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700 attend 95th Anniversary Convention of National Council of Catholic Women
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October 7, 2015
Attendees of the National Council of Catholic Women's 95th Anniversary Convention in Florida are, from left, Martha Orem of Alice, Corpus Christi DCCW President, Alice Area President CCW, Diana Zavala of Kingsville, Altar & Rosary Society of St. Gertrude Church, Corpus Christi DCCW and Province of Galveston-Houston Spiritual Advisor, Basilia Lomas of Alice and Father James G. Stembler, Pastor of St. Gertrude Church in Kingsville who is currently serving as Chair of NCCW Spiritual Advisors.
Nearly 700 women attended the National Council of Catholic Women‘s 95th anniversary convention in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 9-12.
Attendees included Father James G. Stembler, Pastor of St. Gertrude Church in Kingsville who is currently serving as Chair of NCCW Spiritual Advisors, Corpus Christi DCCW and Province of Galveston-Houston Spiritual Advisor, Basilia Lomas of Alice, Alice Area President CCW, Diana Zavala of Kingsville, Altar and Rosary Society St. Gertrude Church and Martha Orem of Alice, Corpus Christi DCCW President.
The convention was held at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista the annual gathering of women leaders from Catholic women’s organizations in parishes and dioceses throughout the United States.
The program was packed with training, speakers and fun, which generated excitement among the exceptional gathering of Catholic women to Orlando.
The training sessions were conducted using the three commissions – Spirituality, Leadership and Service. Training for new council presidents were offered by the Leadership Training Development Team.
The Opening liturgy was celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe by NCCW Episcopal Liaison the Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. from the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, and concelebrated by the Bishop Gregory L. Parkes from the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.
Friday’s liturgy honored deceased members of NCCW and was celebrated by Bishop John Noonan from the Diocese of Orlando. The closing liturgy, celebrated by the Archbishop Thomas Wenski from the Archdiocese of Miami, included the installation of the 2015-2017 officers of NCCW who were President Shelia Hopkins, Tallahassee, FL; President Elect Maribeth Stewart, West Haven, CT and Secretary Jean Kelly, Elm Grove, WI, Mary Matheus, from Longwood, FL.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Marybeth Hicks, Marketing Director for FAITH Catholic and Brandon Vogt, Content Director for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
Attendees were surprised by the guest appearance of Mickey Mouse and a special presentation on the 95 years of NCCW history by Mary Matheus at the 95 th birthday luncheon celebration.
At the closing session of the convention, new province directors from several areas of the United States were installed. Disney entertainer Billy Flanigan, currently playing the part of Nemo at Walt Disney World entertained at the closing banquet.
The 2016 Annual Convention will be held Sept. 7-10, 2016 in Indianapolis, IN.
