Priest Convocation
Proclaiming Christ Yesterday, Today, and Forever!
June 14-18, 2026 | Grand Geneva Lodge, Lake Geneva, WI
Register
Registration is open.
Priests are invited to complete the online registration form to let us know you’re attending Convocation in June.
The registration form asks you to:
Confirm your attendance
RSVP for the optional dinner on Sunday
Indicate room preferences (single occupancy or shared)
After submitting your registration form, you’ll need to complete your payment, online or via check. The cost of Convocation for priests is $300.
We look forward to a prayerful, rejuvenating Convocation together in June.
Schedule
This year’s gathering will take place at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva. The resort offers on-site lodging, ample meeting space, and convenient transportation options.
More information will be shared in the coming weeks. Be sure to check the Clergy Connection regularly for reminders and additional details.
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3 pm: Registration
5 pm: Optional Dinner
6:30 pm: Welcome and Vespers
7 pm: “It is Christ Who We Proclaim,” Bishop Donald J. Hying, Diocese of Madison
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7 am: Breakfast
9 am: Morning Prayer
9:15 am: “Proclaiming Christ as His Disciple” Sister Alicia Torres
10:30 am: Discussion
11:15 am: Mass
12:15 pm: Lunch
Free Time
4:30 pm: “Proclaiming Christ as His Priest,” Bishop Hying
5:15 pm: Holy Hour w/ Confessions & Vespers
6:30 pm: Dinner
8 pm: Social
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7 am: Breakfast
9 am: Morning Prayer
9:15 am: “Proclaiming Christ in This Age/Time” Dan Cellucci
10:30 am: Discussion
11:30 am: Mass
12:15 pm: Lunch
Free Afternoon/Evening
5:15 pm: Holy Hour w/ Confessions & Vespers (Optional)
6:30 pm: Dinner (On your own)
7:30 pm: Movie Night (Optional)
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7 am: Breakfast
9 am: Holy Hour & Morning Prayer
10:15 am: “Signs of Hope: Proclaiming Christ in the Future,” Father Kartje
11:15 am: Intentional Conversation
11:45 am: Lunch
Free Time
5:15 pm: Mass
6:30 pm: Cocktails
7:00 pm: Dinner
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7 am: Breakfast (Optional)
9 am: Morning Prayer
9:15 am: “Proclaiming Christ in Peoria,” Bishop Lou
10:15 am: Mass
Depart
Frequently Asked Questions:
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Complete the registration form, found on this page or linked from the Clergy Connection, sent Jan. 22, 2026.
A payment of $300 will be collected at registration.
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Registration opens on January 22, 2026 and will close this spring, sometime around Easter.
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All of the priests are staying at Timber Ridge, which is about .9 miles from the main hotel. When you arrive, there will be a registration table near the main lobby staffed by Diocesan Curia members who will have your room keys and other information for you. There should not be any need to go to the Timber Ridge main desk for anything upon arrival.
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Please bring your alb and diocesan vestment for the liturgies.
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We will have section of the banquet rooms in Timber Ridge where the Blessed Sacrament will be reserved the entire time we are there.
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The resort is providing a shuttle service that will run on our schedule that will take you to and from the where we are staying and the main lodge.
There are also plenty of parking spaces at both sites, so you are free to drive your own car back and forth.
For those who are ambitious, the walk isn’t that bad either.
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The time will be yours to do with as you wish, but please note that the committee is not responsible for booking tee times or any other reservations that may be needed. You are responsible for your own free time.
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When we are there, we know that there will be other patrons staying at the resort. So please remember your “priest as a public person” seminars from seminary while there, especially going to and from the pools/spa areas.
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We ask that you do NOT charge anything to the rooms. Outside of the provided meals, sponsored coffee/snack breaks, and open bar hours, which will will inform you of, every other charge is the responsibility of the individual priest.
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Yes, it is possible. The resort will offer the discounted rate for two days prior and after for anyone who wishes. But that full amount, will be the responsibility of the priest himself.
Bishop Donald J. Hying
The youngest of six sons, Bishop Donald J. Hying was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, to parents Albert and Catherine Hying on August 18, 1963. He attended St. Aloysius and Immaculate Heart of Mary grade schools, and Brookfield Central High School. Bishop Hying received his bachelor's degree from Marquette University and his master's degree from St. Francis Seminary. On May 26, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr. Donald Hying the Titular Bishop of Regiae and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He was consecrated a bishop on July 20, 2011 by Most Reverend Jerome Edward Listecki, Archbishop of Milwaukee. On November 24, 2014, His Holiness, Pope Francis, appointed Bishop Hying as the Fourth Bishop of Gary (Indiana). Bishop Hying's installation in the Diocese of Gary took place on January 6, 2015. On April 25, 2019, His Holiness, Pope Francis, appointed Most Reverend Donald J. Hying the Fifth Bishop of Madison (Wisconsin). Bishop Hying’s installation in the Diocese of Madison took place on June 25, 2019.
Dan Cellucci
Dan Cellucci is CEO of Catholic Leadership Institute, an apostolate providing leadership training and consulting to more than 290 bishops, 2,700 priests, and over 35,000 deacons, religious and lay leaders in more than 120 dioceses. Dan and his wife Tricia are the proud parents of four children and live in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Sr. Alicia Torres
Sister Alicia Torres. is a member of the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago, a religious community that carries out the mission of the Church through service to the poor, evangelization, and teaching.She works at the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels on Chicago’s West Side, serves as vocation director for her religious community, and has served as a religion teach in an inner-city Catholic School. Sister Alicia competed in and won the Food Network’s Chopped in 2015 and has contributed articles to several online and print media outlets, including First Things, Catholic News Service, and America Magazine.
Fr. John Kartje
Fr. Kartje was appointed as rector/president of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in 2015. A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Father Kartje was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2002. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1987 from the University of Chicago. In 1995, the University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics conferred a Ph.D. degree on Father Kartje. In addition, he earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America’s Department of Biblical Studies in 2010. Father Kartje has served as a faculty member at both the seminary and the Institute for Priestly Formation since 2009. He previously served as the director and chaplain of the Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern University from 2009 to 2013, at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Washington, D.C. from 2004 to 2009, and as associate pastor at St. Benedict Parish in Chicago from 2002 to 2004.