By EmmaLee Italia | Correspondent

Those in the Trenton Diocese who are unable to attend the V National Encuentro Sept. 20-23 in Texas will have an opportunity to participate in a different way on the local level.

Conferencia de Evangelización y Formación 2018, a two-day Spanish-language evangelization conference, will take place 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Nov. 3 and 2-8 p.m. Nov. 4 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.  All adult leaders in parishes lay ecclesial movements, Catholic School teachers/Catechists and clergy are invited to attend.

“This conference is meant to be a follow-up to the V Encuentro gathering, given that not everyone will be able to attend this historic event,” said Laura Rivas, associate director of Adult Faith Formation in the diocesan Department of Evangelization and Family Life. “The V Encuentro invites all Catholics in the United States to intense missionary activity, consultation, leadership development and identification of best ministerial practices in the spirit of the New Evangelization.”

Themed “Discípulos Misioneros: Testigos del Amor de Dios,” the November conference is co-sponsored by the Diocese’s Department of Evangelization and Family Life, the Ministry of Adult Faith Formation and the Cathedral.

Dr. Fernando Casanova, an internationally-known theologian and Catholic evangelization speaker and professor of theology in the Spanish community, will lead several talks centered around the conference theme, which is closely tied to the central theme of the V Encuentro process, “Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God’s Love.” His presentations will be about one’s encounter with Christ and how that leads to a heart of discipleship.

“The main goal of the V Encuentro is to discern ways in which the Church in the United States can better respond to the Latino presence, and to strengthen the ways in which Latinos respond to the call to the New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire Church,” Rivas said. “The Holy Father reiterated this call in his message to the bishops of the United States about V Encuentro: ‘Our great challenge is to create a culture of encounter, which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experience; to break down walls and to build bridges.’”

The two-day event will include five talks and a Eucharistic Holy Hour, followed by Mass at 6:30 p.m.

Cost for the conference is $20 per person. Registration is due before Oct. 26; participants can register online at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/events/casanova2018.

For more information or to request a copy of the schedule, contact Rivas at 609-403-7132, [email protected]. St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral is located at 151 N. Warren St., Trenton.