Couple Sends Out a 'Conference' Call

Some of the world's leading experts in the message of Divine Mercy will gather Oct. 12-13 in Milwaukee, Wis., and Dick and Terry Boldin couldn't be happier.

The Boldins have invited them to their hometown for a conference, titled "Jesus, I Trust in You."

"We're excited, to say the least," says Dick. "We look forward to having all these beautiful people come here."

The conference is sponsored by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception and the Milwaukee-based Rosary Evangelization Apostolate, which was founded by the Boldins. Inspirational and educational speakers, Holy Mass, prayer, and fellowship will be the highlights of the two-day conference. It will be held at the Blessed Sacrament Church.

"If you want to learn about Divine Mercy, and to encounter Jesus in His mercy, this is the place to come," says Dick.

Indeed, the speakers will be Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, a nationally acclaimed scholar, author, and host of "Sunday Night Live" on EWTN; Fr. Tom J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International; Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, MIC, the vice postulator for the canonization cause of St. Maria Faustina; Fr. Kaz Chwalek, MIC, director of evangelization and development for the Marians of the Immaculate Conception; Dr. Robert Stackpole, STD, the director of the John Paul II Institute of Divine Mercy; Marie Romagnano, RN, the founder of Nurses for Divine Mercy; Dr. Bryan Thatcher, MD, founder of the Eucharistic Apostles of The Divine Mercy (EADM); and Dick and Terry.

Registration is still open.

So who are Dick and Terry Boldin? Married in 1968, they became promoters of the Blessed Mother early on in their marriage. But back in the late 1990s, they had it in their hearts to do something more to help evangelize and to help Our Blessed Mother bring souls to Christ. With some trepidation, they considered starting a new prayer apostolate.

Any reservations they had soon vanished. In other words, it was meant to be.

"One day, I went to a Saturday morning Mass, and the priest, whom I had never seen before, gave his homily on St. Frances Cabrini," recalls Dick. "In his homily he shared some maxims of St. Frances. And one of them was 'Don't be afraid to start a new prayer apostolate.' It nearly knocked my socks off. And he said right after that, 'Don't be afraid to travel, to evangelize.'"

Within 24 hours, Dick was home and was channel surfing when he came across EWTN. Father John Corapi was saying, "Don't be afraid to go out and evangelize," Dick recalls.

That nearly knocked his socks off, too.

Dick and Terry soon found themselves in the office of Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee, telling him about their idea. Within 45 minutes of their conversation, the Rosary Evangelization Apostolate was formed, with the blessing and encouragement of Archbishop Dolan who serves as the Episcopal Advisor of the Apostolate.

That was Jan. 31, 2003. The timing was perfect. Pope John Paul II had just recently released his Apostolic Letter, "The Rosary of the Virgin Mary." The apostolate promotes the Rosary, Eucharistic Adoration, prayer for vocations, a rediscovery of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and is the custodian and coordinator of the Traveling Monstrance Program.

"We're here to serve the Church and Archbishop Dolan by promoting the Rosary and contemplating the face of Jesus, who is mercy Himself," says Dick, who rediscovered his faith in his 20s, having all but abandoned it during his college years. How did he rediscover it? Two things happened. One is, he met and fell in love with Terry, a devote Catholic. Two, he read an article in his church bulletin about a man who was going around showing a film in people's homes on the Blessed Mother and praying the Rosary.

"Up to that point," says Dick, "I had never prayed the Rosary in my life. We had the gentleman come to our home. At one point, he took his Rosary and put it on my chest. I could feel heat going through my whole body. It was as if the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Mother were calling to me, telling me, 'Hey, you forgot us all these years. Now it's time for you to make up for it!'"

He went out and bought a Rosary the next day, and he's been praying it daily ever since. When he comes to the third Luminous Mystery, he reflects on the importance of the message of Divine Mercy.

"The third Luminous Mystery is all about Divine Mercy," he says. "It's the Proclamation of the Kingdom; it's Christ's call to conversion and the inauguration of His ministry of mercy to others."

When it comes to the message of Divine Mercy, Dick says there's a hunger in his parish to learn more about it. Last year, Fr. Kazimierz Chwalek, MIC, the director of Evangelization and Development of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, asked the Boldins if they would be interested in having a conference on Divine Mercy.

"Our natural response was 'yes,'" says Dick.
YLSF

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