Speakers Bio

Cardinal Thomas Collins has served as a priest for more than 50 years. He was born in Guelph, Ontario, growing up with his two sisters in the shade of the Church of Our Lady, where he served morning Mass. Having considered teaching and the law, he was inspired by a Grade 11 English teacher to enter the priesthood. He was ordained a priest on 5 May 1973, and has earned BA and MA degrees in English, a BA in theology, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University with a specialty in scripture and the book of Revelation.

On 25 March 1997 he was appointed coadjutor Bishop of Saint Paul, Alberta, and was elevated to Bishop there in 1997. He has served as rector of Saint Peter’s Seminary, London, Canada, president of the National Theological Commission of the Bishops’ Conference, president of the National Commission for Ecumenism, president of the Conference of Bishops of Alberta, president of Saint Joseph’s College Board of Governors at the University of Alberta.

Following brief service as coadjutor Bishop of Edmonton, he was named Archbishop there in 1997, and as Apostolic Administrator of Saint Paul in 2001. He held those positions until being appointed Archbishop of Toronto on 16 December 2006. He has also served as Chancellor of the University of Saint Michael’s College, the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto, and the Saint Monica Institute for Education and Evangelization; and as Chair of the Board of Governors of Saint Augustine’s Seminary and of the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary.

In 2008 he was elected president of the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops.

He has assisted the Holy Father as an Apostolic Visitor in Ireland (2010) and also as the Delegate of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith for Anglicanorum Coetibus (providing for personal ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church).

He also participated in the Synod of Bishops at a Special Assembly for the Middle East in October 2010. He participated in the XIV Ordinary General Assembly on The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World (October 2015).

He participated in the conclave of March 2013, which elected Pope Francis.

His Eminence was created and proclaimed Cardinal by Benedict XVI in the consistory of 18 February 2012, of the Title of San Patrizio (Saint Patrick).

Since retiring as Archbishop of Toronto, Cardinal Collins has remained active as a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. In April 2023 Catholic Conscience was delighted to welcome His Eminence to membership on our board; and in 2025 he was named Patron of the Saint Gregory the Great Institute.

Cardinal Collins will provide continuing spiritual oversight, and celebrate our closing Mass.

 

Bishop Mark Hagemoen was born and raised in Vancouver. After completing studies at the University of British Columbia and a year of travel throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe, he entered St. Peter’s Seminary in London Ontario, completing his Masters of Divinity degree in 1990. He was ordained as priest in Vancouver in May 1990, serving several years as Director of the Office of Youth Ministry and as pastor of several parishes. After earning a National Certificate in Youth Ministry, a Diploma for Advanced Studies in Ministry, and a Doctorate in Ministry, he served as Vicar of Pastoral Services; Moderator of the Curia, and Vicar General in the Archdiocese of Vancouver, and as principal of St. Mark’s College and president of Corpus Christi College.

In October 2013 he was named by Pope Francis to be the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith; and in 2017 as the eighth Bishop of Saskatoon. He continues to serve on several commissions of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle; several boards, including Emmanuel Health Saskatchewan & Spiritus Vitae (Alberta and Saskatchewan), Catholic Christian Outreach (national), and the St Thomas More College Society. He has encouraged and helped develop Catholic Conscience since the time of the 2020 Saskatchewan general election.

Topic:

1. Spiritually Formative Political Engagement: the Call to Differentiated Co-Responsibility.

 

Brian McDonough Brian has lived in L’Arche communities founded by Jean Vanier, first in France and then for three years in Calcutta, India. Upon returning to his native Montreal, he studied civil and common law at McGill University. In 1984, he was called to the Quebec Bar. In 1994, he became the inaugural Director of the Office of Social Pastoral Care for the Archdiocese of Montreal. In that role Brian oversaw development and smooth operation of the local social pastoral program, focusing on : 1) promoting solidarity between Christian communities and grassroots groups and organizations fighting social exclusion; 2) raising awareness among baptized Christians about social, economic, cultural, and political issues; and 3) the participation of Christian communities in the social development of their communities.

In addition, Brian has welcomed asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants, guiding them toward appropriate community resources. As president of the Montreal Community Chaplaincy, he has contributed to the social reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals, supporting them—as well as their victims—in their healing process. Deeply involved in Development and Peace campaigns, he raises awareness among local people about the realities faced by populations in the Global South, the degradation of ecological environments, and the role of governments, financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations in a globalized world. He is regularly invited to give workshops on the social doctrine of the Church and to suggest ways to apply this doctrine. Brian, who also holds a master's degree in theology, teaches at Concordia University, the Grand Séminaire de Montréal, and the Dominican Institute of Pastoral Studies.

Topic:

1. War & Peace in the Global Village

 

Luke Mandato Mandato is a Canadian journalist currently working as a Reporter for The Catholic Register, the oldest English Catholic publication in Canada. With a focus on writing local, national and international news that blend faith, human interest, community issues, and other religious affairs, his work has been featured on outlets such as EWTN News, OSV News, Canadian Catholic News, The B.C. Catholic, The Catholic Standard, Our Sunday Visitor and more. Mandato has also written extensively in the technology and crime field, for Canadian publications such as MobileSyrup, Android Police and Village Media.

Topic:

1. The Role of News & Media

 

Randy Boyagoda is a novelist and Professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he also serves as Vice-Dean, Undergraduate in the Faculty of Arts and Science and as the university's advisor on civil discourse, the first such position in Canada. Prior to these roles, he served as Principal of St Michael’s College at the university, and also held the Basilian Chair in Christianity, Arts, and Letters. He was named one of Toronto’s fifty most influential people by Toronto Life magazine in recognition of his work in civil discourse. He is the author of seven books, including four novels that have been nominated for the Giller Prize, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize, and named New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice selections and Globe and Mail Best Books of the year. A frequent contributor to CBC Radio, including as a national columnist on civil discourse, and former President of PEN Canada, he writes opinions, essays and reviews for publications including the Atlantic, the New York Times, the Financial Times of London, the Globe and Mail, and The Walrus. His new book, Lords of Serendipity, an epic campus novel about a Sri Lankan village girl who dreams of going to Harvard and then does whatever it takes to get in, comes out this September. He lives in the east end of Toronto with his wife Anna, director of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program for the Archdiocese, and their four daughters and his father, and they are parishioners at Corpus Christi parish.

Topic:

1. The Role of News & Media