WEST DES MOINES — “Faith for the Journey,” the first Iowa Catholic Men’s Conference, will be held March 23 at Dowling Catholic High School. The bilingual event will include speakers, break-out sessions, music, adoration, reconciliation, and Mass. Bishop Richard Pates of the Des Moines Diocese will preside at the Mass, and priests of the diocese will concelebrate.
The target audiences are senior high school and college age men, fathers and sons, and Catholic men who desire a meaningful relationship with God and his Church. Organizers say they plan to provide simultaneous translation of the main-session presentations into Spanish.
Conference keynote speaker is Deacon Ralph Poyo of Steubenville, Ohio. He started New Evangelization Ministries to help men achieve an active relationship with Christ. He had been in youth ministry for more than 25 years.
Master of ceremonies and second keynote speaker is Jon Leonetti, a youth minister, parish mission leader and host of Catholic radio station KWKY in Des Moines.
Hector Molina, another conference keynote speaker, will also lead two break-out sessions in Spanish, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. He is an apologist with over 20 years of experience in professional pastoral ministry and leadership.
Break-outs include: How to Strengthen Your Prayer Life; Fatherhood: Vocational Call of all Men — Married, Single or Clergy; Chastity and Love for Single & Married Men; Excellency: Being a Man of Courage and Holiness; and Young Adults Fighting the Secular Society: Staying Catholic (in School and at Work).
Deacon Tom Bradley of Holy Trinity Parish in Des Moines said the conference was inspired by a desire to help men be strengthened in their faith. “There was no central Iowa conference just for men. A group of men, including myself, took on the task of putting together a conference that would encourage men to live as intentional Catholics,” Deacon Bradley said.
Cost is $25 for adults and $15 for young adults (high school juniors/seniors and college students). Lunch is included. Early registration is encouraged as space is limited. Visit www.iowacatholicmensconference.com to register.
