The Star Speakers Series is a special program at Star of the Sea Parish dedicated to faith formation, evangelization, and thoughtful engagement with the Catholic intellectual and spiritual tradition. Held throughout the year, the series invites respected Catholic voices to speak on topics that inspire deeper discipleship, strengthen our understanding of the Church, and encourage Catholics to live their faith with clarity and confidence.

The parish began this Speakers’ Series by welcoming nationally and internationally recognized guests, including EWTN’s Raymond Arroyo, papal biographer George Weigel, and Boston College philosopher Dr. Peter Kreeft, as well as prominent Church leaders such as Cardinal George Pell, Cardinal Raymond Burke, and Cardinal Francis Arinze.

Through these evenings of learning and reflection, the Star Speakers Series continues to serve as a meaningful opportunity for parishioners and visitors alike to grow in faith, hear from outstanding Catholic thinkers, and build a stronger Catholic community.

For information on upcoming speakers and events, please visit our parish calendar.

Featuring Father Lawrence Lew, O.P., CSMA (September 11, 2026)
As part of our Star Speakers Series, we were blessed to welcome Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. for a presentation sponsored by Our Lady of Fatima Star Pro-Life Apostolate.

Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. is the global Promoter General for the Holy Rosary, overseeing the growth and promotion of the Rosary Confraternity for the worldwide Dominican Order. In particular, he has a love for Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima and promotes the message and lessons of Fatima. Until 2023, he had served as Rector of the Rosary Shrine in London, where he worked with EWTN and Shalom TV to raise the international profile of London’s largest Marian shrine. Concurrently, Fr. Lawrence had served a full term as Prior of the Dominican community in London, and he was also Parish Priest of a busy north London parish. Since his ordination in 2011 Fr. Lawrence has also served as assistant university chaplain in Edinburgh, Spiritual Director to the Legion of Mary Curia in Westminster Diocese, National Chaplain to the ‘Scouts and Guides of Europe’ in England, and he has been lector in Apologetics, in Digital Media, and in Mariology at Blackfriars Studium in Oxford.
Fr. Lawrence was born in 1977 in Malaysia to a devout Protestant family, and he became a Catholic in Singapore, where he was taught by De La Salle brothers. He has lived and ministered in Asia, North America, and Europe. He has a degree in English civil law from the University of Leeds, and was trained for priestly ministry in Durham, Cambridge, and Oxford, and he obtained his License in Sacred Theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC.
As Promoter General of the Rosary, he is a member of the Dominican Order’s General Curia, but uniquely he is not resident in Rome. Instead, Fr. Lawrence is currently based in Blackfriars, Oxford, from where he travels throughout the world giving Marian and Rosary-themed mission talks, retreats, and workshops. In October 2025, he was spiritual guide for the ‘Exodus 90’ Rosary challenge, and in June 2026, he was a speaker at the first UK Men’s Pro-Life conference in Birmingham.
Fr. Lawrence’s photographs of sacred art and architecture have become prominent on social media, and have been seen in newspapers, magazines, book covers, and his own books. His third book, Entering Heaven on Earth: Signs, Symbols & Saints in Catholic Churches, was published in Autumn 2024 by Our Sunday Visitor and by CTS in 2025. It won an award in the 2025 Catholic Media Association Book Awards. His other books are Mysteries Made Visible, published by Ignatius Press in 2022, and Lenten Devotions, published by the CTS in 2023.
Fr. Lawrence is currently working with EWTN on a documentary series on his travels and photography, which is combined with a book tie-in, and he has just finished filming a pioneering series of short videos on sacred art and architecture for the Catholic Truth Society.

Featuring Fr. Piotr Prusakiewicz, CSMA (March 2–4, 2026)
As part of our Star Speakers Series, we were blessed to welcome Fr. Piotr Prusakiewicz, CSMA, for our Lenten Mission. His presence brought a powerful invitation to deepen our trust in God’s mercy, to grow in spiritual surrender, and to renew our awareness of the protection and guidance of St. Michael the Archangel.
Over the Lenten Retreat of three evenings, Fr. Peter led inspiring talks on:

• The Value of Sacrifice
• Surrender to God
• St. Michael the Archangel

Through Scripture, the writings of St. Faustina, and the Church’s teaching on the angels, Fr. Peter encouraged the faithful to embrace a deeper life of prayer, trust, and spiritual strength in daily life.
Fr. Peter currently resides at the General House of the Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel in Marki, Poland. He is an internationally known preacher, retreat master, and missionary with over twenty years of experience speaking at parish missions and conferences around the world.
From 1993–1996, he served as chaplain to the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw, where St. Faustina began her religious life. This experience deeply shaped his ministry and strengthened his mission to share the message of Divine Mercy and devotion to the holy angels.
For over two decades, Fr. Peter has travelled widely—preaching in more than 30 countries—sharing the message of Divine Mercy and teaching on St. Michael the Archangel and the nine choirs of angels. He is also editor of publications dedicated to the angels and Divine Mercy and serves in leadership roles within the Knighthood of St. Michael the Archangel.
We are grateful for this grace-filled Lenten Mission and for the opportunity to be renewed in faith, hope, and trust in God’s mercy and protection.