In the lead up to Mother’s Day, retailers reminded us to buy ‘that special gift’ for our mother or that woman who has been like a mother for us. Most countries celebrate some version of Mother’s Day. In the U.S., a recent survey found that nearly 200 million persons will send gifts.
This speaks to the heart’s longing for maternal love, comfort, and to simply be accepted; a reality we observed after visiting over 10,000 San Antonio homes door-to-door in the 1980s and early ‘90s on behalf of our local Catholic church.
In the 1990s, we and two other locals responded to interest in ‘the Blessed Mother’ of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary. Thousands of people from various faiths gathered downtown at Municipal Auditorium (site of the present-day Tobin Center) for what we called Marian conferences.
The addresses we heard from diverse speakers, such as longtime local Trinity Baptist Church pastor Buckner Fanning, former NFL manager and Ronald McDonald House founder Jim Murray, and even award-winning singer and actress Lola Falana, centered on the Virgin Mary’s extraordinary impact on their lives as a spiritual and maternal figure. People spoke about how Mary’s words, actions, and image pointed them toward hope.
These conferences ended in San Antonio—or, so we thought—after the Catholic Jubilee Year 2000 introduced new opportunities for the organizing committee. Stories about the conferences’ ripple effects, however, continued to reach us.
In its December 2015 issue, National Geographic featured the Virgin Mary on its cover with the title; “The Most Powerful Woman in the World – Mary.” The cover story spoke of “her status as a global symbol of maternal love, suffering and interfaith influence.”
Perhaps because of those characteristics, wonder about Mary has risen to a noticeable height. We realized this when our nonprofit’s media team consistently cited its most popular titles. Mary has become a top faith-related subject across platforms like YouTube, social media, and other places where people search for content online. Many people have approached us in-person, too, with curiosity, questions, and misconceptions about Mary.
This is why, during the 250th anniversary year of our country’s founding, we have discerned a need for the Marian conference to return. She, whom the U.S. bishops declared the patron saint of the United States on May 17, 1846, can offer encouragement amid society’s present groanings; from isolation, conflict, and the search for what is real amid artificiality.
Across the centuries, mothers have given life and direction. Motherhood can be a life of heroism, sacrificial love, nurturing, and wisdom. Through our decades of ministry based in San Antonio, we’ve often referred to the writings and addresses of Pope John Paul II—who suffered the loss of his mother as a boy, yet highlighted how human history passes through a woman’s motherhood; both the physical and spiritual kinds.
These powerful gifts and needs will converge inside San Antonio’s Boeing Center at Tech Port on July 24 and 25, as Mother of Hope Marian Conference. Registrations are being accepted now by phone to Pilgrim Center of Hope at 210-521-3377 or online at MotherOfHopeConference.com.
Our prayer is that many will find hope and peace through the person about whom Jesus spoke from his cross, “Behold, your mother.”
Originally written by Pilgrim Center of Hope, this article was first published in the San Antonio Express-News on May 10, 2026.
Deacon Tom Fox, K.C.H.S., and Mary Jane Fox, D.C.H.S. are the Co-Founders & Co-Directors of Pilgrim Center of Hope. The two left their careers after a profound conversion experience and began working full-time in ministry at their parish in 1986. After several years and having impacted tens of thousands of families, the Foxes founded Pilgrim Center of Hope in 1993 as a response to the Church’s call for a New Evangelization. Deacon Tom is an invested member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Commander Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.
Pilgrim Center of Hope provides events, experiences, and media; initiating a desire in people to encounter Jesus Christ in their daily journey of life. See what’s happening & let us journey with you! Visit PilgrimCenterOfHope.org.
