Bishop's Letter

February 16, 2023

My dear friends in Christ,

It is a joy for me to invite you to the Diocese of Worcester and to St. Joseph School in Webster, MA for the 2023 Worcester Catholic Women's Conference. The conference will offer you a privileged opportunity to listen to the wisdom and testimonies of the conference speakers, partake in the Sacramental Life of the Church and spend time with other women who are enthusiastically dedicated to the Catholic Church and to maturing in their faith and commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our conference speakers will be religious and laity who have contributed to the life of the Catholic Church in important ways and who are uniquely suited for this year's topic “Male and Female, He Created Them”. Dr. Deborah Savage is a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the co-founder and acting director of the Siena Symposium for Women, Family, and Culture, an interdisciplinary think tank organized to respond to John Paul II's call for a new Christian feminism. Patricia Sandoval is an international pro-life and chastity speaker who has traveled around the world sharing her personal story of abortion, work at Planned Parenthood, homelessness and drug-addiction. Fr. Philip G. Bochanski is an ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who has served as the Executive Director of Courage International, Inc. since January, 2017. An award-winning author, Fr. Bochanski was given the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, by Pope Francis in recognition of "sustained and exceptional service" to the Church. Fr. Derek Mobilio is one our  own newly ordained priests who grew up in the Diocese of Worcester and who taught in our Catholic schools before joining the Seminary. Also local, Dr. Christopher Klofft is an Associate Professor Theology at Assumption University whose areas of specialization include sexual ethics, marriage and family, gender, Catholicism and modernity and the intersection of Christianity and popular cultrue. 

Each of these distinguished speakers will provide an opportunity to grow in our knowledge and commitment to Christ and his Church. I look forward to greeting you at the Worcester Catholic Women's Conference on October 7, 2023.

With every prayerful best wish, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Robert J. McManus
Bishop of Worcester