Phoenix, AZ – Tepeyac Leadership, Inc. (TLI) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 St. Juan Diego Leadership for the World (SJLW) awards: Tim Flanagan and Kathryn Jean Lopez. Each will be honored with the SJLW award at The Hour of the Laity 2025 (THL2025) conference. The awards will be presented during the SJLW Award Dinner, scheduled for Saturday, November 8, 2025 at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Tim Flanagan
Tim Flanagan is the founder of Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI), established following a 1989 leadership retreat in Pecos River, New Mexico, and inspired by his profound love for the Catholic Church. In partnership with Rev. Charles Pfeffer, he launched CLI to bring premier leadership training to the Church.
Under his leadership, CLI has served more than 100 dioceses worldwide, offering programs such as Good Leaders, Good Shepherds, the Disciple Maker Index, and strategic leadership consulting.
After a distinguished 38-year career in the financial services industry—where he held roles as a top sales leader, manager, and business owner—Tim sold his business in 2003 to dedicate himself fully to CLI. He is a Chartered Leadership Fellow and has completed prestigious training at the Center for Creative Leadership and Stephen Covey’s Institute.
A graduate of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary’s Church Ministry Program, Tim has served the Church in various roles, including as lector, Eucharistic minister, and board member for several Catholic organizations. In 2019, Pope Francis honored him as a Knight of St. Sylvester, among many other accolades. A proud Villanova University alumnus, Tim and his late wife, Terese, were married for 60 years, raised six children, and have sixteen grandchildren. Together, they were recognized for a lifetime of service to the Church.
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Kathryn Jean Lopez is a nationally recognized writer, speaker, and passionate advocate for religious freedom, human dignity, and pro-life causes. She serves on the boards of the Shrine of the North American Martyrs, Franciscan University’s Institute for Catholic Humanitarian Service, Springs of Love, Witness to Love, and the University of Mary.
A certified spiritual director and trained sidewalk counselor, she also advises Hard as Nails Ministries, focusing on healing and evangelization. Lopez chairs Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s Pro-Life Commission in New York and often leads conversations on the dignity of life. She spoke at the Supreme Court rally during the Dobbs case, advocating for support and resources for women.
Lopez is a media fellow at the Religious Freedom Institute, co-author of How to Defend the Faith without Raising Your Voice, and contributor to multiple books on Catholic life and thought. Her segment, Caught My Eye, airs on Sirius XM’s Catholic Channel, and she recently joined the Center for Cultural Restoration.
Over the past 25 years, she has addressed audiences around the world, including at the Vatican, schools, and conferences. She has received numerous honors for journalism and advocacy and holds an honorary doctorate from The Catholic University of America. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI entrusted her with a message to women around the world.
About the St. Juan Diego Leadership for the World Award (SJLW)
In line with its mission to equip Catholic professionals as servant leaders who influence culture and serve the common good, TLI annually presents the St. Juan Diego Leadership for the World Award to lay Catholic leaders. Honorees are recognized for their contributions in social, professional, cultural, and political life—courageously promoting the truth and law brought by Jesus Christ.
The award is inspired by St. John Paul II’s prayer at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City in 1979, which TLI has adopted as its guiding prayer.
Past recipients include:
- 2024: Dr. Aaron Kheriaty (physician and author), and philanthropist Berni Neal
- 2023: Pro-life advocate Astrid Bennett, Brian Burch (President of Catholic Vote), and Tom Monaghan (founder of Legatus and Ave Maria University)
- 2022: Christopher Dodson (North Dakota Catholic Conference), author Mary Eberstadt, and Jon Sorensen (COO, Catholic Answers)
- 2021: Dr. Maria Chavira (Chancellor, Diocese of Phoenix), and Dr. Arturo & Mrs. Letty Ibarra, business leaders in California
- 2020: Justice William Montgomery (Arizona Supreme Court)
- 2019: Alan Sears, founder of Alliance Defending Freedom
About The Hour of the Laity 2025 (THL2025)
During a December 2022 interview with Fr. Mitch Pacwa on EWTN Live, TLI CEO Cristofer Pereyra announced the inaugural Hour of the Laity conference. The 2025 gathering is scheduled for November 6–8, 2025, at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. The SJLW awards will be presented during the conference.
THL2025 serves as a platform to form lay Catholics as civic leaders. Like TLI’s flagship program—the Tepeyac Leadership Initiative—the conference fulfills TLI’s mission to prepare lay Catholics in the U.S. and beyond for leadership roles in secular society. It is a national initiative aimed at raising the next generation of lay Catholic leaders for America and the world.
About Tepeyac Leadership, Inc. (TLI)
TLI is a 501(c)(3) Catholic nonprofit organization listed in The Official Catholic Directory with the canonical status of a private juridic person. Its mission is to deliver civic leadership development to lay Catholic professionals in the United States and beyond.
To learn more, visit TLIprogram.org or follow TLI on LinkedIn.
Sponsorship/media inquiries: media@tepeyacleadership.org
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