the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. While living in the Eternal City for 6 years, Fr. Andrij served as director of the choir at the Church of the Gesù.  Fluent in multiple languages, he once served as a simultaneous translator for Pope Francis. Fr. Andrij has also studied in Ukraine, France, Poland, and Austria. His area of expertise is the early Church. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Ukrainian Byzantine Rite in 2018, and since 2021 has been engaged in Ph.D. studies in theology at the University of Notre Dame. Father is also active in ND’s growing relationship with the Ukrainian Catholic University and assists at a Ukrainian Catholic parish near South Bend. Fr. Andrij has facilitated opportunities for the ND community to worship in and learn more about the Byzantine Catholic rite. His parents Christina Hlabse and Dick Russ, the former TV news anchor and co-founder of Cleveland’s Catholic radio station, reside in Brecksville. He has two married younger brothers and 4 nephews and nieces.

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WHEN
Thursday, May 1, 2025

Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.
We invite you to arrive any time after
11:00 a.m. for mingling & fellowship!
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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April 3, 2025 – Sister Susan Durkin, OSU, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Women Religious Archives Collaborative

This luncheon is sold out. You may click here to add your name to a wait list.

Featuring

Sister Susan Durkin, OSU
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Women Religious Archives Collaborative

So The Stories Can Be Told:
The Women Religious Collaborative Archives

Storytelling is a powerful teaching tool. Jesus used stories and parables to teach his disciples. Our faith tradition, families, and communities share stories that convey valuable lessons and inspire younger generations. But what if these stories were lost or destroyed and no longer existed? That’s the situation many congregations of Catholic Sisters are facing right now, and the need is urgent.

Catholic Sisters are vital to the Church’s story and our country’s history since they first arrived in the United States in 1727. These intrepid women established schools, hospitals, and social service ministries, many of which continue today. They are the educators, nurses, doctors, CEOs, lawyers, advocates, and inventors who helped build the infrastructure of our communities. These unsung heroes are the workforce of the Church. But unfortunately, their history and records are in danger of being lost.

Catholic Sisters need our help to preserve their stories and ensure their legacy.

The Women Religious Archives Collaborative is constructing a Heritage Center in Cleveland, one of only four such centers in the United States, to preserve these histories and legacies and make them available to researchers and the general public.

Come and hear some of the inspiring stories we hope to preserve with the establishment of this center. Learn about the vision of this project that will soon be part of our Diocese and our city. 

For more information, visit archivescollaborative.org
or: https://archivescollaborative.org/heritage-center/

WHEN
Thursday, April 3, 2025
11:00 a.m. Mingling & Fellowship
11:30 a.m. Buffet Opens
1:00 p.m. Program Concludes

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

This luncheon is sold out. You may click here to add your name to a wait list.

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March 6, 2025 – Peter Burak, Renewal Ministries

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The First Friday Club of Cleveland
Featuring

Peter Burak
Vice President, Renewal Ministries


Peter Burak is the vice president of Renewal Ministries, a ministry dedicated to Catholic renewal and evangelization around the world.  He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and has a master’s degree in theology from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan.  Pete is a frequent speaker on discipleship and evangelization and co-director of Pine Hills Boys’ Camp.  He is a monthly columnist for Faith Magazine and the host of two podcasts:  Spirit-filled Leadership and The Hour.  Pete and his wife, Cait, have five children.

Presenting
“What Must I Do To Be Saved?”    

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WHEN
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Buffet Opens at 11:30 a.m.
Program Concludes at 1:00 p.m.

WHERE
Borromeo/Saint Mary Seminary
28700 Euclid Avenue (map)
Wickliffe, Ohio 44092

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