Media Release
10 March 2013
International Speakers set for April Catholic Retreat & Prayers for New Pope
International and local speakers and performers highlight the 20th annual Eucharistic Convention (5-7 April), a retreat
that has attracted over 25,000 Catholics since 1994 and this year will include prayers for the new pontiff.
Bishop Patrick Dunn will celebrate the opening Friday night Mass at Westlake Boys High School in Takapuna, and the
weekend retreat will be filled with inspirational talks, music and prayer. Guests include:
Father John Hollowell, USA, a dynamic young “warrior” priest from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis whose pro-life You
Tube video “I Have a Say” has attracted more than 130,000 views.
Father Leszek Czelusniak, Poland/Rwanda, has seen “hell”, the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Rwanda that claimed a
million lives. His Order is bringing peace and healing to the ravaged country through the Divine Mercy Devotion.
Susan Conroy, USA, worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta. She has written two books about Mother and hosts “Speaking of
Saints”, a popular programme on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the world’s largest Christian broadcaster.
John Henry-Westen, Canada, is editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com, the most popular life and family news service on the
internet, with 2.5 million page views per month.
Henrietta Reid, Auckland, won the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Vocal Competition last year, giving her a chance to
sing with the orchestra. Eucharistic Convention organiser John Porteous heard Henrietta at Westlake Girls High School
Music awards dinner last year and said: “Each year I search the world looking for suitably talented people for our
convention, and tonight it's starring me in the face.”
Tickets for the Eucharistic Convention are available online and at the door: Adults -- $60 for Fri-Sat-Sun; Students and
Senior Citizens $40; Under-15s free. More information is available at www.eucharistic-convention.com or by ringing John
Porteous on 021 729 963.
ENDS