"The mission of the Healthcare Professionals of Divine Mercy is so vital to train healthcare professionals on how to obtain and render spiritual care at the bedside of the sick and dying using the Divine Mercy message and devotion.”
By Chris Sparks
From June 5-7, the Marian Fathers will be hosting the 19th Annual Divine Mercy Medicine, Bioethics, and Spirituality Conference on the grounds of the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
Register NOW for in-person and remote attendance (via livestream).
“I would like to invite and welcome everyone to our 19th year of the annual Medicine, Bioethics, and Spirituality conference, which to my knowledge is the longest running bioethics conference in the United States,” says organizer Marie Romagnano, MSN, RN, CCM-R, founder of Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy, an official apostolate of the Marian Fathers. “We are especially excited because this is our second year at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy.
“Many of our participants have told us over the years that this is an academic program, yet it’s a retreat. We’ve combined two days of academic study with daily Mass, Confession, and a half day retreat on day three, so this is such a comprehensive program. We invite healthcare professionals, as well as non-healthcare professionals, to attend.”
Continuing Education Credits are available to conference participants.
Compassion and Mercy
Noted healthcare professionals, clergy, consecrated religious, and academics will be addressing the topic “Exploring Compassion and Mercy in Healthcare.”
Speakers will include Robin Goldsmith, MD, who is the president and chief medical officer of the St. Gianna Clinic in De Pere, Wisconsin, which she co-founded in 2014. Dr. Goldsmith will be speaking on “The Need for Courage and Compassion in Catholic Primary Care” and “Life at the End of Life”
Also, long-time friend of the conference, the Most Rev. Robert McManus, DD, STD, bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, will discuss the topic, “How The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services Helps Physicians, Nurses, and Others Provide Better Healthcare.”
Ronald Sobecks, MD, will speak on “Approaches to Merciful Healthcare: Enhancing the Patient Experience.” He’s a professor in the department of hematology and medical oncology at Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
Spirituality of Mercy
Sister M. Salvatrice Musial, OLM, MA from the Pontifical Academy of Theology, will speak on “Spirituality of Mercy. Transforming painful experiences into a gift to heal others.”
“Sister Salvatrice is a very well-known speaker,” notes Nurse Marie. “She was one of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy that worked very closely with Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, and the late Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, in the early days of Divine Mercy.
“I’m just so deeply grateful that the sisters of Our Lady of Mercy have been totally supportive of, not only this conference, but the Healthcare Professionals of Divine Mercy and our basic mission which is so vital to train healthcare professionals on how to obtain and render spiritual care at the bedside of the sick and dying using the Divine Mercy message and devotion.”
“As the founder of the Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy, I deeply appreciate the fact that they take our ministry very seriously, just like the Marians take our ministry seriously,” concludes Nurse Marie, “because we are working with dying patients daily. It is so important it is to make sure that they receive the spiritual care they need.”
Enriching experience
These and many other experts will offer a uniquely enriching experience for all who attend. The event will include Mass, times of prayer, and Confession.
The main conference will be on June 5-6, followed by a half day retreat June 7 led by Fr. Kaz, the Marian spiritual director of the Healthcare Professionals for Divine Mercy.
To register, view the full schedule, or for more information, click here.
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