Spiritus Speaker Series
The Spiritus Speaker Series supports the mission of the Church
through dialogue, insight and faith formation at Carmel Catholic High School.
Join us to be inspired, to grow in faith and to encounter Christ.
All events are free of charge, open to the public and held at Carmel Catholic High School.
RSVP not required but is helpful!
Click on an event below for more detailed information.
Thursday, February 13, 2020, 6:30 pm
Year of Love
Jen Kramer is an average every day human with one caveat; she has a tremendously gigantic heart. As Jen looked at ways to best impact her year in 2018, she created the “Year of Love” as a way to share and express her love for all people (both those she knew and had yet to know) on her social media channels. What started as Jen’s ambitious New Years resolution, the Year of Love has evolved as a social experiment to publicly acknowledge love and affinity for people. Now, the Year of Love Project serves to inspire and motivate others to take on this practice.
Jen Kramer CCHS '88
Jen, an alumna of Carmel Catholic High School, has spent more than 20 years in the private sector working for Fortune 500 companies and in the public sector, coordinating large-scale events for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, Navy Pier and now DePaul University. Jen’s projects have included the Taste of Chicago, the Chicago Marathon, and both the White Sox and Blackhawk ticker-tape parades to name a few.
Jen is a graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism management. From there she worked for the Disney Corporation, Pepsi Co. and Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, businesses that taught her an unparalleled standard of excellence.
Jen has taught Special Event Management classes at Moraine Valley Community College and was awarded “People Who Made a Difference” in the adjunct professor category. In addition to her current role as Director of Events for DePaul University (the nation’s largest Catholic University), Jen also teaches a sold-out events class at DePaul several times a year.
Jen is the largest personal fundraiser and immediate past president of Special Olympics Chicago, a board she has served on since 2002. She grew up in a family where service above self was taught at a very young age, and looks for ongoing ways to make a difference in her community, and in Chicago.
Jen lives on the north side of the city. She loves riding her bike, enjoys Chicago’s tremendous food scene, and works to make time for Chicago Theater, never missing a musical. Jen is a fan of Chicago political history, her beloved lakefront, and loves to be a tourist in her own town.
Find out more about Jen and the Year of Love at her website and via the project's active ‘The Year of Love’ Facebook group.
Jen’s project garnered extensive local, national and international press on tv, print and blogs:
https://wbbm780.radio.com/articles/year-love-one-woman-shared-positivity-social-media-every-day-year
Thursday, March 12, 2020, 6:30 pm
Location: Black Box Theater (enter door A or N), Carmel Catholic High School, One Carmel Pkwy, Mundelein, Illinois
RSVP coming soon.
Mark Plaiss
Mark Plaiss is in his ninth year teaching at Carmel Catholic. His speech betrays his southern Indiana roots, and when he really gets going, he is often accused of actually hailing from points further south. He likes to read, write and take long walks at dawn. His favorite poet is Wordsworth, and his favorite book of the Bible is Luke, but with the Song of Songs biting closely at his heels. Mark holds a M.A. in Theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He was ordained to the diaconate in 2003, and in the summer of 2020 he will make his oblation at St. Meinrad Archabbey, a Benedictine monastery in southern Indiana.
Thursday, September 26, 2019, 6:30 pm
Come meet Fr. Kartje, astrophysicist turned Catholic priest and one of the most gifted leaders of the local Church as he is interviewed by Jason Huther, Principal of Carmel Catholic High School. Learn more about what drives these two brilliant and creative individuals to work for the future of the Church and the world.
Date and Time: Thursday, September 26, 6:30 pm
Location: Black Box Theater (enter door A or N), Carmel Catholic High School, One Carmel Pkwy, Mundelein, Illinois
Very Rev. John Kartje, Ph.D., S.T.D., Mundelein Seminary
Fr. Kartje has been the Rector at Mundelein Seminary since 2015.
Ph.D. (Astrophysics), University of Chicago; M.Div, S.T.B., University of St. Mary of the Lake; S.T.L, S.T.D. (Biblical Theology), Catholic University of America. Ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2002. Former Associate Pastor, St. Benedict, Chicago, IL. Former Chaplain and Director, Sheil Catholic Center, Northwestern University. Author of Wisdom Epistemology in the Psalter: A Study of Psalms 1, 73, 90, and 107 (De Gruyter, 2014). Member: Catholic Biblical Association, contributor to Chicago Studies.
Click here to read Father Kartje’s #RectorReflections
Jason Huther, Principal, Carmel Catholic High School
Mr. Jason Huther recently completed his first year as Carmel Catholic High School's principal. Jason previously held the position of Headmaster at Covington Latin School in Covington, Kentucky. He has served as an instructor in higher education and as a high school Latin teacher. Jason has earned two Master’s degrees and is a graduate of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program at the University of Notre Dame.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019, 6:30 pm
In 2008, Kevin Matthews, a well-known ABC and CBS radio personality in Chicago, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. As the drive-time radio host for seventeen years and also the voice of his sports commentator, Jim Shorts, and other characters, Matthews entertained ten million listeners weekly, sold out every appearance in the Midwest, and performed in front of 65,000 fans at Grant Park. He traveled around the world, met the famous, had babies named after him, and helped countless charities. He entertained hundreds of thousands of people inside prisons, army bases, and backyards. His promotions included comedy jams, a band, barbeque throw downs, and golf outings.
Broken Mary is Matthews' story of his early years in radio and stand-up comedy, his successful career, his struggle with MS, his awakening to the dignity of women, and, importantly, his chance encounter with a broken statue of Mary left next to a dumpster and all that happened as a result. Told with Matthews' signature good humor, this confession of the brokenness of mankind is touchingly honest, personally inspiring, and full of hope.
Matthews’s book is just the beginning of his story, what has happened since, is proof that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, leads us to her son and Kevin Matthews is a living testament of Mary’s grace and promises, through the statue of Our Lady of The Broken, Broken Mary.
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 16, 6:30 pm
Location: Auditorium, Carmel Catholic High School, One Carmel Pkwy, Mundelein, Illinois.
Seating is first-come, first-served.