Details are finalized for the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Northeast Ohio 2024 Men’s Conference. The daylong event is set for March 2 at the Holiday Inn, Independence. This year’s theme is “Experience Jesus in the Eucharist,” which links the conference to the ongoing Eucharistic Revival
Steve Chrzanowski, CMFNEO president, said the Eucharist “is God’s invitation to come find him, the only one who can truly fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts.”
Guest speakers include Joe Heschmeyer, Father Thomas Blau, OP and Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost. Men of all ages are invited to attend.
The day begins at 8 a.m. with continental breakfast and beverages. The conference opens at 9 a.m., as does the Adoration Chapel. Lunch and confession are at noon.
Registration is limited. Cost is $45 for a single attendee, $40 each for groups of eight or more, $15 for students and free for religious. Register by Feb. 20. If space is available after that, the cost increases to $55.
Heschmeyer is a blogger and staff apologist for Catholic Answers. Previously, he was a litigator in Washington, D.C. He also is a former seminarian. Currently, Heschmeyer is a religious instructor at Holy Family School of Faith, which has a mission of leading people to Jesus through Mary by means of friendship, good conversation and the rosary. He blogs at Shameless Popery and co-hosts The Catholic Podcast. Heschmeyer is the author of “Who Am I, Lord?: Finding Your Identity in Christ.” He lives in Kansas City, Kansas with his wife and two children.
Father Blau, a Cleveland native, lived in Honduras and Guatemala for an extended service mission after earning a degree from the University of Akron. The experience stirred his call to a religious vocation. After working overseas, Father Blau earned a master’s degree in theology from Franciscan University, where he met the Dominicans and entered the order. He lived at the Dominican seminary in Washington, D.C. and earned advanced degrees including a licentiate in sacred theology. Father Blau was ordained in 1999 and served at Dominican outreaches at the University of Virginia and Providence College. He was assigned in 2010 as a parish vicar.
Currently, Father Blau is a preacher in the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, where he does parish missions. He is one of the Pontifical Missionaries of Mercy of the Catholic Church, an inducted magistral chaplain for the Knights of Malta and the chaplain for the Columbus Legatus chapter. In addition, he is the founder of St. Barnabas Ministry, which provides a Dominican priest who can take over a diocesan parish thus allowing the priest to go on vacation or retreat.
In August 2019, Father Blau completed the Camino del Santiago, the entire Camino Frances.
The third major speaker is Bishop Woost, who was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland in 1984. He served at Immaculate Conception Parish in Madison until his appointment as co-director of the diocesan Vocation Office. He pursued graduate studies at The Catholic University of America, earning a licentiate in sacred theology before joining the faculty of Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, where he teaches sacramental-liturgical theology.
Two of his brothers – Father Dave and Father Tom Woost – also are diocesan priests. They are pastors of Divine Word Parish in Kirtland and St. Brendan Parish in North Olmsted, respectively.
Bishop Woost will speak at 3 p.m. and will celebrate the closing Mass at 4 p.m.
For more information, contact Joel Bollenbacher, registration chair, at 216-633-3502 or by email at cmfneohelp@gmail.com