Join women from around the Diocese of Syracuse as we celebrate our faith at four different parishes on four different dates, and be inspired by different speakers at each conference.
In place of the Annual Syracuse Catholic Women’s Conference, this year there will be four opportunities across the diocese to attend half-day Catholic Women’s Mini-Conferences. All the mini-conferences will share the theme “Encountering Christ,” and each speaker will present a unique spiritual reflection on the theme.
The first mini-conference is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11, at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Binghamton, featuring a pair of speakers, Sister Briege McKenna, O.S.C. and Father Pablo Escriva de Romani. Women in attendance will be inspired to encounter Christ through the power of the sacraments. Sister Briege and Father Pablo will also be leading a parish mission at St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Patrick’s. Their biographical information can be found in the article on page 12.
In addition to presentations from the speakers, the morning will include the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The main celebrant will be Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, with concelebrants Father Pablo Escriva de Romani, Msgr. John P. Putano and Father Thomas I. Ward. The mini-conference will offer opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and recitation of the Rosary, and will conclude with Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed on the YouTube channel of St. Thomas Aquinas Church at www.youtube.com/c/SaintThomasAquinasBinghamton.
The other three Catholic Women’s Mini-Conferences are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 9; Saturday, Oct. 23; and Saturday, Nov. 13. The mini-conference on Oct. 9 will be held at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish and Shrine in Oswego, featuring speaker Father Mariusz Jarzabek, MIC. Originally from Poland, he is currently assigned to the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass.
On Oct. 23, Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, a member of the St. Cecelia Congregation of Dominican Sisters, will present at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Syracuse. She holds a doctorate in sacred theology, has contributed articles to a number of publications, including the Vatican newspaper, and is the founding director of the University of Dallas Studies in Catholic Faith & Culture Program.
The final mini-conference will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13, at St. Joseph and St. Patrick Church in Utica, featuring speaker Msgr. Stephen Joseph Rossetti. A priest of the Diocese of Syracuse, Msgr. Rossetti holds a Ph.D. in psychology and a doctor of ministry degree, and currently works as a chaplain for the Washington Nationals baseball team and as an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Washington. More information on the mini-conferences will be provided in future issues of the Catholic Sun.
Doors will open at 8 a.m. and the mini-conferences will conclude at 12:30 p.m. Online and mail-in registration is available and the cost for each event is $15 if preregistered, or $20 at the door. For additional information, or to register, please visit www.syracusecatholicwomen.org.
Submitted by the Diocese of Syracuse Commission on Women in Church and in Society.
