Catholic women hold second Deanery 5 Conference

Saturday, May 18 was a special day for the Catholic women of southern Missouri. Andrea Gomez Ferguson, President of Deanery 5 Diocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau Council of Catholic Women, Margaret Miller, D5 Vice President, and Sharon Long, D5 Treasurer/Secretary, held their second Deanery 5 Catholic women’s conference in Mountain Grove at Sacred Heart Church by enlisting help from Mountain Grove’s Sacred Heart Parish Council of Catholic Women, Salem’s Sacred Heart PCCW and the PCCW from St. Mary in West Plains. 

This year it was entitled, “Mirroring Mary.” It brought over 60 women from 20 parishes across the diocese,including two ladies from the Kansas City diocese, together to learn how to mirror Our Blessed Mother in their daily lives. For those who seek her help or emulate her example, she always leads them to her Son. The keynote address on this important topic was given first by Father Joseph Kelly, of Oran. He is the DCCW Spiritual Director and spoke on Mary’s two greatest virtues, charity and humility. The ladies also heard from Father John Fergus Monaghan on Mary in art, near and far. 

Mary Rowley, Spiritual Commission Chair of the DCCW, spoke on the Three Hail Mary Devotion. The women were also honored with a special address from Bishop Emeritus John Joseph Leibrecht. He spoke on notable women in the bible, their qualities to emulate and on the sorrows of the Virgin Mary. 

Following this address, the ladies prayed the 7 Sorrows Rosary before Bishop Leibrecht celebrated a special votive mass with the women in honor of Our Lady, Mother of the Church. Throughout the day the ladies spent time with their “Catholic Sister.” The Catholic Sister program was developed for last year’s conference and worked out to the appreciation of all who attended. Each woman spent the day with another woman or women, preferably women they did not previously know. They got to know one another and will continue the relationship through email and texts and will pray for them until

the next conference. 

The next Catholic women’s conference in Deanery 5 at Sacred Heart in Mountain Grove is scheduled for 2026 and will become, if God allows, a biannual event.

Please note, a deanery is an area within a Catholic diocese. The diocese in this area of Missouri is called the Diocese of Springfield/Cape Girardeau. It spans across the lower third of Missouri from the eastern border to the western border. DCCW and PCCW are chapters under the National Council of Catholic Women, a national organization supporting, empowering and educating all Catholic women in spirituality, leadership and service.