Mysterium Encounter: Theological Implications of Secret Societies
Uncover the Theological Implications behind Secret Societies at our third Mysterium Encounter, held on Thursday, March 19th! Join us for dinner, cocktails, and mysterious theology!
The event will begin at 6:00pm. Registration will be $30. Please click the link below to register!
SPEAKERS
Fr. Hugh Barbour, O.Praem
Fr. Hugh Barbour, O.Praem., is a Norbertine of St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, California. He grew up in South Pasadena and is a convert from the Episcopal Church. After earning a bachelor’s degree in classics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Fr. Hugh entered St. Michael’s in 1982 and was ordained a priest in 1990. He earned a license in patristic theology at the Augustinianum and a doctorate in philosophy at the Angelicum in Rome. He has taught philosophy at St. Michael’s to the Abbey’s junior professed seminarians studying for the priesthood since 1992 and was prior of the abbey from 1995 until 2017. Fr. Hugh has been active over the years in weekend parish ministry and in giving talks and retreats; he has served as chaplain of the St. Thomas More Society of Orange County and as censor deputatus of the Diocese of Orange, and he is a knight commander of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Fr. Diego Menniti, D. Be, S. Th. L.
Fr. Diego Menniti, a priest of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace (Calabria, Italy), was ordained on June 27, 2015. He pursued his philosophical and theological studies in Calabria before earning a Licentiate in Social Moral Theology with a specialization in Bioethics (S.Th.L.) in 2016.
Recognized for his leadership, he was appointed by the Regional Catholic Bishops Conference to oversee the Preparatory Year at the Pontifical Regional Seminary “S. Pio X” of Catanzaro during the 2017-2018 academic year.
Fr. Menniti deepened his expertise in bioethics internationally, earning a Master of Arts in Bioethics from Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles, California) in 2020, followed by a Doctorate in Bioethics (D. Be) from Loyola University Chicago in 2023. His doctoral research integrates theology, bioethics, and contemporary ethical challenges, solidifying his authority in the field.
Since April 2024, he has been serving at St. Kilian Catholic Church in Mission Viejo, in the Diocese of Orange, California.
Mr. Wesley Saban, B. Ba
Wesley Saban resides in Irvine, California. He was born and raised Mormon, serving as a Mormon missionary in Brisbane, Australia in 2017. In 2021, influenced by the writings of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, he left Mormonism to pursue Trinitarian Christianity. Wesley was baptized Catholic at St. Michael’s Abbey in 2023. Since then, he has assisted many of his friends in receiving their sacraments, and retains a fire for evangelization through the intercession of our Holy Mother.
