By Elena Macias
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, the Department of Life Dignity and Justice hosted its annual International Women’s Day Conference at the Diocesan Pastoral Center. The guest speakers were Maria Echeverria, former Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of San Bernardino, and Magdalena Cantú-Romo, licensed marriage and family therapist. The conference was a day dedicated to uplifting and inspiring women as well as a day to work toward removing stigmas related to mental health.
“It was wonderful,” said Paulina Espinosa, Parish Ministries Director, St. Paul The Apostle, Chino Hills. “When I saw that Sister [Chilee] was putting this day together, I thought this was my chance to really commit to other women. And I was really looking forward, not only to learn about women… but I wanted to hear about the challenges of women.”
Echeverria, who had not given a public presentation since her retirement in 2022, gave an inspiring talk discussing the role and impact of women in the domestic and international affairs of the Church, including the struggle women often have of proving themselves in the workplace.
“One of my main focus points is to empower women, to journey with them but for me, ministering with women means more than just encouraging them,” Echeverria said. “There’s a lot of physical and emotional journeying with them. To take care of the entire person, not just the professional side of women but her life. Let her know that she’s important, she’s valuable. As I said in my talk, we have to constantly prove ourselves. Today I wanted to share some of that. I want to remind them how wonderful they are. How amazing they are for their own gifts. So I was very grateful that I was invited to do this. I was very happy with the way it was received.”
Cantú-Romo provided an informational and interactive talk about various mental health conditions and the accompaniment of women who have been diagnosed with them. During Cantú-Romo’s workshop some of the attendees took the opportunity to ask questions pertaining to their personal lives. Cantú-Romo answered everyone’s questions, which had a recurring theme about the social stigma placed on discussing mental health.
“When we name it, when I say ‘I have anxiety,’ then I give it a name, it’s real. If it’s real, then what do I do… Don’t allow a diagnosis to ever stop you…don’t give it power… you have to name it,” Cantú-Romo told attendees. “The more you talk about it, the less stigma there is.”
Sister Chilee Okoko, DMMM, the Life, Dignity and Justice Department Director, thanked all the attendees for coming to the conference and shared that she was moved by the speakers and all the women who asked questions or shared their own stories. Sr. Chilee was moved by the women sharing their stories of success and struggles, to share her own journey of joining her congregation and building a much-needed hospital in her home diocese in Nigeria.
This year’s International Women’s Day Conference showcased the voices of the women of the diocese- their struggles, their health, their triumphs, their impact, their importance, and their journey ahead.
“Women are so overextended sometimes that we choose not to slow down,” Espinosa said. “There was something that Maria said that I really love that really touched me, ‘The world does not need what women have but the world needs what women are’ because we always try to offer what we have instead of giving what we are.”
Elena Macias is the Managing Editor of the Inland Catholic BYTE and El Compás Católico.