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Facilitator Bios

Father Tom W., S.J., a longtime Casa favorite.  Fr. Tom is a recovering alcoholic and a Catholic Priest from the Jesuit Order in CA whose insightful perspective of the12 steps with emphasis on their practical application in our daily lives is something you don’t want to miss.

Fr. Tom is a former Director of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a teacher and has degrees in counseling, education and theology.  He lectures, counsels, and conducts workshops and seminars internationally.

Fr. Tom O, S.J.  entered the Society of Jesus in September of 1976 and was ordained in June of 1990.  Fr. Tom taught for many years at Loyola High School in Los Angeles and after receiving an M.F.A. in painting from the Pratt Institute in New York, worked in the Fine Arts department at the University of San Francisco. Beginning in 2006, Fr. Tom developed a deep love for the ministry of the Jesuits among the Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. For the past eight years, he was an Associate Pastor at St. Ignatius Loyola parish in Sacramento. He also served as the Superior of Jesuit communities, first in San Francisco and later, in Sacramento. For over nine years, Tom has found deep freedom and grace as a member of 12 Step Recovery. In recent years he has also discovered serenity and healing in the fellowship of Al-anon.

Fr. Tom O.

Father Tim M., SJ.  Clean and sober since September 1979, Fr. Tim has a deep understanding of AA and the Big Book and is an experienced retreat master.  Fr. Tim served as a Chaplain in the California National Guard (2006-2018) and deployed overseas four times. Additionally, Fr. Tim has an extensive and diverse educational background.  In addition to a BA in Music and Biology, he holds an MA in Philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, an MS in Biology from Georgetown University, an MDiv and a ThM from Weston Jesuit School of Theology, as well as a PhD in Molecular Neurobiology from Stanford University.

 

Sister Linda F.  has been a grateful recovering alcoholic for the past 30 years.   A teacher by profession, Sr. Linda left the classroom in 2005.  Since then she has been involved in a full-time 12 Step retreat ministry.  She says she loves facilitating recovery retreats because “she receives every bit as much as she gives.”  She calls her own journey in recovery one of the greatest blessings in her life.  Her recent retreats have focused on Emotional Sobriety which she describes as living a balanced life; to have the ability to deal with life,  its joys and struggles, in a healthy manner.

Rev. Mother Carol Sanford, -  Mother Carol Sanford is an Episcopal priest and spiritual director who has been in Recovery since 1987. Currently living in Kansas City, Missouri, Carol continues to marvel at the unfolding joy and freedom always available through spiritual practices and communities. While deeply recognizing the pain in the world, she absolutely insists on enjoying the journey through life and having some fun along the way.

Sister Cathy C., OSF is a Franciscan Sister who is currently Director of the Franciscan Center in Tampa, FL.
She has been leading retreats for persons in AA and other 12 Step programs for over 25 years. Her sense of humor and her willingness to share her own experience, strength and hope make her a well received retreat director in many places around the country.

She believes that the 12 Steps and the spirituality they encourage are the greatest contribution to American spirituality in the last century.

Reverend John B. grew up in Philadelphia and attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and earned a Masters in Theology.

He became an ordained priest in 1988 and has been Pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Tempe Arizona since 2000. Prior to that Rev. John served as Director of Chaplaincy Services for the Philadelphia Prison System for 12 yrs. He is also Executive Director of the FullCircle Youth at Risk Program, which serves young people dealing with substance abuse, eating, cutting and other disorders.

He has given 12 Step Retreats for the past 25 yrs all over the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Sweden, Holland, and Hong Kong.

Father Scott B., a graduate of The Catholic University in Washington D.C., has served as an ordained Catholic Priest for 39 years and is currently the Pastor of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church in Mesa, Arizona.  Fr. Scott has 19 years of recovery in 12th step and an 11th step practice grounded in a deep contemplative prayer practice.  This combination provides Fr. Scott with a spiritual perspective of the 12 Steps that he shares through his personal experiences in a profound and insightful manner.

Father Terry R., a longtime Casa favorite.

12/21/22 - Sadly, Father Terry Ritchie, a long time retreat master known and loved by many of us passed this morning. We will long remember his kind and gentle nature and deep spiritual insights that have helped so many of us along the path we seek.

Father Terry's Obituary

Fr. Terry was a recovering alcoholic and a Catholic Priest from Los Angeles.
He was well known and a much-sought-after retreat leader, sharing from his more than 35 years of experience in recovery. He was enjoyable, disarmingly funny, and profound.

Fr. Terry’s insights on how God loves us through the steps and especially in our brokenness is something we remember.

Father Bill F., S.J., a long-time Casa favorite passed on November 28, 2021 at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, at age 85.

Fr. Bill was a recovering alcoholic and a Catholic priest from the Jesuit Order in CA.
He taught Archeology and Theology at the University of Southern California and Loyola-Marymount University where he was the NEH Chair in Ancient Mediterranean Studies/Department of Classics.

He was enjoyable, outrageously humorous, and profound!!!  He is profoundly missed.

 **These events are not formally affiliated with or sponsored by Alcoholics Anonymous.