Peter Carter:  is co-author with Cardinal Sarah of The Song of the Lamb: Sacred Music and the Heavenly Liturgy. He is the founder and director of the Catholic Sacred Music Project, which is devoted to forming emerging leaders for the renewal of sacred music. He also serves as the director of sacred music for both the Aquinas Institute of Princeton University and St. John the Baptist Church in Allentown, New Jersey. At St. John the Baptist, he leads the parish chorister program and conducts a thirty voice semi-professional Schola Cantorum who sing for a weekly Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

He has sung and recorded with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, the Grammy® nominated Westminster Williamson Voices, The Same Stream, and The Lotus Project. He has performed as an organist in the United States and France and has played for televised liturgies on EWTN. As a clinician, he has led sacred music workshops throughout the United States and at the seminary of the Fraternity of St. Joseph the Guardian in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France. 

From 2016-2023, he served as the director of liturgical music for the Pro Civitate Dei summer conferences hosted by the Fraternity of St. Joseph the Guardian in the United States, France, and Chile. From 2019-2020, he served as co-host of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast, interviewing prominent Church figures and musicians including Robert Cardinal Sarah, Olivier Latry, and Sir James MacMillan. In 2020 and 2024, Mr. Carter directed the music for Sarum Vespers in Philadelphia and Princeton which were the first Catholic Sarum liturgies in the United States.  In 2021, he founded The Catholic Sacred Music Project with an inaugural Choral Festival at the Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, and a Choral Festival in San Francisco in 2022. He continues his work with the Catholic Sacred Music Project with an annual Sacred Music Summer School in Princeton, NJ, forming musicians to serve the Church with the highest level of musical excellence.

Mr. Carter holds degrees from Westminster Choir College.​​

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Nicolas Charbonneau, PRINCIPAL, ASSOCIATE AIA, WASHINGTON, D.C is the award-winning director of the Harrison Design's Sacred Architecture Studio, which is based in the Washington, D.C. office. His accomplishments distinguish him as one of the premier designers of Catholic churches and classical schools in the country. Nic brings an abiding dedication to the noble principles of classical architecture, its forms and proportions, and draws on his experience in the construction industry. He has directed and overseen all phases of design for a diverse group of projects, ranging from large-scale ecclesiastical and institutional projects to intricately detailed interior renovations. Before joining Harrison Design in 2015, he worked with several Virginia and Washington, D.C. firms. Nic earned his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame with an undergraduate degree in philosophy.

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Martin Earle is a British artist specialising in sacred art and furnishings for the liturgy. His practice is rooted in the conviction that “the Word became flesh” and shaped by hands-on research into the relationship between traditional techniques—including egg tempera, carving, mosaic, and other slow crafts—and the Christian image. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, he creates new commissions for churches across the UK and USA, including a Grand Prize-winning crucifix for St Mary's Cathedral in Aberdeen. Alongside individual works, he designs sacred spaces and collaborates with fellow craftspeople committed to making beautiful things for God.

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William Heyer, is a classical architect in Columbus, Ohio where he has directed his own studio  since 2002. He received his Bachelors of Architecture from Pratt Institute in New York City, his Masters of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame, and mentored under Thomas Gordon Smith, founder of the classical architecture program at the University of Notre Dame. His built projects include new churches, monasteries, and oratories, renovations to cathedrals and churches, as well as liturgical furnishings and directives on decorative arts.
William is professor of Fine Arts at the Pontifical College Josephinum where he teaches the popular class Sacred Architecture in the Life of the Church. He lectures nationally on the history and meaning of sacred architecture. His articles and interviews have appeared in Traditional Building Magazine, The National Catholic Register, Adoremus Bulletin, Sacred Architecture Journal, and online at Liturgical Arts Journal and LOGOS.
William is a member of The Society for Catholic Liturgy, The Diocese of Columbus Sacred Architecture & Art Commission, and The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. He is director of Ensemble Una Voce, an independent vocal ensemble performing beautiful sacred music throughout the Columbus Diocese. He lives in Bexley, Ohio.

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Fr. Robert McTeigue, SJ, is a member of the US Eastern Province of the Society of Jesus. A professor of philosophy and theology, he has taught worldwide and is known for his classes in both rhetoric and medical ethics. He is a member of the National Ethics Committee of the Catholic Medical Association. His book on preaching, I Have Someone to Tell You: A Jesuit Heralds the Gospel is now available. His latest books from Ignatius Press are Real Philosophy for Real People: Tools for Truthful Living (2020) and Christendom Lost and Found: Meditations for a Post Post-Christian Era (2022). He is host and producer of “The Catholic Current” via The Station of the Cross Catholic Media Network and a regular guest on EWTN's Prayful Posse with Raymond Arroyo, Robert Royal and Fr. Gerald Murry.​

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Dr. Jem Sullivan serves as associate professor of practice in Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the history and theory of Catechetics. Dr. Sullivan was appointed to serve as a member of the International Council for Catechesis under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Rome. Her research and publications focus on liturgical catechesis and the place of beauty and the arts in catechesis and evangelization. For three decades, Dr. Sullivan has engaged actively in catechetical initiatives at the national and diocesan levels, including serving as lead staff to the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catechism. Dr. Sullivan is the author of four books on catechetical themes: A Study Guide to the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults; The Beauty of Faith: Christian Art and the New Evangelization; Opening the Door of Faith: A Study Guide for Catechists and the New Evangelization; and Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray: A Weekly Walk with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. She is the host of a podcast "Echoing Faith Today," that engages discussion on contemporary themes in catechesis and evangelization in the Directory for Catechesis. 

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Dr. Sullivan is the principal investigator and project lead for a liturgical catechesis project funded by a $802,000 grant award from Lilly Endowment Inc. in its Nurturing Children in Worship and Prayer Initiative.

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Hope Ensing, Director of Canning Liturgical Arts

Hope joined the Canning Liturgical Arts team with a focused interest in restoring beauty to America’s sacred buildings. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College with a B.A. in History and concentrations in both German and Art History. She has a deep appreciation of America's historic architecture and the artistic talents who envisioned and produced these timeless gifts to the world. Her background in Art History, German, and Italian has inspired a love of historic architecture and decoration. Her experiences with various conservators and curators have guided her interests in artistic preservation, beautification, and urban development towards revitalizing the churches that define the American skyline. Hope is dedicated to preserving and beautifying sacred buildings so that everyone might experience the wonder of that which is truly beautiful.

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Q & A MODERATOR

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William Newton is a critic, commentator, and public speaker with a variety of interests in the art world. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, the University of Notre Dame Law School, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London. He lives in Washington, D.C.

He has served as an art critic for the American edition of The Spectator magazine, as well as for the online magazine The Federalist, and his work has appeared in Aleteia, The Catholic Herald (UK), and Patheos, among other publications. As a public speaker, he has addressed academic, professional, and religious institutions around the U.S.,and appeared on numerous podcasts. He is currently finishing his first book, which
deals with artistic and cultural observations drawn from his travels in Spain.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

The conference began with the votive mass of Bl. Fra Angelico in the Dominican House of Studies chapel accompanied by choral polyphonic music.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Friday September 18, 2026

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10:00-11:15   Opening Mass of Bl. Fra Angelico, Dominican House of Studies Chapel

11:30-11:45   Registration Fr. O'Connell Hall
 

11:45-12:45   Lunch

12:45- 1:00   Welcome Address, Kathleen Carr, Catholic Art Institute President
 

1:00-1:45      1st Presentation - Peter Carter
 

1:45-2:00      Q & A moderated by William Newton
 

2:30- 3:00    Break & Networking Time
 

3:00-3:45      2nd Presentation - Fr. Robert McTeigue S.J.

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3:45 -4:00    Q& A moderated by William Newton

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4:00-4:15      Break & Networking Time

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4:15-5:00.     3rd Presentation - Nicolas Charbonneau

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5:00-5:15     Q& A moderated by William Newton

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5:15               Dismissal for Non VIP Ticket Holders

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5:15 - 6:15     VIP Reception for VIP Ticket Holder with Conference Presenters - Heritage Hall

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Saturday September 19, 2026
 

11:00-11:45    4th Presentation - Dr. Jem Sullivan,

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11:45-12:00    Q & A moderated by William Newton

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12:00-1:00     Lunch
 

1:00-1:45      5th Presentation -  Martin Earle

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1:45-2:00      Q & A moderated by William Newton
 

2:00-:2:30    Break & Networking Time
 

2:30-3:15.    6th Presentation  - William Heyer

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3:15-3:30      Q & A moderated by William Newton

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3:30-3:40.    7th Presentation Hope Ensing, Director Canning Liturgical Arts

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3:40 - 5:00  Bernini Awards Ceremony  (Submission accepted until Aug 5th 2026: https://www.catholicartinstitute.org/bernini)

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5:00 - 6:00  Reception with speakers for all conference attendees.

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* conference agenda is subject to change excluding start and end times which will remain as listed.

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