Annual Indiana Catholic Women’s Conference is set for March 11 in Indy

Criterion staff report

The annual Indiana Catholic Women’s Conference will take place in the 500 Ballroom of the Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capital Ave., in Indianapolis, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on March 11.

Sponsored by the Marian Center of Indianapolis, the theme of this year’s conference is “Treasuring Womanhood: Walking in Faith and Hope, Holding Her Hand.”

This year’s speakers include Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Sister Mary Augustine McMenamy, Father Ronan Murphy, Magnificat Family Medicine founder Dr. Casey Delcoco, Jennifer Waldyke of YouTube’s “The Catholic Mom and Daughter Show” and Catholic composer and singer-songwriter Francesca LaRosa. Msgr. Joseph Schaedel, pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, will celebrate Mass during the event, and Gospel of Life Sister Diane Carollo will serve as master of ceremonies.

Sister Mary Augustine is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She worked in banking and in non-profit work with the Texas School for the Deaf Foundation until entering religious life. The community of the Sisters of Reparation to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is located in Stuebenville, Ohio.

Father Ronan Murphy hails from Dublin, Ireland, and is a priest of the Camden, N.J., Diocese. Father Murphy has offered missions and conferences in many countries and served as chaplain for a Carmelite monastery in New York and for the Blue Army Marian Shrine in Asbury, N.J.

Dr. Casey L. Delcoco received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in northern Indiana and her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, La., and completed a medical fellowship in the Creighton Model of FertilityCare and NaProTECHNOLOGY from the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Neb., in 2011. Since completing residency training, she started a faith-based family medicine practice, Magnificat Family Medicine, in Indianapolis to honor the Blessed Mother and to provide holistic care upholding the dignity of men, women and children. She is the co-founder and past president of the St. Raphael Catholic Medical Guild of Indianapolis and helps take care of patients in crisis pregnancy alongside the Gabriel Project and Women’s Care Center in Indianapolis. She and her husband are members of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis.

Jennifer Waldyke is a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oklahoma State University. She practiced small animal medicine as a veterinary emergency and critical care doctor for many years before “retiring” to homeschool her children. She and her daughter Kate host the YouTube Channel, “The Catholic Mom and Daughter Show.” She has also served as a catechist at her parish in South Carolina.

Francesca LaRosa served as music director for four years at St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis before feeling called by God to pursue writing music more directly. Currently LaRosa is writing and self-publishing psalm settings, Mass settings and other pieces.

Registration begins at 8 a.m., with the conference starting at 8:30 a.m. The day will include lunch and the opportunity for Mass, the sacrament of reconciliation, adoration, Benediction and the opportunity to purchase items at vendors’ booths.

Until Feb. 27, the cost to register is $50 per person, or $45 for groups of 10 or more. Those prices increase by $5 on Feb. 28. Regardless of registration date, the cost for students and those ages 25 and younger is $25, and $15 for Catholic religious.

Members of the largest group to register will receive VIP seating and a special gift.

Economical parking is available across the street from the Indiana Convention Center at the Government Parking Garage at Missouri and Maryland streets.

For more information, to register online or to print a downloadable registration form, go to www.indianacatholics.com/womens-conference.

For those with no access to a computer, call 317-888-0873. †