Ignoring Our Lady's promises is 'like someone giving you a winning lottery ticket and you refusing to cash it in,' speaker says
Editor's note: This article was originally published in Spanish on Detroit Catholic's Spanish-language site, Detroit Catholic en Español.
DETROIT — On Saturday, Aug. 16, Sacred Heart Major Seminary will host the 2025 bilingual conference “Our Lady of Guadalupe: A Path of Faith and Conversion,” a spiritual gathering for men and women ages 13 and up who wish to deepen their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and renew their walk of faith.
Organized by the Federation of Associations of Our Lady of Guadalupe (FANSG), the event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will include talks, prayer, spiritual formation, Mass, a light breakfast, and lunch. For the first time, all presentations will be offered simultaneously in English and Spanish.
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In an interview with Detroit Catholic en Español, FANSG president Conchis Kargetta explained that the goal of the event is to "strengthen faith and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe by forming missionary disciples who live out their faith with joy and commitment."
"We want to create a space of encounter where attendees can experience God’s love through the Guadalupan message," Kargetta said.
The federation is overseeing every aspect of the event, from planning to speaker selection, with support from the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Hispanic Ministry.
Main topics will include the spiritual message of the apparitions, the history and prayer of the rosary, and testimonies from those who have experienced conversion or a personal encounter with the Virgin.
The featured Spanish-language speaker will be Norma Cristina Soriano, co-founder of the Escuela de la Fe in Michigan, who also teaches Scripture courses at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. With more than two decades of involvement in pastoral and evangelizing ministry in Michigan’s Hispanic community, Soriano will speak about the Nican Mopohua — the original Nahuatl text recounting the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego — and the message of conversion it conveys and its relevance for the Church today.
Beginning with Genesis, Soriano will explain the need for salvation and how “God intended to send — or even lend — us his own mother as a vehicle of salvation. From there,” she said, “I connect to the message of conversion and salvation that Our Lady of Guadalupe brought to this continent.”
As part of her personal testimony, Soriano shared that although she grew up near the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, she didn’t develop a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary until she emigrated to the United States and experienced a profound conversion through the Cursillo movement.
“The Virgin saved my life,” she said. “From then on, my relationship with her grew through study and prayer. The Virgin is the easiest way to reach God. Not going to her is like someone giving you a winning lottery ticket and you refusing to cash it in.”
English-language speakers will include Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM; author and spiritual director Jennifer Ristine, RC; and Daniel Magareno, a young lay leader.
Fr. Kratz, a Franciscan friar who studied at Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure University, will speak about the heart of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s spiritual message.
“Mary could have appeared to the bishop directly, but she chose Juan Diego, a dedicated layman. That says a lot: laypeople are the primary sharers of the Gospel,” Fr. Kratz said. “Her message is also a call to daily mission — to live our faith wherever we are, even amid discouragement.”
Fr. Kratz said the conference will share a message of hope and trust in Mary as the mother of the true God who watches over all her children.
“God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Just as he chose fishermen to be apostles and Juan Diego to be a messenger, he also calls us to holiness," Fr. Kratz said. "I believe discouragement is one of life’s greatest epidemics. We're still in the Jubilee Year of Hope that Pope Francis called for before he died. I hope this conference helps people rekindle that hope and live out their faith the best they can.”
Ristine, a consecrated woman in the Regnum Christi Society of Apostolic Life since 1997, will present on the history of the holy rosary, and Magareno, a graduate of Sacred Heart Major Seminary with a degree in philosophy, will share his testimony as a young adult who has found in the Guadalupan devotion a constant source of renewal.
Martha McKinney, a delegate of the Guadalupan group at the Basilica of Ste. Anne who has helped organize the conference, said she hopes others find the same comfort and peace in the Blessed Virgin's promises.
Of Mexican heritage and born in the United States, McKinney said she found comfort in the Virgin after losing her parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking back, she realized Our Lady of Guadalupe had always been by her side, even in her most difficult moments.
“I was so upset that I was blocking out all the blessings I had been given. Today, with the help of the Virgin, I’m learning to accept life, with all that it brings. She also experienced loss and remained steadfast,” McKinney said in an interview. “She tells us: ‘Am I not here, I who am your mother?’ And in the face of that, how can we not turn to her? How can we not turn to our mother in times of need?”
For McKinney, the bilingual and inclusive nature of the conference responds to an urgent need.
“In our society today, where there are so many issues surrounding immigration and the Hispanic population, we must remember that there is goodness in all of us — and she chose the Mexicans for a reason. She embraces everyone. She is the Queen of the Americas," McKinney said. "We already have enough barriers in the world; language shouldn’t be another one. That’s why I’m so proud that the Archdiocese of Detroit is promoting a truly bilingual and inclusive ministry.”
It's a common misconception that only Latinos shared devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, said McKinney, who stressed that the conference is a unique opportunity for everyone, regardless of language, to grow in their understanding of the Virgin.
All presentations will be offered simultaneously in both English and Spanish, while meals, Eucharistic adoration, and Mass will be celebrated in a bilingual format.
“We have the support of the archdiocese, and also the commitment of many local parishes," Kargetta said. "We hope the fruits will be conversion, spiritual renewal, and a renewed commitment to mission. May each participant return to their community with hearts on fire for the faith.
“The most urgent message today is the call to love, conversion, and unity,” Kargetta added. “In a world divided and wounded by disagreement and lack of charity, the Virgin reminds us that we are all her children and are called to draw near to one another. The same love that once united two cultures at Tepeyac now calls us to reconciliation.”
