October 23, 2025

Diocesan Women’s Conference set for Nov. 15

REGIONAL
By Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD — After a long hiatus, the Women’s Conference returns to the Diocese of Springfield, Saturday, Nov. 15 at Bellamy Middle School in Chicopee. The theme of the conference is “Beloved,” and it coincides with Jubilee 2025. A 20% discount is being offered with the promo code PROLIFE.

“We’re so glad to be back. We just had the diocesan men’s conference a couple of weeks ago. That was an amazing conference. We’re really excited for the women’s conference with a great line-up of speakers,” said Joe Austin, the director of the Office of Missionary Discipleship, which is putting on the conference.

Austin has been working for months to organize the Women’s Conference and Men’s Conference which was held Oct.4, also at Bellamy Middle School.

“I do think we are at the beginning of a wave of people beginning to come back to the faith, to consider something greater than themselves,” Austin said. “These conferences, they’re not just gathering together but also digging deeper, learning about our faith. People are realizing it is possible to be Catholic in this world.”

The women’s conference will feature talks by Catholic author and blogger Mary Lenaburg who wrote the book “Be Brave in the Scared,” about the loss of her daughter and “Be Bold in the Broken.”

Father James Brent, O.P., a Dominican friar of the province of St. Joseph, will also speak at the conference. Father Brent hosts the podcast, “Contemplata,” and is the author of “The Father’s House: Discovering Our Home in the Trinity.”

Sister Maris Stella, of the congregation of the Sisters of Life, is also in the lineup for the day. The Ludlow native graduated from the Naval Academy and served as a gunnery officer on board a destroyer.

“We live in a very busy world and women especially not only have their agendas, but their husband’s and children’s. So, this is an opportunity where women could take a day and focus on faith herself with women doing exactly the same thing. And that’s what we need,” said Celest Labbe, the director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Springfield. Labbe is part of the Women’s Conference committee.

The conference includes lunch, eucharistic adoration, confession, a closing eucharistic procession and Mass celebrated by Bishop William D. Byrne. Music ministry will be provided by Psalm 33.

“Each of us have a calling,” said Bishop Byrne. “Within the genius of God’s creation, he chose the world to be directed by women, mothers, sisters, daughters. And so, this is a celebration of a calling, a calling to holiness, but also a calling to holiness in each our own way, in this case each in her own way. It’s a calling to celebrate the gift of femininity and to recognize the role of women in creation. God is calling women to in a very special way.”

To learn more, go to westernmasscatholic.org.

A video version of this story will air on Sunday’s edition of “Real to Reel”  at 6:30 a.m. on WWLP-22 NEWS.