Annual Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference is set for Oct. 31
By Sean Gallagher
Speakers at the 2015 Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference come to the gathering with a broad range of experience—in business, ordained and lay ministry, and academic study of the Catholic faith— seeking to live out their vocation as husbands, fathers and in ordained ministry.
The conference will feature Bishop Paul D. Etienne of Cheyenne, Wyo., previously a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, Dr. Edward Sri and Randy Hain.
The conference will begin at 8 a.m. on Oct. 31 at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave., in Indianapolis, and will conclude by 3:45 p.m.
Mike Fox, a conference organizer and member of St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis, said the gathering is geared to help prepare its participants for the upcoming jubilee Year of Mercy, called for by Pope Francis, which will begin in December.
“This year’s conference promises to be one that will encourage men of all ages to let the Holy Spirit guide them to be leaders in their parishes, with other men and, most importantly, with family and friends,” Fox said.
Registration for the conference, which is sponsored by the Marian Center of Indianapolis, is $50 per person, $45 per person in groups of 10 or more, and $25 for religious brothers, deacons and students. Priests and seminarians may attend free of charge. Registration fees will increase after Oct. 19.
In addition to a full slate of speakers, the conference will include a midday Mass with Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin serving as the liturgy’s homilist, and lunch. Eucharistic adoration and Benediction, led by Bishop Etienne, will take place in the afternoon. The sacrament of penance will be available throughout the conference.
Bishop Etienne, one of the conference’s speakers, was ordained and installed as bishop of Cheyenne, Wyo., in 2009. A native of Tell City, he has two brothers who are priests in the Evansville Diocese and a sister who is a Benedictine sister at Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove. Bishop Etienne was ordained a priest of the archdiocese in 1992.
In addition to serving as archdiocesan vocations director and vice rector of Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis, Bishop Etienne served in parishes in Jennings County, New Albany and Indianapolis.
Dr. Edward Sri is a nationally known theologian, author and Catholic speaker who appears regularly on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). A husband and father of seven children, he is the author of numerous books, including A Biblical Walk through the Mass and Pope Francis and the Joy of the Gospel: Rediscovering the Heart of a Disciple. He also helped develop a 20-part adult faith formation video series titled “Symbolon: The Catholic Faith Explained,” and a marriage enrichment program titled “Beloved: Finding Happiness in Marriage.”
A founding leader with Curtis Martin of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), Sri currently serves as professor of theology and vice president of mission and outreach at the Augustine Institute in Denver.
Randy Hain is a husband, father and business owner from Atlanta who was received into the full communion of the Church in 2006.
He speaks nationally on the life of faith of men, the new evangelization and the integration of work, life and faith. Hain also frequently appears on EWTN, and is the author of several books, including Journey to Heaven: A Road Map for Catholic Men.
(To learn more about the 2015 Indiana Catholic Men’s Conference or to register for it, log on to www.indianacatholicmen.com or call 317-888-0873.) †