Image via Wikipedia
"Best conference I've ever attended"
Saturday, Aug. 14, marked the first (and the West Coast's largest) all day pro-life conference – the Mother of Life Conference -- presented jointly by the San Diego Diocese Chapter of the Knights of Columbus and its pro-life funding arm, the San Diego Knights of Columbus Chapter Charities, Inc.
The conference was the fulfillment of a long held dream of conference chairman and the chapter's newly elected president, SK Kamal Alsawaf. Kamal and Chapter Charities president SK Hugh Largey welcomed the nearly 2,000 attendees to a day that included a premier screening of the historical documentary "9 Days That Changed the World" by recent Catholic convert and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista.
This movie traces the pivotal role Pope John Paul II played in concert with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in bringing about the fall of Soviet Communism in Poland, Eastern Europe, and Russia, thus giving hope for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to millions during the1980s.
Billed as the largest ever of its kind on the West Coast, this pro-life event lived up to its promise with a dazzling array of all Catholic inspirational pro-life speakers, combined with a beautiful morning rosary introduced by the day's MC, Catholic Answers radio host Patrick Coffin.
The Trinitarian Sisters of Mary (Singing Nuns of Tijuana) led the audience in the rosary prayer.
As if the gripping talks by Fr. Mitch Pacwa of EWTN fame, Fr. Tom Euteneuer, Callista and Speaker Gingrich, and former UCLA student Lila Rose, president of Live Action Films, weren't enough, the program also featured over 60 pro-life and spiritually uplifting exhibits, which included a mobile RV equipped with a state-of-the-art ultra sound machine, and a booth by the San Diego Knights' immediate past chapter president, SK Michael Brault.
Another noteworthy booth was managed by the Knights' State Advocacy for the Culture of Life Campaign Liaison Marie Widmann from San Bernardino.
Others seen taking in the conference were the K of C's State Deputy Ivan Reek and State Membership Chairman Pat Brown and their wives.
After all costs are met, plans are to distribute net proceeds to select local pro-life organizations.
Aside from any funds raised, one attendee summarized the impressions of many, saying,
"This was the best conference I've ever attended and it changed my life forever."
Updates on future plans and how to order CDs and DVDs of the conference will be available later on the Mother of Life website. To visit the site, Click Here.
(Article submitted by SK Hugh Largey, president, Knights of Columbus San Diego-Imperial Counties Chapter Charities.)
