Speakers of the 2013 Indiana Holy Family Catholic Conference

We have a great line-up of Catholic speakers again this year. Let me introduce them to you.

We are very excited that Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, a convert to Catholicism, and a member of the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, will be part of our conference next year. Before his conversion to Catholicism, he was a high school dropout who had been kicked out of a foreign country, institutionalized twice and thrown in jail multiple times. After his radical conversion he earned various philosophy and theology degrees. He has written many academic articles and is the editor of two books. He also is the author of the book Purest of All Lilies: The Virgin Mary in the Spirituality of St. Faustina (Marian Press, 2008). His radical conversion story is now shared in his latest book,  No Turning Back – A Witness to Mercy . Fr. Calloway’s website is www.fathercalloway.com .

We have also invited another dynamic Catholic speaker, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio. He often appears on EWTN and is regularly heard on nationally syndicated radio shows such as “Catholic Answers Live.” Dr. D’Ambrosio repeatedly has been called upon to serve as an expert commentator on religious and moral issues for At Large (Geraldo Rivera’s program on Fox News) and Bill O’Reilly’s radio show.

Raised in an Italian/Irish neighborhood in Providence, RI, Marcellino D’Ambrosio never thought about being anything else but Catholic. But like other Catholic teens, his faith was the last place he looked for fulfillment. At the age of 16 he encountered a group of Catholics whose Christian life was an exciting adventure, an adventure worth living for. So he laid his bass guitar aside and embarked on a road that led to a Ph.D. in historical theology from the Catholic University of America. In 2001 Dr. D’Ambrosio left his position at the University of Dallas to develop the work of Crossroads Productions, the apostolate of Catholic renewal and evangelization that he cofounded twenty years ago. He, his wife Susan, and their five children, reside just outside of Dallas, TX. His website is www.crossroadsinitiative.com .

 Carolyn King will also be a key component of the 2013 conference. She is a Catholic speaker, teacher and convert from Lutheranism. Carolyn was the definition of a successful businesswoman. She was married with two children, highly paid as a stockbroker on Wall Street, and was even interviewed on the NBC Nightly News and featured in the Wall Street Journal as a prime example of how the modern working woman can really “have it all.” In her rapid assent up the corporate ladder, Carolyn had grown so out of touch with her family’s real needs that the material possessions and career success had obscured what was really happening. Carolyn accepted this revelation as a wake-up call from God and left Wall Street with all its allure and grandeur.

Carolyn began her speaking ministry in 2001 and in 2004 she was a guest on EWTN’s The Journey Home. She is deeply devoted to the sacraments, the Blessed Mother and the saints. She believes that the challenging times people live in today are no match for the transforming grace of God.

As you can see, we promise to have another great Indiana Holy Family Catholic Conference for 2013!