Those who missed the 2005 talks by Father John Corapi, SOLT, in Chattanooga, will have another chance to hear him when he makes a return visit this March.
Father Corapi will speak six times at a Lenten weekend conference Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The event may offer East Tennessee Catholics a final chance to hear the nationally known priest in person, as he has said that after 2007 he will focus more on writing books and on making satellite-TV
appearances.
Some 1,000 people attended when Father Corapi, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, spoke at a two-day conference at the convention center in August 2005. At that time he encouraged audience members to become more familiar with their faith.
“The vast majority of Catholics don’t live their faith,” he said. “If you don’t know your faith, how do you expect your children or your grandchildren to know it? You’ve got to get serious about it. There’s only one way to do that, and that’s to get busy.”
The Isaiah 58 chapter of the World of Hope Foundation, which is again sponsoring Father Corapi’s appearance, is expecting a larger crowd this year. Father Corapi will address the audience six times during the weekend, and the talks will focus on Lent. Confessions will be heard on the second day, and the conference will also offer adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
The weekend will begin with Mass at 7 p.m. March 2, with Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz as principal celebrant and Father Corapi as homilist.
Father Corapi made a fortune in real estate in California in the 1970s but lost his millions because of a $10,000-a-week cocaine habit. He told the ETC in 2005 that he had become a “hopeless case.”
“I was in disaster condition for several years and really wanted things to change. I even asked God many times to help me, but nothing happened. Nothing will happen until a person makes a decision to give up serious sin. That means, for a Catholic, to go to confession, which is what I did. And that’s when things started to change for the better.” He then went on to study for the priesthood and earned several advanced degrees.
Conference costs are $45 for individuals, $70 for couples, and $25 for students. Priests, religious, and deacons may attend free. To learn more or register, call 423-877-0434 or 544-4445 or visit worldofhope.org or fathercorapi.com. Visit snipurl.com/corapi for Father Corapi’s conversion story.
The Isaiah 58 chapter hosts medical missions to its project sites in the Philippines, Mexico, and India. Any proceeds from the conference will go toward the chapter’s ministry to aid the poor.