Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
Your Hosts
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Gina Capellazzi
Gina Capellazzi has hosted 10 episodes.
Digital Content Producer Gina Capellazzi has been with the Catholic Courier since 2015. Previously, she worked as a news and web producer for WHEC-TV. Gina holds a bachelor’s degree in communication/journalism from St. John Fisher University.
Gina has received numerous awards from the Catholic Media Association, including second- and third-place honors for Multimedia Journalist of the Year. She, Chief Photographer Jeff Witherow and Staff Writer Mike Latona collaborated on the multimedia project “Opioids: Next Generation is Dying,” which won a prestigious EPPY award from Editor & Publisher magazine in 2019.
She also was inducted into the Gates Chili Hall of Fame, which honors graduates who have achieved distinction and made significant contributions within their schools, careers and community.
Outside of the Catholic Courier, Gina assists with her parish’s youth ministry. She also is a figure skating journalist with Figure Skaters Online and co-host of the popular skating podcast “This Week in Skating.” She enjoys skating and traveling to cover skating competitions.
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Mike Latona
Mike Latona has hosted 2 episodes.
Staff Writer Mike Latona has been with the Courier since 1991, having earned numerous Catholic Press Association and New York Press Association awards for writing about the Catholic Church and a wide range of social-justice and human-interest issues. He has been the chief contact for Southern Tier coverage throughout his 32-year tenure; he also reports on western Monroe County.
He collaborated with Chief Photographer Jeff Witherow and Digital Content Producer Gina Capellazzi on the multimedia project “Opioids: Next Generation is Dying,” which won a prestigious EPPY award from Editor & Publisher magazine in 2019.
Mike is a former full-time sportswriter and part-time Catholic youth minister. In 2011 he co-wrote a book, A Coach and a Miracle, which recalls how Jason “J-Mac” McElwain — the autistic team basketball manager for Greece Athena High School — made worldwide headlines by scoring 20 points in the only varsity game he ever played.
Mike holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He and his wife, Paola, reside in the Town of Greece where they have three young-adult children — Andrew, Matthew and Catherine — and three cats. He loves golfing, bowling and following the Buffalo Bills, the Chicago Cubs and Syracuse basketball.
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Elena Cambio
Elena Cambio has hosted 2 episodes.
In addition to covering central Monroe County for the Catholic Courier, part-time Staff Writer Elena Cambio also is a fiction writer, independent filmmaker and teacher. She currently is making a short film called “Souled,” and she is preparing a documentary that will follow her upcoming pilgrimage to the holy places of the martyrs of Korea. Her short story “Vinny and Luca” appeared in the June 2023 issue of Lake Affect Magazine.
Elena holds an MFA in imaging arts from Rochester Institute of Technology, an MA in linguistics from Ohio University, a BA from St. John Fisher University and a Certificate in Catechetical Leadership through the Diocese of Rochester.
She has taught screenwriting, English to Speakers of Other Languages, academic writing, literature and religion as well as sacramental preparation in a variety of academic and parish contexts. She also has taught English as a Foreign Language in South Korea and the People’s Republic of China.
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Jennifer Ficcaglia
Jennifer Ficcaglia has hosted 1 episode.
Jennifer Ficcaglia has been the Catholic Courier’s managing editor since 2002. In this role, she manages the newsroom’s day-to-day activity, supervises newsroom staff, assigns stories and edits copy.
She earned a bachelor of arts degree from St. John Fisher College (now University), double-majoring in communication/journalism and English with a writing concentration, plus minoring in history.
Before joining the Courier, Jennifer was a reporter and editor for daily newspapers in the Finger Lakes and western New York and operated a freelance writing, editing, proofreading and publication-design business with her husband.
In addition to managing the Courier’s newsroom and its staff, Jennifer also writes a nationally syndicated children’s catechetical column, “Kids’ Chronicle,” for which she won a first-place Catholic Press Association (now Catholic Media Association) award in 2020.
A voracious reader and history buff, Jennifer enjoys both fiction and nonfiction writing, especially works by J.R.R. Tolkien and other fantasy writers. She is an avid cook and occasional crafter, and her cooking and crafting videos often appear in the Courier’s annual digital Advent Calendar. She and her family enjoy gaming and play a popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) through which they’ve befriended people from around the world.
Jennifer and her husband, Joe, live in the Finger Lakes with their two young-adult sons and their cute but naughty Brittany spaniel.
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