October 18 & 19, 2024
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
La Crosse, Wisconsin

“Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Church”

Register Here

Conference Schedule

Maps and Lodging

 

Join the Queen of the Americas Guild for a 2-day conference/ retreat examining Our Lady of Guadalupe’s role as Mother of the Church.

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 this important topic.

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 as Mother of the Church.

Cardinal Burke was appointed the Cardinal Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in November of 2014, has served on the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, 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 on 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.

 

Dr. Michael Pakaluk is a philosopher, scholar, author, and lecturer, and Ordinary Professor of Ethics and Social Philosophy at The Catholic University of America.  He teaches in Busch School of Business with his wife, Catherine, who is a professor of economics.  He is currently at work on the last of a series of four books on the gospels, which include The Memoirs of St. Peter (on Mark); Mary’s Voice in the Gospel According to St. John; and “Be Good Bankers”: The Divine Economy in Matthew’s Gospel (forthcoming).   In his book on Luke’s gospel, he aspires to illuminate the relationship between St. Luke and St. Paul.

Pakaluk is a widely-followed essayist who appears regularly in The Catholic Thing and has also published in Crisis, First Things, Crux, Our Sunday Visitor, Catholic Answers, and other fine venues.  He has an A.B. degree from Harvard College, and, as a Marshall Scholar, an M.Litt. degree in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh. His Ph.D. in philosophy is from Harvard University.  He has published several books and many papers on Aristotle and Aristotelian philosophy, and the history of philosophy. He is currently at work on books on natural law and the thought of John Henry Newman.

Pakaluk and his late wife, Ruth, had seven children.  In The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God (Ignatius Press), he introduces readers to Ruth through her letters and talks.  Ruth was an inspiring Catholic homemaker and pro-life leader, who showed tremendous courage and faith in accepting an early death from cancer.  He and Catherine married in 1999, and they have been blessed with eight children.  Catherine’s own book, about women who go against cultural trends and have large families, was released in March 2024 and is entitled Hannah’s Children.

In 2012, Pakaluk was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as an Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.

 

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 religious subjects.  Marty will also serve as our Master of Ceremonies.