Marquette University High School science teacher Joe Meyer has been named a recipient of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s 2026 St. John XXIII Award for Spirit of the Council.

The award recognizes leaders who embody the vision of the Second Vatican Council through innovative ministry, a faith-filled passion for the Church and an attentiveness to the “signs of the times.” Meyer will be recognized at the Archbishop’s Vatican II Awards ceremony on Sept. 22.

In addition to teaching science at Marquette High, Meyer is the founder and executive director of the Catholic Ecology Center, a faith-based environmental education and retreat center in Neosho, Wisconsin. The center helps people encounter God through creation while offering educational programs, retreats, outdoor recreation and opportunities for ecological stewardship.

The ministry grew from an inspiration Meyer experienced following a Marquette High faculty retreat in 2016. Pope Francis had issued his encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home the previous year, and Meyer felt called to bring together his love of Catholic faith, ecology and education. He founded the Laudato Si’ Project, which later established the Catholic Ecology Center on a 225-acre nature preserve.

Today, the center welcomes individuals, families, students, parishes and other groups for experiences that connect Catholic teaching with care for creation. Meyer also brings environmental science to life for Marquette High students through outdoor learning and field experiences.

Through his work at Marquette High and the Catholic Ecology Center, Meyer has created new ways for young people and families to understand creation as a gift from God and recognize their responsibility to care for it.

Established in 1991, the Vatican II Awards honor men, women and young adults whose service exemplifies the Catholic Church’s vision as expressed through the Second Vatican Council.

Marquette High congratulates Joe Meyer on this recognition and thanks him for his service to students, the Church and the wider community.

View the complete list of 2026 Vatican II Award recipients.