Some 600 men, as young as 13 and as old as 90, gathered for the 18th annual Connecticut Catholic Men’s Conference, looking for hope and healing — and some for encouragement in their call to the priesthood.
The conference at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury centered on the theme “Jubilee Year Pilgrims of Hope” and featured EWTN hosts Dr. Ray Guarendi, psychologist and author, and Michael O’Neill, the “Miracle Hunter,” along with Father Anthony Federico, Archdiocese of Hartford director of Vocations and Seminarians, and healing priest Father Jason Brooks LC, who talked about his work with the Regnum Christi Detroit Healing Ministry and prayed over men suffering from cancer, physical pain and migraines. There were also dozens of exhibitors.
The day began with a procession of 30 first-class relics. The events also included Adoration, confessions and a Vigil Mass celebrated by Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne and joined by others, including Norwich Bishop Richard Reidy, who gave the homily.
“This year’s conference was unlike any we’ve had before,” says director Ken Santopietro. “In this Jubilee Year — a time of mercy and restoration — we offered something truly special: a chance for healing, both spiritual and physical. There were also a lot of young guys discerning a vocation.”
Timothy Proctor, whose sons Rex, 14, and Benjamin, 13, were the youngest at the conference, said he came at their insistence, although he originally intended to complete a paper for his master’s degree in philosophy at Holy Apostles College.
“Whatever the Holy Spirit wills, I am his instrument,” he says. “I’m just trying to be a good Catholic dad.”
For Rex, the day was a particularly important because he feels the call to the priesthood.
“Every since I was 4, I wanted to be a priest,” he says. “I always wanted to administer the sacraments and partake in the sacrifice of the Mass, so I’m really glad to be here.”
Father Federico told the packed auditorium: “The Lord is beginning a revolution, a revival, a springtime for the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America and somehow, some way it’s beginning in the state of Connecticut.”
He says there was a class of five new seminarians last year; this month, the class increased to 11. In his role, Father Federico travels to every parish and says what is most needed is “a spirit of worship” and instructed the men to cultivate a “worship mindset” instead of a “casual mindset.”
Steven Schneider of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Oxford, who has come to the conference almost every year, says, “It gets better and better. Here I get the affirmation I need and realize I’m on the right track. A lot of time I wonder whether I’m right or wrong, but around these men I realize I’m doing as good as I can and that my problems are the same as the other guys. Seeing so many younger men also gives me hope for the future of the Church.”
Bill Dunn of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Vernon says coming to the conference every year gives him “a good booster shot of brotherhood and I realize there are other people of faith our there, and I’m not alone.”
In his homily, Bishop Reidy urged the men to reach out to others “in need of a strong, gentle Christ-like hand.”
“The men’s conference is a grace for us all, but it’s not just a one-day event,” he says. “It’s a tool in the journey to holiness, a time for us to listen, reflect, worship and share so we can deepen our faith.”
Story by Joe Pisani
Photos by Aaron Joseph
Catholic Transcript
