The conference welcomed attendees from as far as Seattle, Wash., to hear not only Bishop Loverde, but also sought-after speakers Tim Staples, Mark Shea, and Timothy O’Donnell, as well as theology professors Eric Jenislawski and Sebastian Carnazzo.

Holding advanced degrees in both history and theology, O’Donnell explained that Paul had an ardent desire, as Apostle to the Gentiles, to visit Rome. In the Acts of the Apostles, God in fact guides Paul away from the east and to Rome. “St. Paul’s trip to Macedonia was like a spiritual D-Day,” O’Donnell said. “This begins the whole movement of the preaching of the Gospel in a westward direction.”

O’Donnell said that we can learn much from St. Paul by examining not only the great risks he took in traveling to spread the Gospel as witnessed in Acts, but also the deep love of Christ that he displayed in his epistles.