Women’s conference a ‘beautiful fruit’ of unique Sydney ministry

Nearly 20 years after people filled Royal Randwick Racecourse for Mass with Pope Benedict XVI, nearly 1000 Catholic women met there again to be refreshed in their work of transforming the world.

The inaugural conference hosted by the Catholic Women’s Network (CWN) of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation drew together 950 women to sing, pray, and reflect together on their human and spiritual identity as daughter, sister, mother, and bride.

Popular speaker and author Sr Miriam James Heidland SOLT travelled from her US home to be the keynote speaker for the event as part of a tour with Milwaukee-based author and retreat leader Fr John Burns.

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Sr Miriam is an author and the co-host of the Abiding Together podcast, which offers spiritual reflections, especially for Catholic women. The sought-after speaker is known for her openness, authenticity, and theological depth in discussing healing, forgiveness, and ongoing conversion in the life of faith.

Under the conference theme of “Anointed” Sr Miriam used her opening keynote to share a little of her own story of childhood and teenage trauma to reinforce a woman’s primary identity as a beloved daughter of God.

“With the sacrament of baptism, at that moment you and I came into a family. That indelible mark, no matter what we’ve done, or has been done to us, can never be erased,” Sr Miriam said.

“The beautiful thing about what God is doing in our life is that he continues to teach us and to heal us so that you and I can grow more deeply into our identity as a beloved daughter.

“This is not a clichéd kind of saccharine truth but a fearsome truth.”

She concluded the day with a reflection on women, and indeed all humanity, as the bride of Christ, and as religious life being a special glimpse of the church’s eschatological reality. She added an emotional plea for her listeners to entrust themselves to Our Lady as their model and advocate.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP launched the network three years ago. He returned to open the conference by invoking the Holy Spirit to newly anoint all present with gifts for the building up of the church in our time.

The archbishop has often commented that there is a “second spring” of Catholicism in Sydney and other parts of the world. As the archdiocese prepares for its 2026 Synod and hosting of the 2028 International Eucharistic Congress, he said, “we need your missionary zeal more than ever.”

“Carry forth the faith, courage, and joy of this gathering to your families, parishes, communities, and society. And as the great laywoman and Dominican St Catherine of Siena said, you will set the world on fire,” Archbishop Fisher said.

Attendees came from all over the country and included non-churchgoers and non-Catholics. All were warmly welcomed by Hazel Lim, mission manager at the Life, Marriage and Family team at the SCE and leader of the CWN.

Many later expressed appreciation for the strong witness of the local speakers.

Chief executive officer of Harvest Journeys Selina Hasham spoke on the three powers of sisterhood – graces God pours out on women through their relationships with each other in Christ.

“The strength that comes from walking together as a sisterhood is a power that most people don’t even know they have access to,” she told them.

Speaking on motherhood, CWN project officer Helena Roumanus said that mothering, after the example of Christ’s own mother Mary, is “allowing what we’ve received as daughter and sister to overflow – to make of ourselves and our whole life a gift for the good of someone else.”

For Rachel Mulholland of St Patrick’s parish in Bondi, the day was “really beautiful.”

“It’s so important for those of us who very much live in the world and don’t have opportunities to live our faith together as much as we would like to,” she added.

Julie Diez travelled from Melbourne with her baby Gemma, leaving her husband and two older children for a few days of retreat.

“I started listening to Sr Miriam’s podcast during COVID. I was newly married with a 20-people wedding and that time was quite hard on me and my husband – she just provided what I needed to get through that time,” she said.

As the day drew on, the women were treated to a buffet lunch and time to visit the various faith-based stalls and enjoy each other’s company.

Then Bishop Terence Brady and priests from across the archdiocese arrived for a holy hour of Eucharistic adoration, praise and worship, and the opportunity for the sacrament of confession or a spiritual conversation with the priests or a religious sister.

Director of the SCE Daniel Ang praised the work of the “small but dedicated” CWN team led by Hazel who had worked behind the scenes over 18 months and recruited about 40 volunteer staff, religious sisters, and priests to serve attendees on the day.

“The Catholic Women’s Network was established three years ago with the support of Archbishop Anthony, sparked by a deep belief that women’s faith, witness, and spiritual strength have a vital role to play in renewing both the church and society,” he told The Catholic Weekly.

“Hazel and her colleagues have now brought that vision to life, creating a mentoring network, Emmaus, which has now touched the lives of hundreds of women, and they have spent time listening to women from all walks of life, learning about their unique journeys and the ways they’re living out their vocations.

“This inaugural conference was a beautiful fruit of that work.

“Women came together from all kinds of backgrounds, united by a desire to grow in faith and spiritual leadership in their homes, workplaces and the wider culture.

“Thanks to the generosity of our international speakers, the Life, Marriage and Family team, and the many sponsors and supporters who made it all possible, we saw something truly special, a gathering that inspired, equipped, and encouraged women to carry Christ’s presence into every part of their lives”.

Hazel said her team’s prayer for the women attending was that they would feel nourished, renewed, and affirmed in their feminine identity in Christ.

“We have already been blessed to hear many share how the day was a truly transformative experience – through the beautiful music of Louisa Daniels, the inspiring talks of our speakers, and the new and renewed connections formed with other women. We give thanks to God for the grace of serving his beloved daughters in such a meaningful way,” she said.

Helena added that attendees were invited on a journey of discovery throughout the day.

“We wanted women to look deep within and explore the truth of who they really are: daughters, sisters, mothers, brides of Christ,” she said.

“Our prayer was that women would encounter God through the speakers, the music, the prayers, the sacraments, and each other.

“More than anything, we just wanted to give them space to hear God’s voice in whichever way he chose. We hope that women left this conference having encountering God in a real and personal way.”