The Napa Institute conference on the west coast of the US is the annual pilgrimage gathering of business and spiritual leaders of the American Catholic Church, along with a small caravan of media, education leaders, entrepreneurs, attorneys, religious and bible groups, priests, philanthropists, nonprofit executives and Catholic influentials. Last month, I went for the first time; attendees this year included Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence.
Divine providence intervened at JFK airport in New York when I ran into a quartet of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal heading the same way. They were amused to learn that, over half a century ago, I had been a house prefect to their former Superior, Fr Bernard Murphy (then known as John) at Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island. We had a catch-up on him, now ministering in England, and their order’s continuing growth, which set the tone for a cheerful conference under the theme “What We Need Now”.
