8:45am
Doors Open, Tea & Coffee and scones available on arrival
9:00am
Registration & Exhibition Space
10:00am
College Hall
Welcome and Opening
Prayer
Keynote Address
Panel Discussion
Lunch College Dining Area (Packed Lunch Seating in Exhibition Space)
1:45 pm
1st Workshop Session
3:15 pm
2nd Workshop Session
4.30pm
Closing Address and Liturgy – College Hall
2pm
Workshop 1
3pm
Break
3:30pm
Workshop 2
4:30pm
Address - Bishop Noel Treanor
Closing Prayer
The 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. We invite you to join us for our fifth Faith and Life Convention on Saturday 29th September 2018 in Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Knock, Belfast beginning at 10am.
This year our convention will focus on Faith in the Family and we are delighted to welcome Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, SBD, from Honduras to be our keynote speaker and to provide an input that reflects on the Church today and the reforms that are needed to ensure that we as a Church can focus on living the Gospel message and bringing Christ and his Good News those around us.
Our discussion will be picking up on a variety of topics reflecting on how the Church, and we as people of faith, nurture our faith, engage with those in need and position ourselves as advocates for the Gospel in the public square. An essential element of the day will be the afternoon workshops which will explore the place of faith in many different areas of our lives. Each participant can attend two workshops which will be booked on a first come, first served basis. So book early!
Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras and a key adviser to Pope Francis, will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Faith and Life Convention.
Ordained as a priest in the Salesian order in 1970 he holds a diploma in clinical psychology and psychotherapy from Leopold Franz University, Innsbruck, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. Appointed Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in 1993, he served as president of the Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999, and in 2001 he was named a Cardinal, the first from Honduras. It was through work with CELAM that Bishop Treanor and Cardinal Rodriguez first worked together.
Since then, Cardinal Rodríguez has held many high-level roles in the church. In 2013, at the request of Pope Francis, he became coordinator of a new council of cardinals advising the pontiff on economic and organizational reforms in the Holy See. From 2007 to 2015, he served as president of Caritas Internationalis, a Vatican-based confederation of aid groups devoted to international development, humanitarian assistance, health care, and human rights around the world. As Vatican spokesman to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, regarding developing-world debt, Cardinal Rodriguez has pressed the world’s rich nations to provide more aid to their poorer neighbours.
Cardinal Rodriguez visited Belfast in 2006 in his work with Trócaire and we are delighted to welcome him once again to the Diocese to lead our reflections on how we engage with our faith not only in the public square but also in the margins.
Following our Keynote Address Professor Peter Finn, (St Mary’s University College Belfast) will guide the audience and panelists in a conversation where we can explore and unpack the messages from Cardinal Rodriguez. This year we are delighted to welcome Dr Nichola Brady, Dr Jessie Rogers, Clemens Ladenburger to give their contributions and to answer our questions.
Our Lady and Saint Patrick’s College Knock will be the venue for our Faith & Life Convention. The school is located at 120 Gilnahirk Road, Belfast BT5 7DL.
Click here for Map - This link will open google maps, by placing your own postcode into the directions tool you can then have step by step directions that will guide you to the college.
The College is fully accessible and Refreshments and Lunch will be provided within the College. Please follow the instructions of parking stewards and we would ask all delegates to park in the College grounds and to ensure that they do not block entrances of local residents. For more information on the College – Click here
Living Church Office
120 Cliftonville Road
Belfast
BT14 6LA
livingchurch@downandconnor.org
