2026 International Salesian Research Seminar (ISRS)
The 2026 International Salesian Research Seminar (ISRS) took place October 1-4, at DeSales Resources & Ministries, on the campus of the Center for Renewal Retreat & Conference Center in Stella Niagara, NY.
*Please see below for photo caption.
Founded in 1994 by the late Fr. Joseph F. Power, OSFS, the ISRS meets biannually as a forum for scholars doing original research in the primary Salesian sources to share their work with, and to receive input from, other researchers working in the field of Salesian Studies. While most members come from the United States, Salesian scholars from Belgium, Canada, France, and Ireland occasionally participate in the Seminar.
The thematic focus of the 2026 ISRS was the Salesian scholarship of the late Dr. Wendy M. Wright (1947-2025), who was Professor Emerita of Theology at Creighton University and an internationally renowned Salesian scholar. She was also a charter member of the ISRS and, from 2002 until her death in 2025, served as one of its two co-chairs—a role that was introduced after Fr. Power’s death in 2002.
Functioning in true seminar fashion, papers are circulated to ISRS members in advance, while at the Seminar a significant amount of time is devoted to an in-depth discussion of each paper. Someone other than the author introduces the paper by offering a brief overview and then a few questions to tee up the discussion by the group as a whole.
This year, eight papers were presented and discussed:
Dr. Thomas A. Donlan (Brophy College Preparatory, Phoenix, AZ), “Recovering Francis de Sales as Renaissance Humanist”;
Dr. Terence McGoldrick (Professor of Theology, Providence College), “‘Your Misery is the Throne of God’s Mercy’: Francis de Sales’s Spiritual Remedy for Seventeenth-Century Anxiety and Collective Guilt Neurosis”;
Riccardo Chmielowiec (Ph.D. student, University of Montreal and the Sorbonne), “‘For I Too Am Stripped Bare’: Spiritual Nakedness as Perfected Eloquence in the Letters of Francis de Sales”;
Bro. Daniel P. Wisniewski, OSFS (Catholic University of America), “A Savoyard Bromance: The Heart-to-Heart Friendship of Francis de Sales and Antoine Favre”;
Fr. Joseph F. Chorpenning, OSFS (International Commission for Salesian Studies), “An Interconnected World of Hearts: The Deep Grammar of Pope Francis’s Encyclical on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ”;
Sr. Mary Frohlich, RSCJ (Professor Emerita of Spirituality, Chicago Theological Union), “Joseph-Marie Favre, Savoyard Missionary and Spiritual Guide (1791-1838)”;
Dr. Suzanne Toczyski (Professor Emerita of French Language & Literature, Sonoma State University), “‘Friendship wherein God is the bond’: Heart Speaking to Heart among the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales”;
Dr. Christian S. Krokus (Professor of Theology, University of Scranton), “A Genealogical Reflection on Le Point Vierge: Al-Hallaj, Louis Massignon, Thomas Merton, and Wendy Wright”
After the Seminar, authors often publish their papers in academic/scholarly journals or books. It is likely that several papers from the 2026 ISRS will be published in a memorial volume being planned to honor Wendy Wright.
Also attending the ISRS as auditors were Fr. David Harris (Archdiocese of Louisville), Sr. Brenda Lisenby, VHM, Sr. Mary Grace McCormack, VHM, and Amy Sauer (Dean of Mission Integration, Visitation Academy, Saint Louis, MO).
Fr. Michael Newman, OSFS (Provincial-elect, North American Province, and a member of the ISRS), was the presider and homilist for the Saturday Vigil Mass. The customary celebratory dinner immediately followed at a restaurant in downtown Lewiston, NY.
As always, Ian Kinney, Director of Embraced by God, and DeSales Resources and Ministries, graciously hosted the ISRS, which has been held at this same venue since 1994, with the exception of 1996, when the Seminar met in Annecy, France.
Fr. Joseph F. Chorpenning, OSFS
Chair of the International Commission for Salesian Studies (ICSS)
Co-Chair of the International Salesian Research Seminar (ISRS).
*Photo Caption: Pictured from left, first row: Sr. Mary Grace McCormack, VHM, Sr. Mary Frohlich, RSCJ, Fr. Joseph Chorpenning, OSFS, Dr. Terence McGoldrick, and Dr. Suzanne Toczyski; second row: Amy Sauer, Riccardo Chmielowiec, Bro. Daniel Wisniewski, OSFS, Fr. Michael Newman, OSFS, Dr. Christian Krokus, Dr. Thomas Donlan, and Fr. David Harris.