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CatholicPhilly.com is the digital successor to The Catholic Standard and , and your online source for Catholic news and information. CatholicPhilly.com sign up for our free weekly email news See more Catholic news at our website, www.CatholicPhilly.com is year’s Quo Vadis Days retreat by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia welcomed 101 Catholic young men June 29 to July 2 at Black Rock Retreat Center in Quarryville, Lancaster County to deepen their faith, learn more about the priesthood and better discern God’s will for their lives.e young men, ranging between the ages of 13 and 18 and mostly from archdiocesan parishes but also from some surrounding dioceses, were challenged to grow in their faith and answer two questions: Who am I as a person? Who am I as a man of God?e Quo Vadis Days program began in the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 2009 and is held each year in early July.In previous years attendance has ranged between 20 and 40 participants. is year the cost of the retreat was defrayed due to the generosity of a grant, which made it more aordable for the participants.“is year, we have seen a much more diverse group of young men,” said Kurt Zampier, an organizer for Quo Vadis Days. Previously, the group’s primary make-up was Caucasian men, but this year’s campers included Hispanic, Asian and African-American men, as well as those from Nigeria and Kenya. “It is a tremendous representation of the make-up of the archdiocese,” said Zampier.e retreat was directed by Father Stephen DeLacy, who is the director of the archdiocesan Vocation Oce for Diocesan Priesthood. is year he was assisted by 22 adult leaders made up of permanent deacons, seminarians and lay adults with a ratio of approximately one leader for each four campers.“We are here to challenge them to grow as men of God by meeting them where they are and giving them the tools to discern God’s call in their lives, be it priesthood, marriage or profession,” he said.e schedule of activities reected a healthy mix of reection, spiritual formation and recreation.In addition to the daily opportunities for community and individual prayer, campers had opportunities to play soccer and ultimate frisbee, tackle a rope climbing course, swim or boat in a lake, relax around bonres and go on a rock climbing expedition.ere were more participants from public schools this year than in previous retreats, explained Alex Pancoast of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, who helped run the retreat.Hundreds of priests, religious men and women and lay people from all over the country and the world came to Doylestown for the National Catholic Bible Conference June 27-28.“Scripture: e Heart of the Father” was the theme of the two-day conference held for the third consecutive year at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, which welcomed the faithful who yearned to better understand the meaning of the Bible and the teachings of the Catholic faith regarding sacred Scripture.is year the event’s theme focused on fathers — fathers in the family, father gures and most especially our Heavenly Father.Archbishop Charles J. Chaput continued the theme in his homily for the Mass he celebrated for conference participants June 28.“Nothing is more important than building up the Christian character of Catholic families and institutions and strengthening the witness of Catholic disciples in the world,” he said. “Never doubt the fruitfulness of God’s Word, because nothing is more powerful or more lled with life.”is strong message was embodied in the speakers presenting on both days of the event. e nine presenters included: Scott Hahn, professor of theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville; Edward Sri, provost and professor of theology and Scripture at the Augustine Institute in Denver; and Father Dennis Gill, director of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Oce for Divine Worship and professor of sacred liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.Cosponsors of the conference were the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Augustine Institute and Ascension Press, which made all 18 talks presented at the NCBC available for purchase on its website, AscensionPress.com. By Lou Baldwinope St. John Paul II died nine years ago, but his teachings on eology of the Body (TOB) are alive and well.e Downingtown-based eology of the Body Institute, which held its International eology of the Body Congress at Philadelphia’s Sheraton Downtown Hotel July 9-11, is growing, according to attendance gures.e last congress had about 450 attending, and this year there were more than 700, according to the institute’s executive director Damon C. Owens.“We have 40 states represented, a dozen countries and more than 50 dioceses, and at least 120 priests and religious,” he said.e TOB Institute is a nonprot educational organization that bases its programs on the 129 short talks given by Pope John Paul II between 1979 and 1984 on what it means to be created male and female in the image and likeness of God.e popularity of this year’s congress may have been inuenced by the caliber of the speakers and breakout session leaders.Major talks were given by Dr. Deborah Savage of St. omas University in St. Paul, Minn.; Bishop Jean Latte, secretary of the Pontical Council for the Family; Damon Owens; Father Michael Gaitley of the Association of Marian Helpers; Dr. Janet Smith of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood; and Christopher West, a popular lecturer with the eology of the Body Institute.Bishop Latte’s presence in the program had special signicance because the Pontical Council for the Family is the organizer of the World Meeting of Families, which will be held Sept. 22-27, 2015 in Philadelphia and which Pope Francis is expected to attend. e World Meeting of Families was the ocial sponsor for his scholarly lecture.Bishop Latte was introduced to the conference by Donna Farrell, the executive director for the World Meeting of Families.In her own remarks, Farrell said, “what better place to welcome the World Meeting of Families than Philadelphia, the birthplace of religious freedom? We will be welcoming families from around the world.”Bill Donaghy, who lectures nationally and internationally on the eology of the Body, chose as his topic “TOB and the Way of Beauty: e Art of the New Evangelization.” Emphasizing the beauty of all things, beginning with images of owers, leaves, rivers, mountains and lakes, he segued into Adam and Eve, and humanity in general.“Pope John Paul II talked about the way of beauty and he saw the culmination of the beauty of all things in the human person,” Donaghy said. “In sexuality you can see the image of God.”When the discussion is love and marriage, perhaps the real experts are those who have been there, done that. Peter Damgaard-Hansen, who came from Denmark, chose as his topic, “’It is Not Good for Man to be Alone’ — But it is Not Easy for Man to be With Someone Either.”In his practice as a psychologist he does integrative counseling, which is an understanding that a person’s mental, physical and spiritual dimensions are intertwined. A married convert to Catholicism, he observed, “TOB best speaks to the heart and the intellect. You can argue for it on a rational level.”Of course in the end, conferences are only as good as what people take away from them.“e speakers enriched my experience of the eology of the Body,” said Ruthie Greenhalgh of St. Anthony Parish, Ambler. “eology of the Body gives us a better understanding of human beings and our faith as they relate to each other.”Tim Flanagan, the founder of Wayne-based Catholic Leadership Institute, was not a presenter at the congress but just dropped in for some of the sessions.“eology of the Body is an opportunity for spiritual growth and spiritual formation,” he said. “If you just walk around and see all of the information at the vendors’ tables, you will see there is a lot of good information out there that will help people.”The panel discussion on Theology of the Body for youth young adults was standing room only at the International Theology of the Body Congress Sept. 10 in Philadelphia. (Photo by Sarah Webb)