By Glenn Rutherford, Record Editor
Leaders of the second annual Archdiocese of Louisville Catholic Men’s Conference are expecting between 500 and 600 men — and a few dozen students — to be a part of their March 16 event at St. Raphael Church.
David Such, the St. Bernadette parishioner who is one of the conference leaders, said last week that last-minute registrations for the conference are coming in “at the rate of 20 to 30 a day.”
“Everybody with any experience doing this, including the people in Cincinnati who had their men’s conference up there, said most guys wait until the last minute,” Such said. “We’re excited about the timing of the whole thing. It looks like we’ll have between 500 and 600 men and we might even have a new pope by then.
“That fits right in with the theme of our conference, that it’s ‘Awesome to be Catholic,’” he added.
Such also said that conference leaders want people to know that if they decide at the last minute to attend the event, at-the-door registration will be available. The conference will begin at 8 a.m. and include a Mass, a number of break-out sessions and keynote addresses by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz and Catholic radio host and speaker Jon Leonetti.
“We want to make people aware that not only are last-minute registrations fine, if you want to be there and can’t afford it, we have scholarships,” Such said. “If you don’t have a way of getting to St. Raphael, let us know and we’ll get you there. We want their to be no obstacles for anyone who wants to attend this conference.”
The cost is $25 for men and $10 for students.
Such also noted that the people and staff of St. Raphael Church have “made it a pleasure to have the conference there.”
“Father Don Hill and Deacon (Todd) Auffrey have been terrific hosts and are really representing their parishes well,” Such added. “We think we’re going to have a great conference and we want men to view this is a chance to grow in their faith during this Lenten season, a time when we are all renewing ourselves in Christ.”