BRAWLEY — The diocese invites the Catholic community in the Imperial Valley to an “Encounter with Our Lady of Guadalupe,” the theme of its biennial conference on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The conference is one of the first public events the diocese is holding at the beginning of its five-year initiative to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico in 2031.
The Imperial Valley Catholic Conference will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Brawley, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is hosted by the diocese’s Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry.
Leticia Trent, the office’s director, said the bilingual conference will feature a relic of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a replica of the tilma bearing her image. Bishop Pham received it during a pilgrimage to Mexico City last July.
“We’re going to present the tilma to the Imperial Valley,” she said, noting that the relic is to travel across the region in the next five years, including to all parishes and Catholic schools. Sacred Heart in Brawley will be the first parish in the Valley to host the traveling tilma, she added.
This will be the fourth edition of the conference, which the diocese hosts every two years in the Valley.
The conference is geared for parish and ministry lay leaders, with tracks in English and Spanish. The event will present workshops, a Mass, confession and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. In addition, there will be live music and local exhibitors.
The diocese’s pastoral offices will each explore Our Lady of Guadalupe from distinct perspectives. They include the offices for Youth and Young Adult Ministry; Family Life and Spirituality; Liturgy and Spirituality, and Life, Peace and Justice.
The keynote speaker will be Father Rafael Capó – known as the “bodybuilding priest” – of St. Thomas University of Miami, Florida, who will also offer workshops in Spanish.
The cost to attend the conference is $35, which includes lunch. The church is located at 402 S. Imperial Ave, Brawley. For more information or to register, visit bit.ly/ImperialValleyCatholicConference2026.
