PALM BEACH GARDENS | Drawing on the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales, the gentle patron of love and evangelization whose patronal feast was being celebrated Jan. 24, the day of the 25th annual Men’s Rally, the event’s keynote speaker urged those in attendance to practice the virtue of humility. Unlike the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, who were “darkened in mind” and thought “that the source of their goodness and righteousness was themselves,” Christians are called to align their lives with the will of God to cure their blindness and gain an illuminated mind.
Humility “grounds us in reality. It works as a kind of protectant against lies because it makes us men of truth. Men who are deeply, deeply rooted in that which is true, and from the truth arises then the beautiful and the good,” Msgr. James Shea, president of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, who spoke at the gathering in the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola.
The day began with registration and breakfast shortly after 7 a.m., followed by Eucharistic exposition, praying of the rosary and Benediction. A video message recorded by Bishop-elect Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez was shown shortly before speakers began their presentations.
Thanking rally organizer Jim Manhardt and Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito for supporting the event for a quarter-century, the bishop-elect told the assembly, “Your presence here is truly marking a very important step in our diocesan church to keep the right path when it comes to answering God’s call to all of us to come closer to his heart full of mercy. Because every time we get together and we invoke our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we come a little bit closer to his heart, and his heart is the destiny of all our efforts.”
The day’s presenters included former Swiss Guard Mario Enzler, who served at the Vatican during the days of St. John Paul II; Vietnam-era prisoner of war Guy Gruters; and Nash Georgiev, who attended the 2025 Men’s Rally and recently converted to Catholicism. Manhardt, whose son Michael served again as emcee of the rally, was honored for keeping the rally going for 25 years.
Father Daniel Daza-Jaller, director of the diocesan Office of Vocations and Seminarians, urged men who are contemplating the priesthood or permanent diaconate to come forward, which many did.
Msgr. Shea, who said it was 20 degrees below zero in North Dakota, asked for prayers to ensure a safe trip home for all nine busloads of students from his university after participating in the March for Life in Washington. “At this very moment, our students who marched for life yesterday are at Georgetown University at the Cardinal O’Connor conference, where they’re receiving the award for the most pro-life campus in America,” he said to applause, adding that he hoped “they’re able to dodge that storm and get home to the balmy weather of North Dakota intact and on time for classes on Monday.”
He cited as towering examples of humility St. Peter, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis de Sales and the Virgin Mary.
An angel tells Mary “the most astonishing thing that anyone has ever said to anyone ever before: that she was to have the highest of all vocations, to bring into this world the Savior of the world, the great Messiah, whom she had longed for since girlhood,” Msgr. Shea said. “And how does she respond? Not with false humility and not with pride. She says, ‘Oh, let that be done to me just like you said. Let that be done to me, what you want.’ And then the whole world started over again at the voice of a girl.
“Men, do you want to fight for the faith? Do you want to take up a sword and defend your family and everything good about our nation and our church? Do you have the spittle within you to be a great defender of the faith? Then that fight starts here, and here (pointing to his head and heart). It’s the fight every day to come to God as a joyful penitent to recognize your need, my need, in the midst of our lives, for mercy, for forgiveness, for grace,” he said.
The rally’s closing Mass was presided by Bishop Barbarito, who also spoke about St. Francis de Sales. The liturgy was followed by lunch in the cathedral hall.
To view a recording of the rally, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-OUfnH5xe8 on the cathedral’s YouTube channel. To learn more about local ministry to Catholic men, visit www.catholicmenforjesusflorida.com.
