ManUp 2024 Speakers
Bishop Joseph A. Williams
The Most Reverend Joseph Andrew Williams is the ninth bishop of Camden, New Jersey. He was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Camden on May 21, 2024, by Pope Francis, and assumed the role of ordinary of the diocese on March 17, 2025.
Bishop Williams was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 2002. His episcopal ordination took place January 25, 2022, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. As auxiliary bishop, he served as moderator and priest-in-solidum of the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Saint Paul. Prior to that, he served as pastor of Saint Stephen in Minneapolis (2008-2022); parochial administrator of Holy Rosary in Minneapolis (2020-2022); ministered as a parochial vicar at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul (2002-2004) and at Divine Mercy in Faribault (2004-2005). He was pastor of Saint Mathias in Hampton and Saint Mary in New Trier (2005-2008). He has also served as coordinator of the Archdiocesan Outreach to Persons with Disabilities (2003-2005).
He was appointed the Archdiocesan Vicar for Latino Ministry in 2018. He is a member of the board of trustees for The Saint Paul Seminary and Saint John Vianney College Seminary. He has served as chaplain of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Born May 2, 1974, to Dr. Gary and Mary MacDonald Williams, Bishop Williams is the third of nine children. He grew up in Stillwater, where he attended Saint Croix Catholic School and Stillwater High School. His brother, Father Peter Williams, ordained in 2004, is a priest of the Archdiocese, and is Pastor of Saint Ambrose in Woodbury, Minnesota.
Bishop Williams holds a B.A. in biology from the University of Minnesota, Morris, graduating summa cum laude in 1996. He studied philosophy and pre-theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, from 1996-1998 and attended The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul from 1998-2002, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a priest at age 28.
Bishop Williams is known for his longtime ministry to Latino and Spanish-speaking Catholics in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, beginning in Faribault, where he and other parish leaders worked to bring healing to a Latino community that had been wounded by drug raids. Members of both of his most recent parishes are predominantly Latino, and he has worked to change negative cultural perceptions of undocumented immigrants. He has led neighborhood-based evangelization efforts, which include knocking on doors and inviting people to Mass and faith formation…
Bishop Emeritus Dennis J. Sullivan
Most Reverend Dennis J. Sullivan is the eighth bishop of Camden, New Jersey. He was installed on February 12, 2013.
A Bronx native, Bishop Sullivan was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of New York in 1971. Before coming to Camden, he was ordained as an auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese in 2004 and served eight years as vicar general under the late Edward Cardinal Egan and Timothy Cardinal Dolan. Before becoming a bishop, he served in parish ministry as pastor of Ss. John and Paul Church, Larchmont, 2002-04, and St. Teresa in Manhattan, 1982-2002.
Bishop Sullivan also served as parochial vicar at the Parish of St. Elizabeth, Manhattan; Ascension, Manhattan, and Ss. Philip and James, the Bronx, from 1971 to 1981. In 1999 he was named a Prelate of Honor to His Holiness.
Bishop Sullivan has long served in pastoral ministry to immigrants. In 1969 he attended the Summer Spanish Language Institute at the Catholic University in Ponce, Puerto Rico. After ordination in 1971, he was assigned to the Dominican Republic to continue Spanish language studies and culture in preparation for assisting the growing number of Dominicans in New York. Bishop Sullivan attended the Dominican Institute for Pastoral Adaptation in Moca, Dominican Republic, and had mission experience in Tenares, Dominican Republic. While pastor at St. Teresa’s in Manhattan, Bishop Sullivan ministered to Chinese immigrants.
Chris Stefanick
Chris Stefanick is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and television host who has devoted his life to sharing the love of Jesus and helping others do the same.
His live seminars, TV, radio, and video ministry have reached millions, and his educational initiatives are turning the tide in the Church. He authored a confirmation prep program that’s been used by over a million people, the popular SEARCH program and most recently released another bestseller, Living Joy.
Chris is a recipient of the Papal Benemerenti Medal which was previously given by the pope for Military valor but today is given for achievement in ministry. A graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Chris is also the founder and president of Real Life Catholic, a non-profit organization that makes his initiatives for renewal a reality.
Above all, he’s proud to be husband to Natalie and father to their six children, and a grandfather of four!
Deacon Steve Javie
Steve Javie was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. He attended LaSalle High School and graduated in 1972 and went on to attend Temple University in Philadelphia playing baseball for 4 years and graduated with a business degree in 1976.
After a brief stint in the minor leagues, Steve’s focus turned to officiating, and was hired to referee in the CBA, the minor league for the NBA. After spending 5 years in the minor leagues Steve was hired by the NBA in 1986 where he officiated for 25 years.
During his career, Steve officiated over 1,400 regular season games, 240 playoff games, 23 Finals games and 2 All Star games. After his career in the NBA, Steve, wanting to serve the Catholic Church, felt a calling to become a Deacon. In 2019 Steve was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by Archbishop, Charles Chaput.
Along with his wife, Steve started the Javie Foundation for Charity to raise money for the homeless, disabled, abused and neglected children. He hosts an annual fundraising golf tournament to support a variety of causes in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
He and his wife Maryellen currently reside in Newtown, and he is assigned to St. Andrew Parish in Newtown PA.
Eddie Morris
Ed is a lifelong member of the Catholic community in the Philadelphia area. He is one of 9 children raised in Delaware County. Ed received his BS from the University of Delaware and his MS from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the father of 6 children, has 6 grandchildren and has been married for 35 wonderful years and is part of the St Norbert Parish.
He established his own successful commercial real estate company 43 years ago and the Edward A. Morris Family Foundation in 2017. Ed has been a leader in many Catholic faith-centered organizations and conducts Large Friendship Celebrations that attract over 500 people to hear outstanding presentations on building one’s relationship with God and one another within his community.
Several years ago, in response to the unsatisfied need for people needing a place to go when they were in pain or simply wanting to help out a friend that needed spiritual support, he created Team Hope, which has over 6,000 active members that pray for whoever needs prayers on a daily basis. Part of this mission includes sending out a daily prayer request to over 1,200 people.
This Hall of Fame member of Archbishop Carroll High School, Saint Norbert’s Parish, and The Children of the Father Foundation, loves to share his message of hope and healing with his fellow Christians and can often be heard on In His Sign Catholic Radio. Ed is looking forward to bringing his message to retreatants at ManUp 2025 in order to help them reach their spiritual potential and bring them closer to Our Lord.
Tom Kendzia
Tom Kendzia is a liturgical musician with more than 40 years of experience. For the past four decades, he has been regularly featured at national conferences, diocesan workshops and parish events throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. He has performed regularly in Ireland since 2002 and has been the guest conductor of the annual Irish Church Music Association Summer School, as well as an instructor there for many years.
Currently the national liturgy and music consultant for William H. Sadlier, Inc., Tom was a contributor for Sadlier’s latest catechetical programs, including “Christ In Us” and “Believe, Celebrate, Live.”
Tom’s first collection, Light of the World, celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2020. He has over 30 recordings of liturgical and instrumental music, including Like a River, Endless Is Your Love, Lead Us to the Water, Clothed in Love, The Ships That Sailed, Make Us One, Get On Board with ValLimar Jansen, and Christ Within Me.
In 2022 Tom released By Our Love with the Mass of the Goodness of the Lord, a new collection and Mass setting featuring the popular songs “As Christ to the World” and the 2020 ACP Song of the Year, “By Our Love.”
His published liturgical songs and hymns include: “I, the Lord,” “Pieta,” “The Eyes and Hands of Christ,” “Stand By Me,” “Now Is The Time,” “Create In Me,” “Lead Us To The Water,” “Out of Darkness,” “Endless Is Your Love,” “Taste and See,” “Like A River,” “Faithful Cross,” “May the Road Rise Up,” “Christ Within Me,” “By Our Love,” “As Christ To The World,” “There Is a Season,” as well as more than 100 other pieces. His song, “By Our Love,” was chosen as Liturgical Song of the Year in 2020 by the Association of Catholic Publishers.
Tom has been a director of liturgical music in parishes throughout the US since 1977. He has been the director at Christ the King Church in Kingston, Rhode Island, since 1986.