Dear Friends,
I write to announce some exciting news.
Effective January 1, the Napa Institute will have a new president—Mark Rohlena. Mark has served with distinction as our executive director since the start of 2024.
In that time, he has strengthened the Institute across the board, based on our three pillars of fraternity, liturgy, and faith formation.
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Dear Friends of Napa Institute:
Serving the mission of Napa Institute is, at times, surreal. Where else can a person have this tremendous vantage point – to see and support the great good going on in the Church among her clergy, the lay faithful in dedicated apostolates, and those who steward their gifts so well for the benefit of the Church; to rally these champions and amplify their work as we do?
Every day, I wake up with a deep sense of gratitude.
And thanks to the amazing team we have – Tim and Steph Busch, Fr. Spitzer, our dedicated and supportive Board and Guild, awesome staff who pour out their hearts into our shared work, and scores of friends of Napa—we get to do some pretty cool things for God’s glory.
A year has passed quickly, but so much has happened. A passage from St. Paul comes to mind, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever” (Eph 3:20-21).
God meets our abandonment with His abundance, every single day.
I am grateful for the confidence and constant support of Tim and our Board, and am humbled to be asked to serve as Napa’s 2nd President.
That, too, is surreal. Fr. Robert Spitzer is an intellectual giant and a personal hero. I’ve already learned so much from him and am deeply grateful for his friendship. We give thanks for all Father has done and continues to do for Napa Institute, now as Vice-Chairman.
Father Spitzer has regularly preached that we should focus on the “contributive” rather than the “comparative.” To constantly compare our efforts or gifts to others’ is to poison our souls and derail our callings.
But if we rise each day with openness to what God is asking of us and embrace the people and tasks he sets before us with great love, then our lives will have meaning far beyond our wildest dreams.
And that is our outlook at the Napa Institute. Jesus Christ puts at our disposal all of the truth, goodness, and beauty contained in the entire universe and beyond. Our mission is to place as much of this treasure as we can into the hands of Catholic leaders and support them as they use it well. That is our contribution.
In the coming days, we will be charting new and exciting ways to lift up apostolates and unify them, assist priests and bishops more intentionally in their vocations, and connect and support rising leaders in taking on the big opportunities set out before them, among other things.
Leading Napa Institute, given the foundation set by so many these past 14+ years, is one of my most precious gifts. Please pray for all of us to build well upon that foundation in the days ahead.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Mark Rohlena
Executive Director, Napa Institute
