About Us
Our Purpose
Our Mission and Vision
Three Core Initiatives
We pair homiletics and evangelization, trusting that incremental growth in the improvement of preaching can result in exponential growth in the renewal of the Church.
A collaboration between the University of Dallas and The Catholic Foundation, our Institute for Homiletics was founded on the fact that homilies matter.
While other organizations focus on homily delivery, the Institute for Homiletics goes deeper—offering formation that strengthens the bond between preacher and people, rooted in the power of the Word and guided by the Holy Spirit. Our mission comes to life through three core initiatives:
Preaching for Encounter
Giving preachers the time, tools, and spiritual space to grow—so their words reach hearts and build faith within their communities.
St. Joseph’s Preachers Program
Equipping laypeople to listen deeply, pray intentionally, and support their preacher—strengthening preaching and renewing their parish life.
Top Resource for Research & Content
We help preachers connect their community to the truth, beauty, and relevance of Catholicism. Thanks to the Lilly Endowment funding, we feature learnings about young adults’ views.
Our Vision
“The value of the liturgy is the body of Christ that fuels us – and it’s the music, and it’s the community, and it’s the preaching,” shares the Institute’s Executive Director Dr. Bellinger. “The purpose of the liturgy is to bring people to God together as a community and then help them to go out and change the world for the better. The holiness and skill of the preacher and the receptivity of the people have to go together if we are to renew the Church,” she says.
“There is no greater joy for a preacher than for him to hear, ‘You helped me find God. And that has made all the difference in my life.’
Our vision is to help this connection, this encounter with God, to happen more often with more people.
Why the Institute for Homiletics?
As Catholics, the Word and the Eucharist are at the heart of every Mass. Yet it is often the homily that people remember and share — and its quality matters.
According to research, many in the pews feel disconnected. While homilies typically offer a sound examination of the readings, people long for preaching that connects the Word to their daily lives and helps them encounter God’s presence. Making this connection is critical: five out of six Mass attendees engage in no other faith-related activity during the week. Without a feeling of connection at Mass, Catholics are more likely to disengage or drift away.
Why Now?
Connecting with people is only becoming more important. In recent decades many people, especially younger generations, do not identify with any formal religion. Even Hispanic/Latino Catholics, long known for strong family and cultural ties to the Church, are beginning to depart.
Amidst this decline, there are signs of hope. Those who are faithful keep the Catholic Church vibrant. And with the death of Pope Francis, and Pope Leo XIV becoming the head of the Church, a new interest in Catholicism is emerging. Many in today’s world are spiritually hungry, searching for meaning and moral clarity in a time of confusion. Young people in particular, often the very ones who were raised without a religious framework, are yearning for and actively seeking meaning in their lives.
Many are finding it in non institutional forms, but for those who find a way to connect to Catholic faith, it speaks deeply to these longings. The Church’s intellectual tradition, moral teachings, rich rituals, and sacramental theology continue to attract seekers of the truth. What they might hear in Catholic preaching could be the way to make that connection.
How It Began
Founded in 2021, the Institute for Homiletics stands as the only organization dedicated to advancing the quality of Catholic preaching. The Executive Founding Director, Dr. Karla Bellinger, has a rare blend of passion and a doctoral degree in Homiletics from the Aquinas Institute, known for their unique education to preach, to teach, to minister, and to lead.
In her book Connecting Pulpit and Pew: Breaking Open the Conversation about Catholic Preaching, Karla writes: “If preachers have a profound relationship with Jesus and have given their life to serving God, it comes across in what they say. That’s why our team at the Institute is dedicated to support our preachers and their congregations.
We aim to have more priests and deacons hear their parishioners share that they have been moved: “You helped me find God. And that has made all the difference in my life.”
Dr. Bellinger’s widely respected preaching and leadership have come together in a powerful, multidirectional program designed to elevate Catholic preaching. Since the launch of the first Preaching for Encounter cohort in 2022, measurable growth has been reported—not just by the participants, but also by their coaches, peers, and parishioners. The improvements span both personal spirituality and the ability to deliver homilies that are more meaningful, memorable, and impactful.
Now, the Institute for Homiletics is preparing to welcome its third Preaching for Encounter cohort in Spring 2026.
The Institute for Homiletics is where priests and deacons of the Catholic church come to build relationships with their listeners and invite more to encounter God through preaching.
The Team
KARLA BELLINGER — FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dr. Karla J. Bellinger has a passion for God and for preaching. In launching the Institute, she brings a vision of what effective preaching can do for the renewal of the Church and the renewal of faith. Homiletics and evangelization belong together.
Bellinger is the past president of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics (CATH). Before being tapped to found the Institute for Homiletics, she was the Associate Director of the John S. Marten Program for Homiletics and Liturgics at the University of Notre Dame. She earned her doctorate in preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology and her master’s degree in systematic theology from the University of Notre Dame. She also has a BS in forestry from North Carolina State University. She and her husband Daniel are the parents of five adult children with nine grandchildren. When not working on homiletics, she can be found digging and planting in her large organic garden.
Karla is the author of Connecting Pulpit and Pew: Breaking Open the Conversation about Catholic Preaching from Liturgical Press and co-author of Remembering Why We Preach from Ave Maria Press. Her lectionary reflections for year A can be found here.
DEACON JAMES BAIRD — COORDINATOR FOR CLERGY PROGRAMMING
Deacon James Baird discovered the joy of preaching during his formation years in the diaconate. He was ordained to the office of deacon for the Diocese of Dallas, TX in 2018. Since that time, James has continuously served at Holy Family of Nazareth in Irving, TX, where he enjoys the diversity of the people who speak at least eight different languages.
Baird has a BA in History from the University of Dallas and an MA with a focus in Medieval Church History from University of Texas at Arlington. James participated in the Institute’s Preaching for Encounter program with the 2022 cohort which included deacons, priests, an abbot and a bishop. He is currently a member of the diaconal formation team for the Diocese of Dallas. Deacon James comes to us with a rich understanding of the University of Dallas, where he has served in many roles since 1989.
Outside of work, in addition to serving as a deacon at his parish and in the formation of deacons across his diocese, James enjoys reading, playing guitar, and making music. He and his wife Joanne are longtime residents of Irving, TX and have two grown children and two grandchildren. He is genuinely thrilled when he gets to go out to his family’s rural property in Arkansas for moments of peace and quiet.
EMILY LUGO — EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT AND COORDINATOR FOR LAY PROGRAMMING
She and her husband Felipe have five children and can be found cheering them on at their soccer games when not at work. Emily is bilingual and will be an asset for engaging the Spanish-speaking community within the Institute.
JANE KOENECKE – COMMUNICATIONS
Jane and her husband Mike have two children and one grandchild, and a dog named Bonden who loves to herd them around the house. Outside of work you are likely to find Jane spending time volunteering, on another travel adventure, or hunkering over a puzzle.
DEACON JOHN O’LEARY — FOUNDING ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Homiletics Coaches
Cynthia Bernardin, DMin, MA
In addition to serving as a coach for priests and deacons, today Cindy enjoys opportunities to preach and write, including contributing to the 2028 Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word, Year C (Liturgy Training Publications).
Cindy and her husband have been married for more than 40 years and live in Indiana. They enjoy traveling, especially to get time with their four children and six grandchildren!
Msgr. Stephen Bosso, SSL, MDiv, DMin, BA
Msgr. Bosso earned his B.A. and Master of Divinity at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, and a Licentiate of Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome in 1985. He also studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel as part of his Licentiate degree. From 1985 until 2022, he served on the faculty at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, teaching Scripture, Classical Hebrew and Greek. He served as a Formation Advisor and Spiritual Director, Dean of Students, Academic Dean, Dean of Pastoral Formation and as Rector and President (2000–2005). From 2011–2013 he was Pastor of St. Rose of Lima in Milton, Florida before returning to the seminary as professor of Sacred Scripture and Homiletics until he retired in 2022. Along the way, Msgr. Bosso earned a Doctorate in Preaching from Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, with a focus on Best Homiletical Practices in Roman Catholic Theologates in the United States, in 2018. He received the Marten Fellowship in Homiletics from the University of Notre Dame for the Fall semester of 2021.
Msgr. Bosso has served for six years on the Board of Commissioners for the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. In recent years he has also served as a minister in numerous Catholic parishes across the United States, offering retreats, talks, and missions. In August 2025 he came out of retirement to become the Rector/Pastor of The Basilica of St. Thomas the Archangel in Pensacola, Fl.
In his spare time, Msgr. Steve enjoys playing the banjo, walking, and swimming.
Dcn. William Eckert, DMi
His early life, growing up in a large family in Bremerton, Washington, and then earning a B.A. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, prepared him well for ministry. For nearly four decades, he has focused on forming and coaching teens in Chicago, Hawaii, and Tacoma, Washington. More than 30 of those years have been at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, where Deacon Eckert taught ecclesiology, morality, bioethics, and scripture, coached the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, as well as served as liturgical coordinator and campus minister. In 2021 he retired after 40 years of teaching, ministering, and coaching at the high school level.
In 2003, Deacon Eckert was ordained to the diaconate for the Archdiocese of Seattle, and he currently serves the people of Tacoma while assigned to Saint Patrick Catholic Church and School. He has also been a hospital chaplain, served on ethics committees, and regularly ministers to seniors through Bible study and communion services at retirement centers around Tacoma. In addition to coaching, Deacon Eckert works as an adjunct lecturer in preaching for St. Meinrad’s Deacon Formation Program and with Deacon Frank Agnoli as an instructor of preaching for the Deacon Formation Program at the Archdiocese of Omaha, NE.
Bill and his wife, Barbara—who also works in ministry and preaching—have been married more than 30 years. When he has free time, Bill enjoys traveling, studying homiletics and liturgy, and gardening.
Fr. Edward J. Griswold, DMin, STL, MEd
Fr. Ed draws on decades of ministry as a Parochial Vicar (1973 – 1980), Diocesan Vocation Director (1980 – 1987) Formation Mentor at Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary (1990 – 1994), and Parish Pastor (1994 – 2008). He has also ministered as Homiletics Professor, Pastoral Formation Director and Vice Rector at Saint Mary’s Seminary & University, Baltimore (2008 –2021). He earned his D. Min. in Preaching with his doctoral thesis on the use of Lectio Divina in homily preparation by Diocesan priests (Aquinas Institute of Theology, 2006).
In addition to his coaching, Fr. Ed is presently assigned as a Senior Priest to St. Barnabas Church, Bayville, NJ in the Diocese of Trenton.
Fr. Ed enjoys “being back home” with family and friends. When he can, Father enjoys traveling and keeping in touch with former faculty, students, and parishioners.
Fr. Michael Kueber, MDiv, LLit, DMin, BA
He earned a License in Liturgy in Rome (2011) and a Doctorate in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis (2019). He has taught at Catholic University of America and Mount Angel Seminary, and he now coaches preachers with the Institute for Homiletics. Fr. Mike is especially known for his more than 25 years of work serving first-generation Hispanic immigrants and their children. In 2023 he published Preaching to Latinos: Welcoming the Hispanic Moment in the U.S. Church (Catholic University Press). He shares best practices for preaching and leading in multicultural settings across Christian traditions.
When he has free time, Fr. Mike enjoys kayaking, swimming, biking, hiking, watching good movies, and traveling.
Dr. Suzanne Nawrocki, MDiv, DMin, MA
Dr. Nawrocki also enjoys presenting at the LA Catechetical Congress and frequently gives workshops for parishes in sacramental preparation, lector training, and on the scriptures. A perpetual learner, she recently completed Harvard’s Bok Higher Education certificate program.
She has a Doctorate in Ministry from Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, in 2013, with a focus on embodiment and gesture in preaching. She has also served as an adjunct professor for the Aquinas Institute. In addition, she has earned undergraduate business degrees from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, and an MA in Scripture and a MDiv from Mary’s Seminary, Houston.
Dr. Nawrocki and her husband of more than 40 years enjoy living in the Hill Country of Texas. Their four grown children and two grandchildren give them great joy! Suzanne enjoys playing golf, pickle ball, and swimming. She also hammers songs out on the piano, and (surprisingly) she believes yard work is fun!