THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 45, NO. 6 | SEPTEMBER 15, 2023
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Canadian evangelist Andre Regnier was one of the keynote presenters at the archdiocesan convocation held on Sept. 8 in the Keleher Conference Center at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
ARCHDIOCESAN CONVOCATION HOPES TO CREATE MISSIONARY DISCIPLES
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
After a four-year gap due to the pandemic, this year’s archdiocesan convocation, held by the archdiocesan office of evangelization, came back with an expanded format. The convocation was attended by more than 200 priests, deacons, religious, parish leaders, educators, organization representatives and parishioners. By Joe Bollig joe.bollig@theleaven.org
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ANSAS CITY, Kan. — A challenging question was asked by Canadian evangelist Andre Regnier: What percentage of Catholics would you say are missionary disciples? The answer was shocking. Out of the 20% of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass weekly, he said, only 1% fit the bill. Regnier and Tesi Carmona Wagner, both with Catholic Christian Outreach ministry, were keynote presenters at the archdiocesan convocation held
on Sept. 8 in the Keleher Conference Center at Savior Pastoral Center in Kansas City, Kansas. The last archdiocesan convocation, held in October 2019, launched the three-year evangelization initiative “Enflame Our Hearts, Our Homes and Communities.” After a four-year gap due to the pandemic, this year’s convocation, held by the archdiocesan office of evangelization, came back with an expanded format. It now provides for an English-language session in the morning, and a Spanishlanguage session in the evening.
“We had a gathering in Spanish because the office of evangelization wants to serve the Hispanic community more effectively — that is, by taking the same initiatives developed in English and providing them in Spanish,” said Karla Melgar, consultant for evangelization and convocation co-organizer. “Using this strategy, we will have more consistency with the mission we are called to share,” she added. The convocation was attended by more than 200 priests, deacons, religious, parish leaders, educators, organization representatives and parishioners.
The event’s theme was “Building Catholic Communities in Relationship with Christ and Others.” Preparation for the coming Year of Parish Revival for the National Eucharistic Revival and empowering Catholics for evangelization figured prominently in the convocation. Attendees were urged to become missionary disciples and, in turn, mentor others to become the same. “The objective for today is, one, I want to speak about conversion,” said Regnier. “Conversion has everything >> See “WALKING” on page 7