Walking With Christ In Renewed Ways: Napa’s Year In Review

Dear friend,

If you’ve ever walked down a street in New York City, you know what it’s like to be part of the crowd. But if you walked across Broadway on October 10th, 2023, you learned what it’s like to join more than 5,000 Catholics following the Eucharist.

Our third annual NYC Eucharistic Procession was easily the biggest event we’ve ever held. Not only did thousands of people walk with us through the heart of the city, but more than 18 million people watched videos of the procession online. We evangelized everyone who saw us, and to this day, we’re still evangelizing people every time they read a story or watch a clip.

The Procession’s unprecedented success sums up the Napa Institute’s entire year. To put it simply, 2023 was our most successful year ever—precisely because we walked with Christ in new and renewed ways.

All year long, we strived to fulfill our mission: Empowering Catholic leaders to renew the Church and transform the Culture. We answer this calling in many ways:

• Our Summer Conference in Napa Valley was our largest ever, with 830 bishops, priests, religious, and lay leaders. We also had a record number of lay apostolates attend – connecting them with new opportunities to expand and evangelize.
• Our Scripture Conference was attended by a record 200-plus priests, while our Shepherd’s Circle expanded to 20 up-and-coming priests. We’re more committed than ever to supporting our priests as they shepherd the flock.
• Our Principled Entrepreneurship Conference in New York City was our largest ever, with over 170 attendees. The night before was the Eucharistic Procession, which began in a filled-to-bursting St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
• Our Experiences and Pilgrimages brought dozens of Napa friends across the world – from Rome and Eastern Europe to the North American Martyrs’ Shrine in Canada.
• Our new Salon Dinners in New York City bring together Catholics from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to discuss the challenges facing the Church. The dinners prove that we can find common ground and civilly debate the best way to change minds and win hearts.

On a bittersweet note, we bid farewell to our longtime executive director, John Meyer, and his wife Kristin, who transformed Napa over 10 extraordinary years. Thankfully, Napa is still in good hands. In early 2024, Mark Rohlena will start as executive director, while Richard Loesing will start as director of mission advancement. (You can read the press releases here.) With God’s guidance, they’ll take Napa to even greater heights.

Ultimately, our work in 2023 was a foundation for 2024. In the year ahead, we’ll continue to find more—and more impactful—ways to share our faith and shape our culture. If we could rally more than 5,000 Catholics to march through midtown Manhattan, there’s no limit to where we can go in the year ahead.

With gratitude and in Christ,

Co-Founder, Napa Institute