Catholic men in the diocese will have the opportunity to come together in prayer and worship during the Lenten season at the 13th annual Catholic men’s rally March 6.

This year’s gathering, coordinated by the Catholic Men for Jesus Christ, will be held in Trenton Catholic Academy, 175 Leonard Avenue, Hamilton.

The theme of the event is “United in Christ.”

The rally will feature an array of inspirational speakers, a Mass celebrated by Bishop John M. Smith, and opportunities for fellowship, Eucharistic adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Those who attend will also have opportunities to discuss with one another their love of Christ and the ways they live out their Catholic faith in their daily lives.

In addition to Bishop Smith, the featured speakers at the 2010 rally include EWTN personality Curtis Martin; Father Joseph G. Celano, a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen; and Catholic laymen George Rose and Joe Large.

Martin, an award-winning speaker and co-host of EWTN’s Crossing the Goal, is known for using humorous stories and his own life experiences to communicate how faith in God is lived out in everyday life. He is also the president and founder of FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and an adjunct professor at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colo.

Father Celano is a former host of Proclaim the Good News, an award-winning radio program in the Metuchen Diocese. He currently serves as pastor of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bridgewater.

Rose, a parishioner of St. RaphaelHoly Angels Parish, Hamilton, works for the New York Yankees organization as director of Asian operations and has served as a translator for the team’s Japanese-speaking players. He will offer a personal testimonial of his own faith conversion and how he discovered the saving power of Christ. Large, a member of the Mother of God Community and parishioner of St. Mary Parish, New Monmouth, will speak on the role of faith in his life and how it helped him to overcome a drug and alcohol addiction and remain sober for more than 20 years.

Catholic Men for Jesus Christ formed in the Diocese of Trenton in 1997 to encourage men to come together in support of one another’s faith. Each year, they hold a rally in a different part of the diocese with as many as 1,800 Catholic men having attended in past years. Several local Catholic men’s groups in the diocese also meet regularly in various locations.

The rally will begin at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude at 3 p.m. The registration fee is $20 per person or $10 for students. Coffee and lunch will be provided.

For tickets or additional information, visit www.catholicmenforjesuschrist.org or call 609-896-0394. To request tickets by mail, send a check to Catholic Men for Jesus Christ, c/o Emmaus House, 2116 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648, and include the name of each person that will be attending and a confirmation address.

Catholic Men for Jesus Christ can also be found on Facebook.