Happy Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Vanessa welcomes Bishop Boyea and he invites us all to delve into Scripture with him by participating in the Bishop’s Year of the Bible. Dr. Robert Fastiggi talks about the online course ‘Behold Thy Mother: Getting to know the Blessed Virgin Mary’. Catherine Lanni, Founder of the Divine Mercy Center shares her wisdom and experiences.

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Earl Boyea

Diocese of Lansing

Earl Boyea, Jr. was born April 10, 1951 in Pontiac, Michigan, as the eldest of the ten children of Earl and Helen Boyea, Sr. He was raised in Waterford and attended Our Lady of the Lakes Church and the parish school from third through eighth grades.  He studied at Sacred Heart Seminary High School and College from 1965 to 1973, obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in History. He studied at the Pontifical North American College and Pontifical Gregorian University (1973–1977) in Rome, earning his Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology from the latter in 1976.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Imesch on May 20, 1978, He served as associate pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Monroe, Michigan until 1979, and then returned to the Gregorian in Rome, from where he obtained his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1980, with a thesis entitled: “Christology in Galatians”. Upon his return to the United States, Fr. Boyea was associate pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Trenton until 1984, whence he earned his Master’s in American History from Wayne State University, with a thesis entitled: “John Samuel Foley, Third Bishop of Detroit: His Ecclesiastical Conflicts in the Diocese of Detroit, 1888–1900”.

In 1986, he was named Temporary Administrator of St. Christine Parish in Detroit.  Fr. Boyea obtained his PhD in Church History from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1987, and served as a weekend assistant at St. Joseph Parish in Lake Orion (1987–1988), Holy Family Parish in Novi (1988–1990), and Sacred Heart Parish in Auburn Hills (1990–1999). From 1988 to 1999, he was also the chaplain of Camp Sancta Maria, a Catholic boys’ summer camp in Gaylord, Michigan.

Father Boyea sat on the Detroit Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council from 1990 to 1991, and on the Academic Concerns Committee of Madonna University’s Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000. From 1987 to 2000, he taught Church History and Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, of which he became Dean of Studies in 1990. Fr. Boyea was raised to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness on January 18, 2000, with the title of Monsignor. He was a weekend assistant at St. Mary Parish in German Village, Ohio (2001–2002) while concurrently serving as the Rector-President and a professor at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. A prolific author, he was also made editor of the North Central Association Self-Study Report in 1994, of the United States Catholic Conference Self-Study Report in 1995, of the Association of Theological Schools Self-Study Report in 1996, and of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Seminary Visitation Report in 1998.

On July 22, 2002, Msgr. Boyea was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit and Titular Bishop of Siccenna by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 13 from Cardinal Adam Maida, with Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio and Bishop Thomas Joseph Tobin serving as co-consecrators. During his tenure as an auxiliary, Bishop Boyea served as Regional Bishop for the South Region (2002–2003) and for the Northeast Region (2003–2008) of the archdiocese.

Pope Benedict XVI named him the fifth Bishop of Lansing on February 27, 2008.  Bishop Boyea was formally installed as Lansing’s ordinary on April 29, 2008.

https://dioceseoflansing.org//

Dr. Robert Fastiggi

EDUCATION: A.B. (Religion), Dartmouth College, 1974;M.A. (Theology), Fordham University, 1976;Ph.D. (Historical Theology), Fordham University, 1987.BIO / INFORMATION: 

At SHMS 1999-

Dr. Robert Fastiggi, Bishop Kevin M. Britt Chair of Dogmatic Theology and Christology, has been at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 1999. Prior to coming to Detroit, he taught at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas from 1985-1999. Dr. Fastiggi received an A.B. in Religion (summa cum laude) from Dartmouth College in 1974; a M.A. in Theology from Fordham University in 1976; and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Fordham in 1987. He has done private research in Paris and Montréal, and he took part in a study-tour of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain sponsored by the National Council for U.S.-Arab relations. During his time at Sacred Heart, Dr. Fastiggi has taught courses in Ecclesiology, Christology, Mariology, church history, sacramental theology, and moral theology. He is a member of the Society for Catholic Liturgy, the Mariological Society of America, the International Marian Association, and a corresponding member of the Pontifical Marian Academy International (P.A.M.I).

https://www.shms.edu/

Catherine Lanni

Catherine M. Lanni is a gifted speaker and the founder of The Servants of Jesus of The Divine Mercy, and the Divine Mercy Center in Clinton Township, Michigan.

In 1986, Catherine was miraculously healed through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary while on her deathbed, after giving birth to her youngest daughter. She made a promise that she would do something “good” for God (in return). In 1992, Jesus Christ appeared to Catherine and asked for “a total healing of every strata of the Church.”

Catherine recounts the entire story in her book, “A Call to Trust.”