August 23, 2026

Women’s Day of Reflection to be held Oct. 3

REGIONAL
Staff report

SPRINGFIELD —  A Women’s Day of Reflection will be held Saturday, Oct. 3, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Springfield. The event, entitled, “Everlasting,” will feature talks by Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist John Mary Sullivan and Conventual Franciscan Father Brad Milunski, the pastor of the Basilica of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr in Chicopee.

“We are thrilled to bring back the women’s conference in a different format – as an interactive ‘Diocesan Women’s Day.’ This is our new take on the Women’s Conference and look forward to welcoming the women of the diocese for this special day to celebrate 800 years of St. Francis of Assisi,” said Joe Austin, the director of the Office of Missionary Discipleship. 

“We will be joined by the director of the Meriden-based Franciscan Life Center Sister John Mary Sullivan, FSE, LMFT and St. Stanislaus Basilica Rector and Pastor Father Brad Milunski, OFM Conv., both religious Franciscans who will share their thoughts on the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi focused on the three themes of everlasting joy, everlasting hope and everlasting peace.”

In addition to the inspiring talks, the day will offer an opportunity for fellowship, confession, Adoration and Mass celebrated by Bishop William D. Byrne.

Pope Leo XIV declared 2026 a Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order who was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy. St. Francis of Assisi’s feast day is October 4.

Austin said last summer, he brought a prayer intention to Assisi while on pilgrimage.

“Every year, we receive hundreds of anonymous prayer intentions from the youth of the Steubenville East Conference. One prayer intention was particularly troubling and so I brought it with me when I left the day after the 2025 Steubenville East Conference to bring more than 30 young people to attend the Jubilee for Youth in Rome,” Austin explained.

“My plan was to put the intention in a special place, like St. Peter’s Basilica, and offer our prayers for that intention. Unfortunately, I kept forgetting to leave it and it came time for the end of the trip, when we visited Assisi. I remember arriving at St. Francis’ monastery on the top of a hill, overlooking the entire countryside. It was a place of great peace and all of us just immediately felt at home, free from the anxieties of the world, surrounded by the great power of God working in the silence. At that moment, it felt right to pray for and then leave the prayer intention there for the monks to pray for. It was a special moment, when two separate worlds collided in the great peace of Assisi – a place special also to my wife and me from our own honeymoon. 

“There is something special about the great devotion that St. Francis brought to the world, the call set upon his heart by God to rebuild the Church and to give all for Him. I look forward to October 3, when we can celebrate St. Francis and spend some time pondering what his teachings mean for our daily lives.” 

The day, which costs $25, will include a hot lunch buffet, vendors and much more.

To register, find a paper registration form at your local parish or the diocesan offices downtown during business hours or go to westernmasscatholic.regfox.com/womensday.