The History of Call to Holiness
The first Call to Holiness conference was held in 1996 and brought together Catholic faithful from all over Southeast Michigan, all inspired with a sincere love for Jesus Christ and His Church. Our annual conferences became opportunities for fellowship, inspiration and the fostering of many wonderful friendships. Concurrent youth conferences provided the opportunity for entire families to attend faith filled and inspiring events together. The supporting vendors provided a rich array of Catholic materials and resources in which to nurture the love and knowledge of the faith, as well as the spirituality and prayer life of attendees. With the encouragement of Fr. John Hardon, S.J. and Fr. Eduard Perrone, our Spiritual Advisor, Emeritus offered use of Assumption Grotto for meetings and dinners, while providing us with fervent and humble leadership. The first Call to Holiness conference had 2000 attendees and over 125 volunteers and our conferences and events continue to thrive still today, thanks to the continued dedication of current and past Board Members as well as countless volunteers. Phyllis Bausano, Secretary, has faithfully volunteered for 25 years and is the only original Board Member remaining today. After the first conference, Fr. John Hardon, S.J. said, “History may show that Call to Holiness was the spark that ignited the restoration of authentic Catholicism in the United States."
In addition to authentic Call to Holiness conferences, multiple Catholic conferences were developed including: Heart to Heart Catholic Women’s Apostolate in Ann Arbor, Holy Trinity Apostolate’s Lenten Symposiums, Men’s and Women’s conferences, Catholics in the Public Square, and Ave Maria Law School began in Ann Arbor. We remain eternally grateful to God for His rich blessings and merciful graces upon all of these past 25 years and continue to invoke God's continued guidance and blessing for the next 25 years. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
Our Episcopal Advisor
“Call to Holiness, founded by Father Eduard Perrone and co-founded by the Servant of God Father John A. Hardon, S.J., has faithfully responded, over twenty years, to the urgent contemporary need of a strong public witness to Jesus Christ alive in the Church – in the Magisterium, the Sacred Liturgy, and Canon Law – for the salvation of many souls. At a time when public dissent from solid doctrine, reverent worship and sound discipline was becoming ever more widespread in the Church to the great harm of souls, faithful and generous Catholics came together and founded Call to Holiness to defend, safeguard and promote our greatest treasure: Jesus Christ alive in our hearts through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from His glorious pierced Heart upon the Church. I have been happy to support the work of Call to Holiness for many years and recall with particular joy my participation in the 2003 Annual Conference. I highly commend Call to Holiness to all faithful Catholics. May God bless Call to Holiness and all its works, especially the Annual Conference.”
Yours devotedly in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Purest Heart of Saint Joseph,
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
"Over the years, I should never forget the mysterious ways that our Lord has given me the privilege of professing my faith at no matter what price to my preference. Over the years, I have never tired telling people that Confirmation prepares them to live a martyr’s life, if it is God’s will to die a martyr’s death."
"All these years of remaining faithful to the Catholic Church in spite of widespread opposition to what I believed, these were the years when I learned clearly and deeply that to remain a bonafide Catholic teacher of Catholic Doctrine was, honestly, the most demanding enterprise of my whole life."
"Our principle duty as Christians is to prepare others to live a holy life in an unholy world."
"Our duty as Catholics is to know the truth, to live the truth, to defend the truth, to share the truth with others, and to suffer for the truth."
-Quotes from the Servant of God, Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
Leo Raymond Cardinal Burke
Biography
Raymond Leo Burke was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, on June 30, 1948. He attended high school at Holy Cross Seminary in La Crosse, Wisconsin, before attending The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., as a Basselin Scholar. He undertook his studies in preparation for ordination to the Holy Priesthood at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and was ordained to the priesthood by Pope Saint Paul VI on June 29, 1975.
Ordained a bishop in 1995 by Pope Saint John Paul II, he served for almost nine years as Bishop of La Crosse, where he founded the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On December 2, 2003, Bishop Burke was named Archbishop of Saint Louis. From 2008-2014, he served as Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. In November 2014, he was named Patron of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta.
Cardinal Burke has also served on the Congregation for Causes of Saints, the Congregation for Bishops, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and the Council of Cardinals and Bishops of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.
Cardinal Burke is an episcopal advisor to the Call to Holiness. In 2003, (then Bishop) Burke spoke at the CTH conference. At the request of Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., founder of the Marian Catechist Apostolate, Cardinal Burke is the International Director of the Marian Catechist Apostolate, with headquarters in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
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