Liturgical conference to focus on changes to Roman Missal

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Southwest Liturgical Conference Study Week – the oldest continuous regional event of its kind in the United States – will be held in Salt Lake City in February, giving Utah Catholics a chance to "come together to pray, to sing, and to give thanks," according to the Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City.

For English-speaking Catholics, the four-day event will concentrate on the changes to the Roman Missal that will go into effect next Advent. Spanish speakers will hear keynote addresses by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, coadjutor archbishop of Los Angeles and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration, and Dominican Father Jorge Presmanes, director of the Institute for Hispanic/Latino Theology and Ministry and assistant professor of theology at Barry University in Florida.

Archbishop Gomez will talk about the importance of the Eucharist in the life of people who follow Jesus; that Catholics’ encounter with the Sacrament of the Lord can spread the Good Word with the testimony of their lives.

Fr. Presmanes’ presentation will focus on the principles of the Church and the liturgy that have been the center of the formation of the faith, and explore the mystagogical liturgy that the National Guide of Catechesis assumes to be a primary method of catechesis.

Among the other Spanish-speaking presenters will be Father Javier Virgen, the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s vicar for Hispanic Affairs/associate vocations director, who will speak on Marian devotion; Deacon Ricardo Arias of the diocesan Hispanic Affairs office, who will focus on the Sunday Celebration Absent a Priest; Father Eleazar Silva, parochial vicar of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, whose topic is adoration of the Eucharist; Father Omar Ontiveros, pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, who will give a presentation on the Mass for children, and Dominican Father Luis Roberto Aguilar of the Congar Institute for Ministry Development, who will speak on lay ministers in the service of the Word of God.

For English-speaking Catholics, the list of presenters is just as diverse. In addition to numerous sessions on the revised Roman Missal, there will be workshops specifically for teachers, those involved in music liturgy and a plenary address by the Most Rev. Gerald F. Kicanas, bishop of Tucson, who will speak on "Liturgical Leadership in a Time of Change." In Saturday’s plenary address, Father Jan Michael Joncas, associate professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., will explore the liturgical/mystagogical catechesis that the National Directory of Catechesis assumes to be a primary method of catechesis.

There are many other speakers and topics for both Spanish and English speakers during the conference, which will be Feb. 2-5 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. For information and to register, visit www.swlcslc.org.