The 2023 Maine Catholic Men's Conference was last week and offered an array of activities designed to promote faith and fellowship, including a national speaker, and a Mass with Bishop Robert Deeley.

This year’s theme was “Be Strong in the Lord,” and the day-long event and the activities at St. John’s Community Center in Brunswick echoed the message of that theme, the Times Record reported. 

“What a special gathering and Mass at the Maine Catholic Men’s Conference this weekend!” Deeley said on Twitter after the event. “We come together, in these conferences, to celebrate our faith and the strength that we give to each other.”

The keynote speaker was Deacon Matt Halbach, who is the executive director of catechesis for William H. Saldier Inc. His speech encouraged men to accept God's love and embrace the fraternity of faith around them, the report said.

Halbach is a nationally recognized speaker and holds a Ph.D. in catechetics from the Catholic University of America. He is a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Advisory Council and has authored several books.

The conference concluded with a closing Mass led by Bishop Deeley at St. John the Baptist Church, the paper added.

“The companionship of Jesus, which we receive through the Eucharist, supports us and encourages us to discern, explore and commit to the way of life to which God has called us,’ Halbach said during the conference, according to a release from the Diocese of Portland. "Through the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus prepares us to accompany others in our own unique way.”

Men from 45 different towns and cities in Maine, ranging from York Beach to the Caribou area, attended the conference, which was hosted by Shawn Gregory and the Office of Lifelong Faith Formation in the Diocese of Portland. The conference emphasized how the Eucharist can help Catholic men become the men that God calls them to be, the Diocese of Portland said.