Pax Christi USA is excited to announce the keynote speakers and musical liturgists for our 2025 national conference, to be held July 25-27 in Detroit, Michigan.
July 25: Opening address with Maria Stephan
Use this link to download Maria’s comments from her keynote address in PDF format
Use this link to download the slides from Maria’s PowerPoint presentation in PDF format
Maria Stephan is the Chief Organizer at the Horizons Project. She is an award-winning author and organizer whose work in academic, public service, and nonprofit sectors has focused on the role of nonviolent action and peacebuilding in advancing human rights, democracy, and sustainable peace in the US and globally.
Use this link to listen to an interview between Maria and Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace Fr. John Dear on the effectiveness of nonviolence.
She serves on the advisory council of Pax Christi International’s Catholic Nonviolence Institute, and was a participant in the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative gatherings in Rome in 2016 and 2019.
Maria and Erica Chenoweth are co-authors of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. Their second book together, The Role of External Support in Nonviolent Campaigns: Poisoned Chalice or Holy Grail? was published by ICNC Press in 2021. She has co-authored and co-edited several other books, has published articles in and has been interviewed by media outlets including The Washington Post, NPR, Foreign Affairs, Just Security, Foreign Policy, and Waging Nonviolence.
Before joining the Horizons team, Maria founded and directed the Program on Nonviolent Action at the US Institute of Peace, overseeing global programming, applied research, and policy engagement focused on supporting activists, peacebuilders, and social movements in their struggles to advance more just, peaceful, and democratic societies.
She previously worked at the US State Department, receiving two Meritorious Service Awards for her work in Afghanistan and with Syrian activists in Turkey, and at the Atlantic Council. Stephan directed policy and educational initiatives at the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on civil resistance and human rights at Georgetown University and American University.
July 26: Morning keynote with Jonathan Kuttab
Jonathan Kuttab is the executive director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, and co-founder of Nonviolence International. He is a founding director of Just Peace Advocates Mouvement pour une Paix Juste, a Canadian based international law human rights not-for-profit organization and is president of the board of Holy Land Trust.
A well-known international human rights attorney, Jonathan practices in the US, Palestine and Israel. He was the head of the legal committee negotiating the Cairo Agreement of 1994 between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
His articles have appeared in the Middle East Institute, Arab News, Arab Center Washington DC, Al Jazeera, the Electronic Intifada, and others. He provides analysis regarding international law and human rights, understanding the facts on the ground, what options are possible beyond a two state solution, and Christian Zionism.
Martha Inés Romero
Martha Inés Romero serves as Secretary General of Pax Christi International.
Unfortunately, Martha Inés will not be able to join us in person. She will share a prerecorded message during Saturday night’s program.
Based in Colombia, Martha Inés has served Pax Christi International for almost 20 years, including a term on the international board. She previously served on staff as the regional coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Martha Inés has a rich depth of experience working throughout the Americas and with global partners. She studied conflict transformation at the Kroc Institute for Peace and was a member of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network. She has contributed to the transformation of Catholic teaching through promoting a culture of peace, nonviolence, and reconciliation, first with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), contributing to the Caritas Internationalis network, and then with Pax Christi International, through participation in synodal processes and the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.
She is both ecumenically and interfaith minded and works with partners across the civil society for dialogue and cooperation within communities across Latin America and the Caribbean. Her previous experience is in the aid sector, where she held international roles at Oxfam Great Britain and CRS.
Musical coordinator ValLimar Jansen and performer/liturgist Frank Jansen
Pax Christi USA is fortunate that Dr. ValLimar Jansen, a musical performer who has sung and toured professionally around the world, and her husband Frank Jansen will join us during our conference weekend to lead prayer and praise, and to provide entertainment during Saturday evening’s social.
In 2024, ValLimar received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of Catholic Women, an honor that recognizes how her life’s work aligns with NCCW’s mission and goals. With more than 100 unique performances annually, ValLimar has developed her signature blend of Scripture proclamation, reflection, music, costumed dramatic storytelling, prayer, and inspirational exhortation. She presents parish missions and conducts retreats for schools, parishes, dioceses, and retreat centers throughout the US and Canada. She has produced and/or co-produced 15 CDs and has nine published works; she is the co-author of a one-woman musical about Ethel Waters, and has fronted a 250-voice choir at Carnegie Hall. She holds a BA in Theatre Arts, a Masters in Dramatic Arts, and a doctorate in Christian Performing Arts.
Frank Jansen has served in parish ministry for more than 40 years, with a professional music career that spans over a course of almost 50 years, including playing with the Platters, the Drifters, and other well-known performers in the popular music world. He holds a BA in Music Composition and a Master’s in Liturgical Music with an emphasis on composition. He has served as a liturgist, director of music, and/or principal pianist for countless liturgies, many including bishops and cardinals.
The Jansens have performed at World Youth Day events in Krakow, Poland and Panama City, Panama. At an international papal event in Loreto, Italy, broadcast on Italian television, EWTN, and across the world, ValLimar and Frank performed for more than 300,000 people.
Musical guest Santiago Fernandez
Friday opening prayer and Saturday evening entertainment
Santiago Fernández has been active in parish ministry for more than 30 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Wayne State University in Detroit and is certified in both Pastoral Ministry and Liturgical Ministry, locally by the Archdiocese of Detroit and nationally by the USCCB’s Commission on Certification and Accreditation. He served on the National Advisory Council to the USCCB from 2000 to 2004 and was Liturgy & Prayer coordinator for the First National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry 2006.
Santiago is author of the bilingual book Un Hermoso Intercambio Cultural/A Beautiful Cultural Exchange, offering ideas, reflections and suggestions to open doors and broaden horizons within the multicultural integration of pastoral work in the United States. He currently serves as music and worship director at Church of the Holy Family, in Novi, Michigan.
Santiago Fernández ha trabajado activamente en el ministerio pastoral por más de 30 años. Tiene una licenciatura en música de Wayne State University en Detroit y certificado en Ministerio Pastoral y Ministerio Litúrgico a nivel local, por la Arquidiócesis de Detroit y a nivel nacional, por la Comisión de Certificación y Acreditación de la USCCB. Tras desempeñarse como miembro del Consejo Asesor Nacional de la USCCB desde el 2000 hasta el 2004 y como coordinador de Culto y Liturgia del Primer Encuentro Nacional de la Pastoral Juvenil Hispana y del Ministerio de adultos jóvenes en 2006.
Santiago participó en conciertos, eventos y sitios de catéquesis durante la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud Panamá 2019. Y en 2020, publicó el libro bilingüe Un Hermoso Intercambio Cultural/A Beautiful Cultural Exchange, en el cual presenta ideas, reflexiones y sugerencias que abren puertas y extienden horizontes en la integración multicultural de la pastoral en la Iglesia de los Estados Unidos.
Santiago sirve cómo el director de música y adoración en la iglesia católica Holy Family en Novi, Michigan.
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