Archdiocese to co-sponsor 'Treasuring Womanhood' conference on April 30

The archdiocesan Office for Pro-Life Ministry and the Marian Center of Indianapolis are co-sponsoring the second annual Catholic Women’s Conference on April 30.

The event, titled “Treasuring Womanhood,” will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Sagamore Ballroom at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.

Internationally known speaker and singer Dana will be the keynote speaker.

The day will also include a presentation by Mary Beth Bonacci titled “Outstanding Women of America.” Bonacci has spoken around the country about love and relationships. She holds a master’s degree in the theology of marriage and family from the John Paul II Institute at Lateran University.

The conference will also feature a Mass celebrated by Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general and pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis.

The sacrament of reconciliation will be available all day.

Lunch will be provided. The cost is $35 per person, which includes lunch. The registration deadline is April 15. Registrations received after that date (or walk-ins) may not be able to receive a lunch.

“The Pro-Life Office co-sponsors the Treasuring Womanhood Conference because women, the bearers of life, today more than ever, need to appreciate and celebrate the gift of their femininity, in light of the truths of our faith,” said Servants of the Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo, director of the pro-life office.

“When we look around the world, and even in our own culture, we see women underrated, exploited or treated as inferior to men,” Sister Diane said. “Christ gives to women their proper identity and vocation. Our conference upholds the dignity, sanctity and equality of women before God, who created us in His image and likeness.”

The conference, she said, is an event that focuses on witnessing to hope.

“Women of faith, women of grace, women committed to the Gospel of life are witnesses proclaiming hope to a broken world,” Sister Diane said. “Christ and his liberating truths are what set us free to live authentic lives as wives, mothers, single women or women consecrated as virgins or vowed religious in the Church. It is Christ’s truth that should define us and bring us to holiness and guide us to union with God.”

(For more information about the Treasuring Womanhood conference, call the Marian Center in Indianapolis at 317-924-3982 or 317-888-0873.) †