New York Catholic Bible Summit

His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan was named Archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict XVI on February 23, 2009. He was installed as Archbishop of New York on April 15, 2009.

He had served as Archbishop of Milwaukee since he was named by Pope John Paul II on June 25, 2002. He was installed as Milwaukee’s 10th archbishop on August 28, 2002, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Papal Nuncio to the United States, installed Archbishop Dolan.

​Born February 6, 1950, Cardinal Dolan was the first of five children born to Shirley Radcliffe Dolan and the late Robert Dolan. In 1964, he began his high school seminary education at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary South in Shrewsbury, Mo. His seminary foundation continued at Cardinal Glennon College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy. He then completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome where he earned a License in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas.

Cardinal Dolan was ordained to the priesthood on June 19, 1976. He then served as associate pastor at Immacolata Parish in Richmond Heights, Mo., until 1979 when he began studies for a doctorate in American Church History at the Catholic University of America. Before completing the doctorate, he spent a year researching the late Archbishop Edwin O’Hara, a founder of the Catholic Biblical Association. Archbishop O’Hara’s life and ministry was the subject of the Archbishop’s doctoral dissertation.

On his return to St. Louis, Cardinal Dolan served in parish ministry from 1983-87, during which time he was also liaison for the late Archbishop John L. May in the restructuring of the college and theology programs of the archdiocesan seminary system.

​In 1987, Cardinal Dolan was appointed to a five-year term as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. When he returned to St. Louis in 1992, he was appointed vice rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, serving also as director of Spiritual Formation and professor of Church History. He was also an adjunct professor of theology at Saint Louis University.

​In 1994, he was appointed rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome where he served until June 2001. While in Rome, he also served as a visiting professor of Church History at the Pontifical Gregorian University and as a faculty member in the Department of Ecumenical Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. The work of the Cardinal in the area of seminary education has influenced the life and ministry of a great number of priests of the new millennium.

​On June 19, 2001 – the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood – then Fr. Dolan was named the Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II. The new Bishop Dolan chose for his Episcopal motto the profession of faith of St. Peter: Ad Quem Ibimus, “Lord To Whom Shall We Go?” (Jn 6:68).

Cardinal Dolan served as chairman of Catholic Relief Services, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America. He is also a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization.

Cardinal Dolan completed a three year term as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, in November, 2013.  He completed a term as chair of the Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life activities.

On January 6, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI announced that Timothy Dolan was to be appointed to the College of Cardinals.

​Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Dolan participated in the Conclave that elected Pope Francis in March, 2013.

Information coming soon

Bishop Joseph Espaillat (also known as “Bishop Joe”) is a native New Yorker, the son of Jose and Mercedes Baez, who migrated to New York from the Dominican Republic. Bishop Espaillat attended Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Queens, and earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Fordham University in 1998. He then continued his studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie), where he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 2003 and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York on May 17, 2003.

After ordination, Fr. Espaillat served as parochial vicar in Washington Heights and Yonkers at St. Peter’s Parish, where in 2009 he was named pastor. In 2012, he was appointed Director of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese; then in 2015, he was named pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in the Bronx—a position he currently holds.

On January 25, 2022, Pope Francis named and appointed Joseph A. Espaillat as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of New York. On March 1, 2022, Cardinal Timothy Dolan consecrated Joseph Espaillat as a bishop. At the age of 45, Bishop Espaillat became the youngest Catholic bishop in the United States and one of the youngest in the universal Church.

Whether through the celebration of Mass or Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, through mainstream Youth Ministry gatherings, through rap or “spoken word,” or other unconventional methods, gatherings, and occasions, many people know that Bishop Joe knows how to reach people, especially young people; to make the Good News of the Gospel come alive and become real in their circumstance.

Father Kareem R. Smith was born on August 17, 1989 (33). He is the son of Yvonne and Rickford Smith, immigrants from The Co-operative Republic of Guyana. On April 8, 1990, Father Smith was baptized at Holy Rosary Church in the Bronx, NY, his spiritual home. His education began at Saint Anthony School, a Catholic Parochial School in the Archdiocese of New York. After graduating from St. Anthony’s, he continued his education at Blessed Sacrament -Saint Gabriel High School in New Rochelle, NY. Desiring to follow the Lord more closely, Father Smith applied and was accepted to the minor seminary of the Archdiocese of New York. While attending minor seminary, Father Smith earned an undergraduate degree from St. John’s University where he double majored in Philosophy and Theology, minoring in Classics with a focus in Latin. He then completed his priestly formation at Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Fr. Smith continued his education at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.

Currently, Father Smith serves as Administrator of Saint Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church in the Co-op City section of the Bronx. In addition to his responsibilities at Saint Michael’s, Father Smith is the Senior Chaplain to the Pierre Toussaint Scholarship Program of the Archdiocese of New York and the Office of Youth Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. Father Smith recently served on the Superintendent of Schools Advisory Council for Racial Sensitivity for the Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Father Smith has served as president of the National Black Catholic Seminarians Association U.S.A. He is a board member of the National Black Clergy Caucus and the National Black Congress, a Subcommittee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as on the board of directors for the Iona Preparatory School. Father Smith continues to be a well sought-after speaker on topics of liturgical inculturation, and racial diversity throughout the United States and abroad. He was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest of the Archdiocese of New York on May 26, 2018, at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral by His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan.

Sister Cora Caeli, SV was raised in Pleasant Valley, NY and graduated from Marywood University in Scranton, PA with a degree in Religious Studies and from Ave Maria University with a Master’s degree in Theological Studies. She entered the Sisters of Life in 2016, professed first vows on August 4, 2019.

Sister Cora Caeli currently lives at St. Frances de Chantal Convent in the Bronx, NY, and serves in the Vocations office for the Community. She loves speaking on the dignity of the human person and sharing the truth of each person’s call to sanctity.