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Archbishop Aquila to Urge Denver Catholics to “Stand Firm in the Faith”
Annual Catechetical Conference Will Address Key Teachings of Benedict XVI
The Year of Faith and the New Evangelization, two key themes of the papacy of Benedict XVI, will take center stage this weekend at the Archdiocese of Denver’s annual Living the Catholic Faith Conference.
On March 1-2, thousands of Denver-area Catholics will gather at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St., to listen to more than 20 talks by national and local faith leaders on the theme “Stand Firm in the Faith.”
Archbishop Samuel Aquila will preside at the event’s opening Mass at 8 a.m. Friday, March 1, which will use prayers specifically intended for the election of a new pope. He will deliver the opening keynote address at 9:30 a.m. “To stand firm in the faith, amidst a world experiencing a crisis of faith and morality, is to live according to the Gospel, and to present the radical vision of that life to the world,” the archbishop wrote as an introduction to his address. “To stand firm in the faith is to boldly proclaim a New Evangelization – to be salt and light to a world standing in darkness.”
Other keynote speakers will expound upon the same themes. Curtis Martin, president and founder of the Denver-based Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), will speak on “The New Evangelization and the Year of Faith.” In October, Martin participated in a synod (meeting of bishops) on the New Evangelization, which was convened by the Holy Father.
Other speakers include Damon Owens of the Theology of the Body Institute, who will talk about “Marriage and the New Evangelization”; Sherry Weddell of the Catherine of Siena Institute will speak on evangelizing post-modern Catholics, and Msgr. Eduardo Chavez of Mexico City will speak about Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Last year, some 4,500 people attended the Living the Catholic Faith Conference, which is the single largest yearly gathering of Catholics in the Rocky Mountain region.
On Saturday, March 2 the conference features two additional tracks for Spanish-speakers and for youth.
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