The Lineup

Fr. Stephen Gadberry

Master of Ceremonies

Raised on his family's rice and soybean farm in Wynne, Arkansas, Fr. Gadberry enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after high school, serving in Texas, Germany, and Iraq. It was there, far from home, that his childhood faith became something personal, and a quiet, persistent invitation from Christ became impossible to ignore. That invitation led him to Saint Joseph Seminary College, where he studied philosophy, and then to Rome, where he completed his theology studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Little Rock on May 28, 2016.  Since then, Fr. Gadberry's ministry has taken him well beyond the parish, onto the obstacle courses of NBC's American Ninja Warrior (yes, in his collar), into the Word on Fire Institute as a fellow of Bishop Robert Barron, and into the gym, where he coaches CrossFit and preaches that discipline of body and soul go hand in hand.  He's also a hunter, archer, musician.  At AYF 2027, Fr. Gadberry returns to the Abbey where his own formation began, proof that God's call can reach a farm boy, an airman, and a Ninja Warrior all in the same man.

You can find him here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.gadberry.5
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fatherstephenjgadberry

Fr. Chris Boutin

Master of Ceremonies

Fr. Chris Boutin planned on a career in business but God, as he likes to say, had other plans. Fr. Chris is a graduate of Auburn University at Montgomery and a former college baseball player, he spent seven years in the insurance industry before answering the call to priesthood. That journey began right here at Saint Joseph Seminary College, where he studied philosophy before earning his Master of Divinity from Saint Meinrad Seminary. 

Ordained for the Archdiocese of Mobile in 2016, Fr. Boutin serves as pastor of St. Martin of Tours and St. John the Evangelist parishes in southeast Alabama, with ministries reaching college students at Troy University and the incarcerated through prison ministry. His pairing of genuine reverence with his quick sense of southern humor has earned him a devoted social media following.  Fr. Boutin returns to the Abbey where his own vocation took root to help lead Abbey Youth Fest 2027.

You can find him here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.boutin.5/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fr_chrisb

John Finch

Worship Leader

John Finch is a Catholic worship leader and songwriter whose desire is to write and share music that leads people to encounter Jesus. A native of Mandeville, Louisiana, John has spent more than a decade serving the Church by leading worship throughout the Archdiocese of New Orleans, across the United States, and around the world.

As a teenager, John was blessed to experience Abbey Youth Fest, and he is grateful to now return as a musician and serve as part of the festival’s team in 2027. Alongside his travels, he continues to serve faithfully as a worship leader in his local parish and community.

You can find him here:

Website: https://www.johnfinchmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnfinchmusic/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnfinchmusic/

Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio

Keynote

Sarah Denny Lorio, Ph.D. is a speaker, podcast host, and part-time ethicist with the National Catholic Bioethics Center. She holds a Ph.D. in Bioethics from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome and an M.A. in Theology from Notre Dame Seminary and Graduate School in New Orleans, LA. Her doctoral research focused on the differing philosophies that affect the practice of women’s health in the United States of America and argued for a “third way” of sex education that teaches young people fertility awareness-based methods both as preventive medicine and as proximate vocation preparation.

Throughout the last 14 years, Dr. Lorio has taught at both the university and high school levels: working as an ethics professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, teaching and coaching young women at Archbishop Chapelle High School, and speaking and leading international trips for college students as a campus minister at Louisiana State University. Trained in two methods of fertility awareness—Creighton Model FertilityCare System (2013) and FEMM (2024)—her passion is to empower women through a deeper knowledge of the great gift and beauty of their bodies and sexuality. In her work, Dr. Denny Lorio consistently seeks to integrate the demands of medicine with the dignity of womanhood and highlights the essential role of human freedom in the education of young women. She is in the process of developing a high school curriculum focusing on these issues as well as creating similar resources for parents. Dr. Denny Lorio currently lives in New Orleans, LA, with her husband, Alex.

You can find her here:

Website: https://www.whatwomenare.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sarahdennylorio

Celebrant - Vigil Mass

Fr. Josh Johnson

Keynote and Celebrant - Adoration and Benediction

After powerfully encountering Jesus in the Eucharist as a teenager, Fr. Josh Johnson dedicated his life to becoming a wholehearted disciple of Jesus Christ. Ordained for the Diocese of Baton Rouge in 2014, Fr. Josh has dedicated his priesthood to inviting all people to become saints in their walk toward eternity.

Fr. Josh travels widely as a speaker at conferences, retreats, and youth events. Fr. Josh was one of 3 MCs at the historic National Eucharistic Congress in 2024. He is well-known for his popular Ascension podcast Ask Father Josh as well as his Q&A videos on Ascension Presents. Fr. Josh has written several books with Ascension, including the best-selling Pocket Guide to Reconciliation co-written with Fr. Mike Schmitz and On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Restoring God’s Vision of Race and Discipleship. He appears in many Ascension video programs including Connected: Catholic Social Teaching for This Generation, and SET FREE: Daily Lenten Reflections, based on his latest book, Pocket Guide to Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins.

Fr. Josh is the Director of the Blessed Stanley Rother Seminary House of Formation, as well as pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus parish. He can often be found praying the Rosary and walking in the neighborhoods of his parish, inviting those under his pastoral care to become intentional disciples of Jesus Christ.

He can be found here:

Website:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.johnson.79/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frjoshjohnson

Archbishop James Checcio

Mass Celebrant

Archbishop James F. Checchio was born in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in Collingswood. He studied philosophy at the University of Scranton before heading to Rome, where he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Camden on June 20, 1992. He holds an MBA from LaSalle University and a Doctorate of Canon Law from the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

Before being named Bishop of Metuchen by Pope Francis in 2016, Archbishop Checchio served for nearly a decade as rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome — during which time the College reached its highest seminary enrollment since the 1960s. Prior to that, he held a wide range of pastoral and administrative roles in the Diocese of Camden, including moderator of the curia, director of communications, and parochial vicar at several parishes.

He was appointed a Monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 2000 and a Prelate of Honor by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011. In September 2025, Pope Leo XIV appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of New Orleans, and on February 11, 2026, he became the 15th Archbishop of New Orleans — bringing to the Archdiocese decades of pastoral experience, administrative expertise, and a deep love for the Church's young people.