Fr. Ernie was born and raised on the Canadian Prairies. After several years bumming around university campus, he finally heard the Lord’s call to religious life and priesthood. He was ordained in 1978, and spent his first years of ministry at the Oblates’ seminary in Boston. In 1985, he was sent to be pastor of a multilingual and multicultural parish in Montreal.
Over these years, he was drawn deeply into the mission of retreat work and spiritual direction. In 1991, he had the opportunity for a sabbatical in spirituality at the Gregorian University in Rome. Subsequently, he undertook a six year period of formation in spiritual direction at the Ignatian Spirituality Centre of Montreal. In 2000, he was invited to become the Executive Director of that same Centre.
Fr. Ernie’s rich experiences in Montreal, combined with a retreat given to the priests of the Archdiocese of Denver, gave rise to the dream of an Oblate Spirituality Center in Denver. This dream became a reality last Fall when he was sent to become the founder and Executive Director of the Lanteri Center. These first few years have been filled with many graces!
Fr. Greg Cleveland, O.M.V.
Fr. Greg joins the Ignatian Center from Boston, MA, where he served the last seven years as Rector and Novice Master at Our Lady of Grace Seminary for the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. He is a native of Chicago and graduated from the U. of Illinois. After college, Fr. Greg headed in the direction of a career in business as a market manager for a Midwestern railroad. After experiencing God’s call to priesthood in 1987, he joined the Oblate seminary in Boston. He was ordained in 1995 with an M.A. in Spiritual Theology. His thesis was “The Experience of Wholeness and Integration in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.” He was then assigned to parish work in New Jersey with a wide range of ministries to the poor, disabled and imprisoned. He obtained certification in Spiritual Direction from the Center for Spiritual Development in New York City before heading to Boston to work in seminary formation. Fr. Greg enjoys helping people to God through retreats, parish missions and individual spiritual guidance.
Albert Starkey
Al was born and brought up in New England where he attended a diocesan seminary for four years and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology, psychology and organizational psychology. He was an executive and an independent consultant with a practice focused on individual growth and development. As a way of deepening his work with individuals, he trained for over six years in Jungian psychology and received his certificate as a spiritual director from The Mercy Center in Colorado Springs.
After a six month writing sabbatical on an island off the west coast of Ireland during 1999, he and his wife, Susan met a community of Carmelite hermits and entered formation with them as lay contemplatives. They subsequently lived and worked with them for 13 months at their monastery in County Sligo, Ireland where Al offered spiritual direction and days of recollection while also providing professional support to two local dioceses and a Catholic University.
As a spiritual director, Al’s gift for deep listening and his belief in the uniqueness of each person as an expression of God, encourages people to discover the felt presence of God in their lives and to courageously follow the particular, often subtle, path on which God is leading them. Al and Susan have two grown sons, and live in Evergreen, Colorado, with their two Siberian huskies.
Bonnie Vanni
Bonnie was born and raised on a farm in Iowa. She is a registered nurse with a BSN degree and has worked in many different settings and with all ages, however Pediatrics was her specialty. She is married with three grown children. While raising her family, she continued to pursue a call to attend and graduate from the Catholic Biblical School and Stephen Ministry. She has volunteered as a mentor to single, pregnant women and has served as a board member for Mother House, a shelter for expectant mothers. She has traveled on numerous trips to Third –World countries as a medical missionary since 2000, to regions of Asia, South East Asia, Africa and South America serving the poor and less fortunate.
Bonnie has been actively involved in the healing prayer ministry since 1999. She served as a coordinator of Formation for Healing Ministry with Father Michael Walsh at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Denver. She has graduate certificates from Francis and Judith MacNutt’s School for Healing Prayer and John and Paula Sandford’s Elijah House study of inner healing. She obtained training and a graduate certificate in the ministry of spiritual direction at Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey in Pecos, New Mexico.
Bonnie finds great joy in helping others to know the Lord in a deep personal way. She has a sincere desire for all to know and experience His mercy, compassion and healing touch.
Lee McDowell
Lee was born and raised in rural Maryland near the beach town of Ocean City. In the fall and winter walks in the woods and in the summer walks on the beach were favorite places for reflection. She also lived as an exchange student in Brazil, where she first encountered Christ through the preaching of an American missionary. At Wheaton College she met the late Dr. Clyde McDowell who grew up in Paraguay as the son of medical missionaries. Clyde was the pastor of three churches and served as the fifth president of Denver Seminary. Lee lives in Denver and has three children and two granddaughters.
Lee is passionate about seeing people grow personally and in their relationship with the Lord. She served on the clinical staff of Southwest Counseling Associates and Missionary Care Services specializing in issues of grief, loss, transition, women’s issues and Christian ministry. For 25 years she led ministries of spiritual development as a women’s ministry director, recovery group’s director, and Bible teacher. Lee serves on the Boards of Trustees of Overseas Missionary Fellowship International and Colorado Christian University. She has traveled to numerous countries in South America and Asia to counsel and encourage missionaries.
Lee has an MA degree from Denver Seminary in counseling psychology and a graduate certificate from the University of Denver in organizational leadership. She is a student of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil this year.
Kay Davis
Kay was born in Denver and raised in Colorado Springs. She grewup in a large family that gave her a love of horseback riding, sports, adventure and her Roman Catholic faith—not necessarily in that order. Kay attended Colorado State University, graduating with a degree in Technical Journalism. She went on to paralegal school and worked for the Colorado Attorney General’s office in its Civil Rights Litigation section. In 1987, a new adventure took hold of her heart and she joined the Spiritual Life Institute, a diocesan institute of men and women who live lives of solitude and community. She lived at the Institute’s three monastic-wilderness centers in Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Crestone, Colorado, until 2008. At that time, Kay felt a new call to return to the city and bring the lessons learned from 20 years of monastic living to others—as well as learn from others!
Kay has a Masters in Spirituality and Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Creighton University. She is also a part-time teacher of religion at Regis Jesuit High School. In addition to still loving all the things she learned from her family, Kay enjoys gardening and helping others to learn, to grow and discover their personal vocations. Kay considers it a great privilege to listen to and accompany others in spiritual direction.
