Words of Archbishop Thompson and Father Charles Smith inspire at National Black Catholic Men’s Conference

Priests from across the country concelebrate with Archbishop Charles C. Thompson on Oct. 15 in St. Rita Church in Indianapolis during the closing Mass of the National Black Catholic Men’s Conference. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

By Natalie Hoefer

For three-and-a-half hours, joy, music and shouts of affirmation filled St. Rita Church in Indianapolis on Oct. 15 before and during the closing Mass of the National Black Catholic Men’s Conference, held in Indianapolis on Oct. 13-16.

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson offered a conference keynote address before the Mass, and Divine Word Father Charles Smith—co-founder of the conference—offered the homily during the Mass.

“It was a godsend,” Kerry Conwell, president of the St. Rita parish council, said of the evening. “You could just tell that the Holy Spirit had descended upon us here at the church today, and it was so wonderful to hear the archbishop speak.

“And then having Father Charles do the homily—it was just like when he was living here” at St. Rita Parish several years ago, he added.

Attended by an estimated 300 Black Catholic men from across the United States, the gathering began with a keynote address by Archbishop Thompson. More…