Serving the Mission of the Church
In a culture facing profound questions about faith, technology, ethics, and society, the Napa Institute gathers Catholic leaders to deepen their formation and renew their commitment to the Church’s mission. Through fellowship, intellectual engagement, and the life of the Church, we seek to equip believers to bring the light of Christ into every sphere of culture.
our ethos
In every profession, field of study, and sphere of culture, Catholics are invited to bring initiative, creativity, and zeal to the work of evangelization. Across the United States today, the Church is flourishing through apostolates and entrepreneurial believers who are answering this call, building up the Church and sharing the Good News as part of the Church’s ongoing mission of the New Evangelization. At the Napa Institute, this vision takes shape through three pillars that guide our mission and formation:
Liturgy
The Eucharist is the heart of our conferences and events. We believe right ordered worship and time to develop our relationship with God are critical to our impact and our attendees’ eternal prosperity. At the Napa Institute, opportunities for adoration, benediction, and reflection abound.
Community
People crave genuine community and authentic friendship with like-minded, Christ-loving people. We help friendships form by balancing worship, relaxation, and formation. Our events offer unique entertainment options and local excursions rooted in our Catholic Culture – from film screenings and symposiums to theater and concerts.
Formation
Napa equips and empowers leaders of faith to live out authentic Catholicism in a world that views us as contrarian. We ensure lay Apostolates not only know what the church teaches, but know how to meaningfully defend why the church teaches what she does.
Napa Executive Team
Rev. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J.
Co-Founder & Vice Chairman, Napa Institute
Co-Founder and President, Magis Center of Reason and Faith
Timothy R. Busch
Co-Founder & Chairman of the Board, Napa Institute
Founder, The Busch Firm
President and Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Hospitality Group
Founder, Trinitas Cellars
His Excellency, Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley, S.T.L., D.D.
Ecclesiastical Advisor, Napa Institute
Archbishop, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City
Mark Rohlena
President, Napa Institute
NAPA INSTITUTE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mike Warsaw
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the EWTN Global Catholic Network
David Henrie
Director and Emmy Award Winning Actor
Mary Hasson
Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Dr. Timothy Gray, PH.D.
President, Augustine Institute
Francis x. Maier
Senior Fellow, Ethics & Public Policy Center and Former Senior Advisor & Special Assistant to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M, CAP.
Dr. Catherine Pakaluk
Faculty, The Busch School of Business and Economics at the Catholic University of America.
Dr. Vincent Phillip Munoz
Director, Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government, University of Notre Dame.
Matthew Bush
Founder of Wealth.Architect
Dan Cellucci
Chief Executive Officer, Catholic Leadership Institute
Administrative Team
Richard Loesing
Director of Mission Advancement
jean jacoby
Registrar
Kristina Turicchi
Events Manager
Helen Rothfus
Executive Operations Administrator
Genevieve Pride
Digital Coordinator
Nicholas Bezzina
Mission Advancement Coordinator
John Greene
Corporate Sacristan
Zach Fiedler
Digital Conference Coordinator & Photographer
NAPA INSTITUTE ECCLESIASTICAL ADVISORY BOARD
most reverend samuel aquila
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Archdiocese of Denver in Colorado.
most reverend michael c. barber
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Diocese of Oakland, CA
archbishop timothy p. broglio
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Archdiocese for the Military Services & President of the USCCB
most reverend salvatore cordileone
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Archdiocese of San Francisco
most reverend jose h. gomez
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
most reverend borys gudziak
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Eparchy of Saint Vladimir-Le-Grand de Paris (Ukrainian).
most reverend steven j. lopes
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.
his eminence gerhard cardinal muller
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Cardinal-Deacon of Sant’ Agnese in Agone.
most reverend thomas john paprocki
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Diocese of Springfield.
most reverend robert f. vasa
Member of the Ecclesiastical Advisory Board, Diocese of Santa Rosa.
Why do people support our mission?
Br. Mauricio
- Fellowship of Catholic University Students
At the Napa Institute, I have seen visible signs of the Mercy of Jesus. We must realize that we have a living God who takes care of us in a very loving and merciful way. And Jesus is so approachable, willing to heal us from our brokenness. He will help us to be healed and transformed. I think that through these healings, what I see is a call to see what God wants from us, to transform the lives of others. Myself, I was transformed through those healings to see that I was called to spread the Mercy of God.
Grace Dill
- Fellowship of Catholic University Students
I look forward to the Napa Institute all year. I have attended the past 5 years and now it feels like a big family reunion. The Napa Institute helped to launch FOCUS’ expansion in the West coast and has introduced me to lifelong friends. In fact, my husband and I ended our honeymoon in Napa this year. I can’t think of a better way to start our marriage than with the beautiful liturgies, inspiring Catholic keynotes, and hundreds of holy models of marriage. I am forever grateful to the Napa Institute! Cheers to many great years to come.
Camille Pauley
- President and CEO of Healing the Culture
The Napa Institute Conference offers a fantastic opportunity for mission-based organizations to meet with other business, community, Church, education, and organizational leaders to forge strategic partnerships and advance common interests. Many of them are people we would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet.
Patrick D
It is truly an outstanding experience. The speakers are impressive, extremely intelligent and well spoken promoters of the faith, each in their own way. They have motivated me to explore a number of topics further on my own. Most of the speakers seem to be there for the whole time, allowing many opportunities for personal conversations with them. There are two people that I have identified as the smartest people I have ever personally met in my life and both were Napa Institute speakers. Both the large, general sessions and the breakout, small group formats have been great opportunities to get to know people in the Church that you may not have heard before, people with something valuable to tell you about how they try to live the Gospel.
The Meritage is an outstanding venue. Comfortable, well maintained facilities and the meals are quite a bit above the typical convention fare.
Besides the speakers, I have greatly appreciated the many opportunities every day for Mass, including the eastern rite Holy Mysteries. There were days when I went twice! The other activities, such as the cooking classes and wine tasting events, are a good mix with the other events as well. The evening gatherings after dinner are a great opportunity to talk at length with interesting Catholics that you would never otherwise have met.
My wife, who is not Catholic, attended with me last time and she’s eager to return. I think that’s as high a level of endorsement as I can imagine!
The Napa Institute Prayer
Heavenly Father, we beg You to send down your Holy Spirit upon us to inspire our presenters and to reveal Your Truth to all who are gathered at this conference. By the light of Your Spirit, bolster our efforts to understand better the teachings of your Holy Catholic Church. Equip us to bear witness to Your Truth in the Next America, a culture that is ignorant of Your ways and hostile toward Your Church. Imbue us with a greater desire for the Sacraments and for authentic formation in the Faith. Instill in us a greater love of our neighbors, especially the poor. Impress upon us a greater awareness for our respective vocations. Enlighten our minds and our hearts to more fully recognize that Reason and Faith are complementary, that You are the Creator of the Universe, that You have a plan of salvation, and that we, despite our limitations, are called to participate in that plan with the help of Your grace. Embolden us to advocate more effectively in the public square for religious liberty, free movement of peoples with reasonable regulation, and the sanctity of human life, marriage, and the family. We humbly ask all of this through Your Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ and the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, to whom the Napa Institute is consecrated.
Amen
This prayer has been approved by:
The Most Reverend Robert F. Vasa, Bishop of Santa Rosa
