2023 La Crosse Conference
2023 Conference
at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
October 20 & 21, 2023
“Religious Liberty in Catholic Teaching and Its Denial in Neopagan Western Culture”
Join the Queen of the Americas Guild for a 2-day conference/ retreat examining Religious Liberty in today’s world. The Annual Conference for the Queen of the Americas Guild is open to all those who wish to enhance their faith and learn more about the current state of Catholic Teaching and the history of our faith. His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke will be our keynote speaker.
As the founder of the shrine, His Eminence has extensive knowledge of Our Lady of Guadalupe and her role in defending Religious Liberty. Cardinal Burke was appointed the Cardinal Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in November of 2014 and also serves on the Queen of the Americas Guild Board of Directors.
A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt is an Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Hartford, Connecticut and Queen of the Americas Guild Episcopal Moderator. His Excellency is a member of the Society of the Servants of the Eucharist and Mary and has served as Vicar General of the Community. At the time of his appointment to Auxiliary Bishop, His Excellency served on the faculty of The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, MN, as Vice Rector of Formation, Associate Academic Dean and Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture, and as the Pastor of the Church of St. Francis de Sales of St. Paul in St. Paul, MN.
Currently, Bishop Betancourt serves as the Director of Seminarians for the Archdiocese of Hartford. At the USCCB, Bishop Betancourt serves in the Administrative Committee, the Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations Committee, the Hispanic Affairs Committee, the Priorities and Plans Committee, the Subcommittee for Translation of Scripture and the Subcommittee on the Catechism.
Monsignor Fernando B. Felices Sanchez was born in San Juan, PR in 1953. He is a Diocesan priest. He earned his BA in History from Darttmouth College (1975), Juris Doctor (Harvard Law School, (1978), Masters in Theology, Boston St. John’s Seminary (1982), Licentiate in Spiritual Theology (Gregorian Univ., Rome, 2004). He was Rector and Professor at the San Juan Major Seminary (1984-1999);; Chancellor of the Archdiocese of San Juan (1999-2003); Pastor of Gruta de Lourdes Parish in Trujillo Alto (2004-2020), and Archdiocesan Censor (2004-2020).
Mons. Felices has written 5 books (De Camino con Santa Teresa, The Holy Rosary according to St. John Paul II (3rd edition) in Spanish, La paternidad espiritual del Sacerdote, El Santuario dela Gruta de Lourdes (1925-2005), Via Lucis) and many articles on historical and theological themes (including 3 for the New Catholic Encyclopedia). He founded the Chaplaincy at the UPR Medical School. Mons. Felices is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Italian, and has preached retreats in the USA and Puerto Rico, especially to the Missionaries of Charity of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. He is currently working on a book on the Soteriological significance of Christ’s Descent to the Dead.
Father Gerald Murray was born in Brooklyn, New York in May, 1959 and attended Regis High School and Dartmouth College. He entered St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie and was ordained a priest on December 1, 1984. He was assigned to various parishes in the Bronx and Manhattan before being sent to the Gregorian University in Rome in 1993 to study Canon Law. He was awarded a Doctorate in Canon Law in 1998. and then served briefly as a judge on the Metropolitan Tribunal before being named Pastor of St. Vincent De Paul Church in 1998. In 2012 Fr. Murray was named Pastor of Holy Family Church.
Fr. Murray has appeared on various television and radio outlets, including EWTN, EWTN Spanish, Fox News, Fox Business News, MSNBC, NY1, Radio Maria, Relevant Radio, Fox News Radio and the Voice of America. He is fluent in French, Spanish and Italian. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Chaplain Corps from 1994 to 2005.
Enjoy music by Grammy-nominated Catholic singer, songwriter, and producer Marty Rotella. Marty has appeared on EWTN, written, performed and produced many musical CD’s, and produced docudramas and documentaries on a variety of religioussubjects. Marty will also serve as our Master of Ceremonies.
