25 March 2009
Solemnity of the Annunciation
Dear friends in Christ,
"Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ the Lord" (I Tim. 1:2).
As the president of the US Committee for the World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, it is my great privilege to invite you to participate in the first North American Congress on Mercy (NACOM) to be conducted at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. this coming November 14-15, 2009.
The World Congress was opened by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, and held in Rome, Italy, in April 2008. The focus of the Congress was to make the participants more aware of God’s mercy as a source of hope, healing, and renewal for the Church and the world. At the conclusion of the Congress, the Holy Father as well as the Congress President Cardinal Christoph Schonborn invited the participants to bring the message back to their respective countries, dioceses, and parishes.
With that in mind, the US Committee, with Bishop William Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., as the Episcopal moderator, is planning the November event. Our speakers will include Scott Hahn, well known Catholic apologist and author; Theresa Bonapartis of New York, director of Lumina, an organization that provides hope and healing after abortion; and Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, of Steubenville, Ohio, whose compelling story of his conversion is told in his audio book, No Turning Back.
Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for this wonderful opportunity to learn more about the abundant mercy of the Lord and to put mercy into practice in our own lives.
With best wishes and blessings in Christ,
Rev. Matthew R. Mauriello
President and Coordinator
North American Congress on Mercy
