Bishop David Malloy offered Mass at the 23rd annual Great Lakes Catholic Men’s Conference, held Nov. 18 in the Duke Ellington Ballroom at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

Speakers this year were Chris Horn, a former NFL player; Gus Lloyd of the Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio; Francisco (Paco) Gavrilides, a Homiletics Instructor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Mich.; and Deacon Bob Fishman from the Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena, Mont., a Jewish convert to the Catholic faith.

Chicago singer Wayne Messmer again was master of ceremonies. In addition to Mass and speakers, Father Keith Romke (left, above), diocesan vocations director, blessed young men who expressed an interest in the priesthood.