Thanks to all who joined us in Detroit!
- Use this link to read Sr. Annie Killian‘s report on the national conference, written for the Dominicans of Peace
- Pax Christi USA holds national conference in Detroit, El Central Hispanic News, written by Gail Presbey
- Use this link to download the conference program in PDF format
- Use this link to download the conference liturgy booklet in PDF format
- Use this link to read Rosemarie Pace‘s report about Dr. Nada Fadul’s conference workshop on the crisis in Sudan
- Use this link to access the PowerPoint shared by Denise Duffield during the workshop on nuclear disarmament
Click on these links to see photos from the weekend:
- Day one (July 25)
- Day two (July 26)
- Day three (July 27)
- The public witness held at the Spirit of Detroit statue at the conclusion of the conference.
Plenary videos
- Use this link to watch Maria Stephan‘s plenary address on Friday evening
- Use this link to download Maria’s comments from her keynote address in PDF format
- Use this link to download the slides from Maria’s PowerPoint presentation in PDF format
- Use this link to watch Jonathan Kuttab‘s keynote address on Saturday morning
- Use this link to watch Joryán Hernández receive the Sr. Dianna Ortiz OSU Peacemaker award on Saturday evening
- Use this link to watch the special video message from Pax Christi International Secretary General Martha Ines Romero (with subtitles)
- Use this link to watch the Sunday morning plenary, which includes Ralph McCloud‘s acceptance speech for the Eileen Egan award, the presentation of the 2025 Teacher of Peace award to Meta Peace Team, and the concluding Eucharistic liturgy presided over by Archbishop Ed Weisenburger of Detroit.
Workshop videos
- Use this link to watch the video of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative workshop
- Use this link to watch the recording of the workshop “Resisting the surveillance state: AI without ethics,” organized by the Pax Christi USA Young Adult Caucus.
- Use this link to watch the video of the workshop “Broken treaties, broken land: Restoring relationships, restoring the Earth,” offered by the Pax Christi USA Indigenous solidarity working group.
- Use this link to watch the video of part of the workshop on nuclear abolition, with Denise Duffield from Back from the Brink.
In a time of global challenges, Pax Christi USA invites you to join us in Detroit for a transformative weekend of hope and action!
>>Use this link to register! (Register for your hotel lodging separately — see below.)
>>For virtual attendees (Friday and Saturday plenary sessions and Sunday morning program), please use the same registration link above and choose “virtual option” at the payment section. You will receive the link to join the livestream on Friday, July 25.
This year’s national conference will be held at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. (See below for information about transportation from the airport and parking near the hotel.)
Whether you’re a seasoned member or new to the movement, this conference is your opportunity to connect, learn, and renew your commitment to peacemaking and care for the Earth and all its inhabitants. The weekend will feature speakers, workshops, liturgies, and activities designed to advance nonviolence in our broken world and build a revolution of love.
Inspired by Pope Francis, who in this Jubilee Year called us to be “pilgrims of hope,” we pray this gathering will be a time of rejuvenation and promise, as we remember that the arc of the universe bends toward justice. Come. Transform. Hope.
>>Read more about our speakers and our musical liturgists here!
>>Read about the Saturday workshops here!
Regional, state, and local banners
We will have a display of banners of Pax Christi regions and groups at the conference. Bring any banners or flags from your local group or community. If your group or community does not have one, we will also have poster board available at the conference if you would like to make one there.
Bring contributions for the resistance art space!
Sometimes our resistance is artful and brilliant and we don’t always notice! At the national conference in Detroit, we’ll have a space with tables to spread samples of newsletters, posters, memes, and photos of artful graffiti or murals. We have the capacity to plug in laptops featuring videos of creative protests, clips of concerts or readings and street theatre. Bring your contributions and come inspire each other! For questions, contact Lee Miller: aleemiller@igc.org
>>Learn more about how to contribute to our communal fiber arts project here! If you’re a seasoned quilter or new to crochet or somewhere in between, we hope you add your work!
>>Use this link to register! (Register for your hotel lodging separately — see below.)
Early bird rate, full conference – $275 (until May 30)- Registration after early bird rate – $295
- Institutional member registration (for those whose organization or religious community has an institutional membership with Pax Christi USA) – $260
- Commuter (no meals) – $195
- Virtual option (live streamed keynotes, Sunday morning program) – $125
- Saturday evening only (dinner and entertainment) – $125
Other options on the form include: “Pay as you are able” and scholarship opportunities. Limited scholarships are available — requests must be made by May 30.
- Exhibitor registration is now closed.
- Use this link to learn more about sponsorship levels, OR contact Daniel Francis for more information.
- We invite you to consider a sponsorship or extra donation to help cover scholarships and conference costs.
The conference registration fee is separate from the hotel reservation.
If you are attending in person, use this link to book your room at the Detroit Marriott. The deadline to receive the conference rate for hotel rooms is now July 4. More rooms have been added to the Pax Christi USA bloc for Thursday night: $214/night for a standard king or standard double room. Book today!
COnference Pre-events
Thursday, July 24
Pre-conference gatherings
- 1-6 PM: Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus (PCYAC) gathering, followed by annual business meeting
- 1-6 PM: Pax Christi USA’s state and regional chapter leaders/representatives meet (TBD)
- 7:30 PM: Film: “The Palestine Exception,” 1 hour 10 minutes. As students across the country organize protests against Israel’s war on Gaza, decades-long taboos in academia around criticism of Israel – the “Palestine exception” – are shattered. This film features professors and students as they join calls for a ceasefire and divestment from companies that do business with Israel and face waves of crackdown from administrators, the media, the police and politicians.
Other possible events on Thursday, July 24:
- Gathering with the Pax Christi Anti-Racism Team (PCART), Pax Christi USA gun violence prevention working group, and local, state, regional leaders
National conference Schedule
Friday, July 25
- 9 AM-12 PM: Meeting of Pax Christi USA’s state and regional chapter leaders/representatives (continued from Thursday)
- 10 AM: PCYAC event (TBD)
- 10-11:30 AM Pax Christi USA National Council meeting (closed)
- 12-3 PM: Arrival and set-up for vendors and exhibitors
- 3 PM: Registration (Ambassador foyer) and exhibit space (Ambassador Salon 1) open.
- 4 PM: Hotel check-in (main lobby)
- 4-5 PM: Orientation and Pax Christi USA 101 session for first-time conference attendees
- Dinner is on your own
- 7 PM: Opening prayer/blessing
- 7:30 PM: Welcoming remarks
- 7:50 PM: Opening keynote — Maria Stephan, the Horizons Project
- 9:15 PM: Closing prayer, wrap up and announcements
- 9:30-10:30 PM: Post-plenary social
Saturday, July 26
Exhibitors will be open 8 AM through 10 PM
- 7-8 AM: Mass and/or guided centering prayer
- 8-9 AM: Buffet breakfast
- 8:45 AM-6 PM: Prayer room open
- 9-9:15 AM: Morning praise with ValLimar Jansen
- 9:15-10:45 AM: Plenary session/ keynote with Jonathan Kuttab, FOSNA, followed by conversation with local peacemakers moderated by Kim Redigan
- 10:45-11:15 AM: Break
- 11:15 AM-12:45 PM: Workshops session 1
- 12:45-2 PM: Lunch and free time
- 1 PM: Book signing in exhibit space
- Sacrament of reconciliation available in prayer space
- 2-3:30 PM: Workshops session 2
- 3:30-5:30 PM Break
- 3:45- 4:15 PM Centering prayer led by Josephine Garnem
- 4:00- 4:45 PM Resistance art session led by Lee Miller
- Visit exhibitors and vendors
- Working groups/affiliate groups are welcome to caucus during this time
- Sacrament of reconciliation available in prayer space
- 5:30 PM Dinner check in
- 6 PM Dinner
- 7-10 PM: Evening programming including a message from Martha Inés Romero, presentation of the inaugural Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU Peacemaker award to Joryán Hernández, plus entertainment and music with ValLimar Jansen, Santiago Fernández, Keir Ward Gospel Choir, and others.
Sunday, July 27
If you will be attending the prayer witness in the afternoon, please remember to check out of your hotel room in the morning and store your luggage behind the desk in the lobby.
- 8-9 AM: Breakfast
- Hotel check-out
- 9-10 AM: Morning plenary including the presentation of the 2025 Teacher of Peace award to Meta Peace Team and the 2025 Eileen Egan Award to Ralph McCloud
- 10 AM: Break. Last opportunity to visit exhibitors
- 10:30 AM: Closing liturgy, including the commissioning of our new Ambassadors of Peace
- 11:45 AM: Closing remarks and conference ends
- 12-1 PM: Prayer walk and witness at the Spirit of Detroit statue, a short walk from the hotel
Thank you to our sponsors!
- Mary Carry
- Marie Dennis
- James Eisele
- Theodora Krause
- Louis and Mary Ann Martin
- Ande and Mike McCarthy
- Ronald Pagnucco
- Mary Anne Perrone and Ricardo Bartelme
- Robert Podzikowski
- Bishop John Stowe
- Rev. Fred Thelen
- Joan Tirak
- Rev. Alan Wakefield
- Adrian Dominicans
- Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica
- Casa Esther Catholic Worker
- Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise
- Dominican Sisters-Grand Rapids
- Dominican Sisters-Halifax
- Dominican Sisters of Peace
- Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa
- Faith Weavers of St. Mary
- Felician Sisters/Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph
- Franciscan Action Network
- JustFaith
- Marygrove Pax Christi
- Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
- Pax Christi International Fund for Peace
- Pax Christi Little Rock
- Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore
- Pax Christi Michigan
- Pax Christi New York State
- Pax Christi Rhode Island
- Pax Christi Southern California
- Pax Christi West Michigan
- Servants’ Entrance intentional community
- Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- University of Detroit Mercy
Traveling from/to the Detroit airport
For those traveling to Detroit by air, you are responsible for your travel from/to the airport to the conference site.
One inexpensive option is to take the DAX (Detroit Air Express) from DTW, the Detroit airport, to downtown Detroit. Once in downtown Detroit, transfer to the city’s People Mover which should take you directly to the Renaissance Center.
At the airport, follow signs for the DAX — tickets are $6 in advance or $8 on site. The ride into the city should take approximately 40-50 minutes. Use this link to learn more and to buy tickets.
Once in the city, walk over to the Michigan Avenue People Mover station which is near the airport bus drop-off spot. Hop on the People Mover which will take you directly to the Renaissance Center. The People Mover is free.
Parking options at the Marriott Hotel at the renaissance Center for the Pax Christi USA 2025 national conference
Beaubien Place Garage
238 Beaubien Street
Detroit MI 48226
Cost $25 per 24-hour day, recommended by Marriott Hotel because you can come and go at no extra charge with hotel room registration. Located on the back side of the hotel. Can access the Renaissance Center via a covered pedestrian bridge.
Port Atwater Parking Garage
200 Beaubien Street
Detroit MI 48226
Back side of the hotel, with a covered walkway to the Renaissance Center.
Rates:
- Monday – Friday 0-16 hours: $20.00
- Up to 24 hours (overnight): $25.00
- Saturday – Sunday 0-16 hours: $15.00
- Up to 24 hours (overnight): $25.00
Several 20 percent discount “validation” tickets will be included in the registration packet for Conference attendees at this parking garage, to be presented at time of payment. Please note: Each time you leave and enter is a new charge
Center Garage
414 Renaissance Drive West
Detroit, MI 48226
Located across the street from the Marriott Hotel front entrance. This provides the shortest, easiest access to the hotel and conference. $31 per day.
Is the Sat evening dinner included in the full registration? I live in Hamtramck and will be traveling back and forth for the weekend. I am 82 is there a discount for MI seniors?