Gerard Thomas Straub

“Poverty & Prayer” Presentations

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Making films for individuals and organizations dedicated to helping the poor was only part of what Pax et Bonum Communications did. An equally essential part of the ministry to the marginalized is creating an awareness of the cruel plight of the chronically impoverished while also connecting their struggles with our faith which compels us to relieve the suffering of unjust poverty, and we do this through presentations at churches, schools and organizations across the United States...as well as in Canada and Europe. Throughout the years, Gerard Thomas Straub, Pax et Bonum Communications’ founder and president, has given over 230 presentations.

 

Titled “Poverty & Prayer,” the presentation incorporates Gerry's compelling conversion story as well as clips from his some of his 22 heart-wrenching documentary films on global and domestic poverty, inspiring his audience to take purposeful action.

 

The following is a list of churches, high schools, and universities where Gerry has given his presentation. Some of the endorsements from people who have attended the presentation and have been profoundly moved by the experience can be read on the "What They are Saying" page.

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The following are the colleges, high schools, and grammar schools Gerry has visited and shown films:

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• University of Notre Dame in Indiana (2x)

• St. Bonaventure University in upstate New York (6x)

• University of Dayton in Ohio (3x)

• Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy (4x)

• Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

• Villanova University in Philadelphia

• Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (2x)

• St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania Canisius College in Buffalo, New York (2x)

• Wheaton College in Chicago

• Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia (5x)

• Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3x)

• Siena College in Loudonville, New York

• Cabrini College in Philadelphia

• Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan

• Holy Family University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island

• University of Buffalo in Amherst, New York (2x)

• The Catholic Theological Union in Chicago

• Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania

• Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington

• The University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Adelphi University in Garden City, New York

• Villa Maria College in Buffalo, New York

• The Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy

• The Emmanuel Community (4,500 young people) in Paray-le-Monial, France

• Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York (3x)

• Nazareth College in Rochester, New York

• Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois

• Bishop Hendricken High School in Providence, Rhode Island (3x)

• St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo, NY (2x)

• St. Mary’s Diocesan High School in Lancaster, New York

• Hamburg High School in Hamburg, New York

• Mission College Prep in San Luis Obispo, California

• Village Christian High School in Sunland, California

• Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island

• LaSalle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island

• St. Mary’s Bay View Academy in East Providence, Rhode Island

• Mount de Sales Academy in Macon, Georgia

• Ursuline Academy in St. Louis, Missouri

• St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, New Hampshire

• Beaumont School in Cleveland, Ohio

• St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio

• St. Francis High School in Toledo, Ohio

• Fr. Judge High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Conwell-Eagan Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Lexington Catholic High School in Lexington, Kentucky

• St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois

• Fr. Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan

• Immaculate Heart High School in Hollywood, California

• St. Martha’s Grammar School in Louisville, Kentucky

• St. Agnes Grammar School in Louisville, Kentucky

• St. Thomas Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio

• St. John Vianney High School in St. Louis, Missouri

• Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, California

• St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows, New York

• St. Anthony’s High School in So. Huntington, New York

• St. Francis High School in LaCañada, California (4x)

• Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York

• Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, California (3x)

• Xavier High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

• Central Catholic High School in Bloomington, Illinois

• Diocese of Rochester (NY) Youth Retreat

• Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York

• Central Catholic High School in Bloomington, Illinois

• Cardinal Leger Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario, Canada (2x)

• Beckman Catholic High School in Dyersville, Iowa

• Clearwater Academy in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• Bishop Diego Garcia High School in Santa Barbara, California

• Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio

• St. Joseph Academy in Cleveland, Ohio

• Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts 2x

• Ursuline Academy in Dedham (Boston), Massachusetts

• Mayfield Senior in Pasadena, California

• Bellarmine-Jefferson High School in Burbank, California

• Notre Dame Prep School, Pontiac, Michigan

• Algona, Iowa

• Iowa Luncheon

 

The following are the churches Gerry has visited and shown films:

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• Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey (Trappist, Kentucky) (Thomas Merton’s Monastery)

• Stella Maris Church in Kingston, Jamaica

• St. Charles Borromeo Church in Los Angeles, California (3x)

• Blessed Sacrament Church in Los Angeles, California

• St. John Nuemann Church in Santa Maria, California (2x)

• St. Francis of Assisi Church in Silver Lake, California

• Holy Family Church in South Pasadena, California (2x)

• St. Raphael Church in Santa Barbara, California

• Old Mission Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California (2x)

• Mission San Juan Bautista in San Juan Bautista, California

• Mission Santa Ines in Solvang, California (2x)

• St. Sebastian Church in Santa Paula, California

• Faith Lutheran Church in Canoga Park, California

• Religious Education Regional Conference in Santa Barbara, California (4x)

• National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi in San Francisco, California

• Temple Judea in Encino, California

• Seventh Day Adventist Media Center in Simi Valley, California

• Holy Trinity Church in Washington, DC

• Corpus Christi Church in New York, New York

• St. Mary of the Angels Church in Williamsville, New York

• Kuntze Memorial Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska

• Salvation Army Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska

• Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky

• Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale, Arizona

• Pallottine Renewal Center in Florissant, Missouri

• Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Detroit, Michigan) (2x)

• St. Francis of Assisi Church in Raleigh, North Carolina (2x)

• Christ Lutheran Church in Valencia, California

• St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo, New York

• Evangelical Lutheran Church Association Youth Gathering (San Antonio, TX)

• Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Lake View, New York

• Incarnation Church in Glendale, California

• St. Paul the Apostle Church in Los Angeles, California

• St. Matthew’s Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

• American Martyrs Church in Manhattan Beach, California (4x)

• St. Mary Magdalen Church in Camarillo, California (3x)

• St. Jerome Church in Westchester, California

• Holy Redeemer Church in Montrose, California Nebraska

• Lutheran Synod in Fremont, Nebraska

• Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral in San Bernardino, California

• St. Pius X in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Hiawatha, Iowa

• Pastoral Life Center of the Diocese of San Bernardino, California

• St. Paschal Baylon Church in Thousand Oaks, California

• L.A. Religious Education Regional Congress (Anaheim, California) (3x)

• Pax Christi Church in Lexington, Kentucky

• St. Bonaventure Church in Huntington Beach, California

• Holy Name of Jesus Church in Redland, California

• Good Shepard Church in Holbrook, New York

• Mary Immaculate Church in Bellport, New York

• St. Anthony Church in Casper, Wyoming

• St. Martha’s Church in Louisville, Kentucky

• Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky

• St. Thomas More Church in Narragansett, Rhode Island

• St. Mark’s Church in Jamestown, Rhode Island

• St. Patrick’s Church in Edina, Minnesota

• St. John Neumann Church in Eagan, Minnesota

• Guardian Angels Church in Oakdale, Minnesota

• Bethel Lutheran Church in Encino, California

• St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church in Buffalo, New York

• Padre Serra Church in Camarillo, California (2x)

• Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in San Diego, California

• Holy Family Church in West Union, Iowa (2x)

• The Church of the Assumption in Rochester, New York

• St. Mary’s Church in Bloomington, Illinois

• Christ the Good Shepard Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto, Canada

• Our Lady of Assumption Church in Ventura, California

• “The Well” Retreat Center in Chicago, Illinois (Sisters of St. Joseph)

• Blessed Sacrament Church in Buffalo, New York

• St. Gabriel’s Church in Buffalo, New York

• St. Mary’s in Waverly, Iowa

• Motherhouse of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubuque, Iowa

• St. Patrick’s Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

• Christ Our Savior Parish in Struthers, Ohio

• “River’s Edge” Retreat Center in Cleveland, Ohio (Sisters of St. Joseph)

• Martin de Porres Center in Columbus, Ohio (Dominican Sisters)

• St. Andrew Church in Rochester, Michigan (Three-night parish Lenten Mission)

• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Port Saint Lucie, Florida (Lenten Mission)

 

Special Presentations

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Gerry has also lead day-long retreats on the theme of poverty and prayer in California, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, New York, Minnesota, and Assisi, Italy. He gave a series of day-long retreats for the staff of the Archdiocese of Dubuque. He has also spoken at national conferences for religion teachers and campus ministers held in Maryland, Ohio, and Indiana. Gerry has given his presentation to the Trappist monks at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky and to the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn in New York City, as well as at gatherings of Secular Franciscans in Minnesota, Illinois, and New York. In August 2009 he gave a presentation at a gathering of over 5,000 young people in Paray-le-Monial, France. He also gave a presentation at the prestigious Orbis Books Speaker’s Series in Maryknoll, New York. He has given presentations to Legatus chapters in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Pasadena, California. In September 2004, Gerry’s film Endless Exodus was screened at an International Conference of Migration and Theology at the University of Notre Dame. In May 2006, Gerry gave the Commencement Address at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. In June 2007 he gave a special presentation at the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) Conference at the University of Notre Dame. In March 2007, Gerry’s global poverty photos exhibited at Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. In March of 2008, Gerry’s film The Patients of a Saint was screened at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. In October 2010, Gerry was the keynote speaker at a Vincentian Day of Reflection in Toledo, Ohio. In March 2011, Gerry was the keynote speaker at Villa Maria College’s Academic Honors Convocation. In November 2013, scenes from Gerry’s films were shown at the elaborately beautiful Uránia National Film Theater in Budapest, Hungary. In May 2014, Gerry was the keynote speaker at the National Association of Catechetical Media Professionals (NACMP) congress in St. Louis. In September 2014, Gerry was the keynote speaker in the annual Nebraskaland Festival of Faith held in North Platte, Nebraska. In October 2014, Gerry was the keynote speaker at the XXVI Annual Conference for Catechesis and Ministry for the Diocese of Victoria in Texas. In August 2015, Gerry was the keynote speaker at the Diocese of Wilmington Spirituality Day for 730 Catholic elementary and high school administrators and speakers. In April 2019, Gerry gave a two-day retreat for the Missionaries of Charity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In 2015 Gerry put his live presentations on hiatus in order to turn his attention to the plight of the children he is presently serving at the Santa Chiara Children's Center. In order to share how his spirituality has grown by living and serving in Haiti, Gerry is resuming his speaking engagements.