Women’s Conference 2026 | “Faith, Hope and Courage”

The Catholic Diocese of Arlington's Office of Marriage, Family and Respect Life and Council of Catholic Women invite all women of the Diocese to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Herndon on March 14th to celebrate the 2026 Women's Conference, titled Faith, Hope & Courage. This year's Conference, featuring keynotes by Helen Alvaré and Mary Stanford, will highlight the accomplishments and gifts of Catholic women past and present who have formed our great nation since its founding 250 years ago. The day will include these keynotes, Mass celebrated by our bishop the Most Rev. Michael F. Burbidge, lunch, and a Q&A with the Bishop and our two speakers. Vendors will also be present selling all kinds of gifts for yourself and your family. We look forward to welcoming you in Herndon in March! 

In partnership with Catholic Charities St. Lucy Project, we are inviting you to also join us in a food drive at the event to support St. Lucy Project in their work of feeding the hungry in our area. Click here to see what items they need, especially the following:

• Canned Chicken
• Canned Tuna
• Baked Beans
• Pasta Sauce
• Spaghetti O's
• Mac and Cheese

Registration is open! Click here!

Click here for a printable, mail-in registration form.

Regular pricing $85 - After February 7, 2026

*Confession begins at 7: 30 am, Conference begins at 8: 30 am. 

Keynote Bios

Helen Alvaré is the Robert A. Levy Endowed Chair in Law and Liberty at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University, where she teaches Family Law, Law and Religion, and Property Law. She publishes on matters concerning marriage, parenting, and the First Amendment religion clauses. She is faculty advisor to the law school’s Thomas More and Christian Legal Societies, a Member of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life (Vatican City), and an ABC news consultant on matters touching the Holy See. She cooperates with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the Organization of American States on matters concerning religious freedom and women’s rights.

Professor Alvaré’s most recent books include Religious Freedom After the Sexual Revolution, Christianity and Conscience, and Putting Children’s Interests First in U.S. Family Law and Policy: With Power Comes Responsibility. She regularly files amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeals in support of religious freedom claimants. She also speaks at academic and professional conferences in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Australia.

Prior to joining the faculty of Scalia Law, Professor Alvaré taught at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America; represented the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops before legislative bodies, academic audiences and the media; and was a litigation attorney for the Philadelphia law firm of Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young.

Professor Alvaré received her law degree from Cornell University School of Law and her master’s degree in Systematic Theology from the Catholic University of America.

Mary Stanford, author of The Obedience Paradox: Finding True Freedom in Marriage, is a speaker, teacher, and writer on Catholic marriage and family life. She is an adjunct professor at Christendom College and holds degrees from the University of Dallas and the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. She and her husband Trey are the parents of seven children.

Download the flyer here!

Click here to listen to past conferences!