The One Thing Necessary: Unveiling Your Path to Sainthood

Matthew Leonard is an international speaker, author, podcaster, and founder of the Science of Sainthood, a powerful online teaching program focused on Catholic spiritual formation for individuals and groups. An accomplished filmmaker, he has written, produced, directed, and hosted multiple best-selling series which have been translated into multiple languages and broadcast around the world. Matthew is a former missionary and convert to Catholicism and appears regularly on radio and television programs across the country like EWTN, Relevant Radio, and SiriusXM, as well as his own popular podcast titled “The Art of Catholic." Matthew has written two books - Prayer Works: Getting a Grip on Catholic Spirituality and Louder Than Words: The Art of Living as a Catholic. He holds a Masters in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and lives in Ohio with his wife Veronica and their six children. See all he’s doing at ScienceOfSainthood.com.

Michael Patrick Barber is Professor of Sacred Scripture and Theology. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and publications, including, The Historical Jesus and the Temple: Memory, Methodology, and the Gospel of Matthew  (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming; with a Foreword from Dale C. Allison, Jr.) and Paul, A New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology (Eerdmans, 2019), co-written with Brant Pitre and John Kincaid (with a Foreword from Michael J. Gorman). He is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Catholic Biblical Association. In addition to his teaching and academic research, Dr. Barber has written public-facing works, most recently, The True Meaning of Christmas: The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season (Augustine Institute Press, 2021; Foreword by John Cavadini). For more about his work, see his page on Academia.edu. He also writes for the website, TheSacredPage.com, and can be found on Twitter (@MichaelPBarber).

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Date of Birth: October 17, 1962

EDUCATION

Patterson High School, 1980, University of Dallas, Texas, 1980-1984; BA in Psychology, Diocese of Lafayette pastoral year, 1984-85; St. Anthony Church, Eunice, La., Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, 1985-86, Gregorian University, Rome, 1986-88; S.T.B., Mission work in Kenya, Africa (Summer of 1988), University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome, 1988-89; M.A. in Sacred Theology

PASTORAL ASSIGNMENTS:

Ordained to the Priesthood on May 28, 1989, Parochial Vicar, St. Joseph Church, Rayne, La., La.; 1989-1993, Pastor, Our Lady of Mercy, Opelousas, La.; 1993-1996, Pastor, Church of Assumption, Franklin, La.; 1996-2000, Chancellor, St. John Elementary & Hanson Memorial High; 1996-2007, Pastor, Our Lady of Fatima, Lafayette, La.; 2007 - present, Chancellor, Saint Thomas More present, Pastor, Saint Anne, Youngsville, La; 2020-present

TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS:

Christology - permanent diaconate formation program, Christology - Holy Cross Extension Program and Aquinas Institute, Several diocesan workshops on catechetical days: New Testament, Christology, and Church History.

Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC graduated from Leonville High School and attended Louisiana State University where he received a BS in mechanical engineering. He worked for Louisiana Power and Light until 1988 when he joined the Community of Jesus Crucified. In 1993 he received a STB in Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and was ordained a priest in 1994. In 1995 he received an STL in theology from the Angelicum University, where he wrote on the Sacramental Characteristics of Religious Consecration. In 2006 he earned a doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas in Rome, writing on The Relation between St. Thérèse de Lisieux and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. His publications include topics on consecrated life, the Holy Spirit, Mother Teresa and St. Thérèse de Lisieux.

In 2006 he began the Aquinas Institute in Lafayette and continues to serve as director and faculty members. Fr. Champagne joined the NDS faculty in 2008 as an adjunct professor of theology and spiritual director. In 2015 he began Fȇte-Dieu du Teche, LLC, an organization to promote new evangelization initiatives in the Acadiana region including the annual Assumption Boat Procession, the public Bible Marathon, and the operation of the Spiritual Care Unit (mobile confessional). Father is also the director of St. Teresa Center for the Works of Mercy which operates a soup kitchen and food pantry for the poor, Guadalupe Sober Living House for men, and Oratory Don Bosco, a youth center for at-risk youth. Father Champagne presently serves as the religious superior of his community.

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