RENTON – More than 450 men from around the archdiocese gathered April 20 for inspiration, worship and fellowship at the 2024 “Iron Sharpens Iron” Seattle Catholic Men’s Conference at St. Stephen the Martyr Church.

The day, with the theme “Forged by Love,” opened with Mass celebrated by Bishop Frank Schuster, who preached about the Eucharist.

“If we want to find integrity and wholeness ... the answer is given us at the altar today and every day,” Bishop Schuster said.

A relationship with Jesus, he said, is “the answer to everything that life can throw at us.” Through of all life’s ups and down, anxieties and worries, “we know the end of the story,” Bishop Schuster said. “Jesus is victorious. Believe it.”

Bishop Frank Schuster preaches at the opening Mass for the 2024 “Iron Sharpens Iron” Seattle Catholic Men’s Conference at St. Stephen the Martyr Church in Renton. (Photo: Paul Schwarz)

The conference drew men from beyond the Puget Sound region, including Arlington, Shelton and Castle Rock, where a group of men left at 6 a.m. to make it to the parish in Renton.

The morning keynote speakers included Father Paul Heric, a Seattle native who is chaplain of the St. Thomas More Catholic Student Center at Washington State University.

To the young people in attendance, his message was: “You are older a lot longer than you’re younger. In the prime of your youth is where you find who you are in Christ” and decisions made now and later will affect your life.

“Your youth will define what kind of man, what kind of woman” you will become, Father Heric added.

The morning sessions ended with adoration and the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation, with eight priests available to hear confessions. Men of all ages waited in a long line; organizers said 225 men received the sacrament that day.

More than 450 men gather April 20 for inspiration, worship and fellowship at the 2024 Seattle Catholic Men’s Conference at St. Stephen the Martyr Church in Renton. (Photo: Paul Schwarz)

In the afternoon, Seattle Seahawk Abraham Lucas and former teammate Liam Ryan — who both played at WSU — sat down with Father Heric and talked about their lives and faith journeys. (Lucas was profiled in the October/November issue of Northwest Catholic.)

This was the 11th year for the conference.

The companion Spanish-language men’s conference, “Agradecimiento y Confianza en Dios,” will be held from 7 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. May 25 at St. Pius X Church in Mountlake Terrace. More than 500 men are expected to gather for inspiration from speakers including Franciscans of Mary Father Santiago Martín, founder of the order and of Magnificat.tv; Father Cal Christiansen, pastor of St. Pius X Parish; and Missionaries of the Holy Spirit Father Miguel Marquez, priest administrator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Bothell. Bishop Eusebio Elizondo will celebrate the opening Mass.

Cost is $60 and includes meals. For more information, click here.