The Down and Connor annual diocesan Faith and Life Convention will take place in Our Lady and Saint Patrick’s College, Knock, in Belfast, on Saturday 30 September. The theme of this year’s convention will be ‘Faith in the Family’ and the convention will welcome Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the new Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, as keynote speaker.
The annual Faith and Life Convention is a forum for people from across the diocese and beyond to gather together and to take part in a range of conversations about the meaning of faith and its relevance to every area of our lives.
Dublin-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell, former Bishop of Dallas in the US, will deliver the keynote address during the convention. Cardinal Farrell was recently appointed by Pope Francis to lead the newly-created Dicastery for Laity, Family and life.
Last January Cardinal Farrell welcomed the Irish Bishops on their Ad Limina visit to the new Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. At that visit the topics discussed were concern for the transmission of the faith, for which the family is the most privileged place; raising awareness and deepening understanding of Pope Francis’ Exhortation Amoris Laetitia; the faith of young people and the testimony of the laity in public life.
Cardinal Farrell also spoke earlier this year at the international conference in Dublin in preparation for next year’s World Meeting of Families.
As the Diocese of Down and Connor prepares for the World Meeting of Families they are hopeful that this convention will be an opportunity to pick up the themes from the Ad Limina visit and to prepare for the WMOF2018 together as they explore the theme ‘Faith in the Family’.
Other discussions during the convention will reflect on how the Church, and people of faith, positions themselves in current debates and in the public square. An essential element of the day will be the afternoon series of workshops. The 27 workshops on offer will cover a variety of topics including ‘Faith and Dementia’, ‘The Spirituality of the Child’, ‘Gender Theory: A question for Catholic Theology’, and ‘Faith in an Unstable World’.
Early booking is advisable for the convention and workshops, and placed will be given on a first come, first served basis. For more information on the Faith and Life convention, visit www.faithandlifeconvention.org.
ENDS