Forty years ago at Duquesne University, the Holy Spirit ignited the flame of a new Pentecost within a small group of faculty and students, a powerful burst that resulted in the “baptism in the Holy Spirit” and the beginning of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. The Renewal spread to other universities across the United States and around the world. Today, the lives of over 100 million Catholics have been touched by the power and love of the Holy Spirit.

Marking the 40th anniversary celebration of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, a conference will be held in the Atlanta Archdiocese entitled “Rekindle the Fire” where participants may pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The conference will be held on Friday, Feb. 9, from 7 to 10 p.m. and on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with a closing Mass at 7 p.m., at Christ Our Hope Church. The keynote speakers are Babsie Bleasdell, Cricket Aull and Father Jacques Fabre, CS.

Ursula Bleasdell, affectionately called “Auntie Babsie” by many, was launched into the Charismatic Renewal in the early 1970s. She was largely responsible for the formation of many prayer groups throughout Trinidad and Tobago. She has been involved in the planning of national and Caribbean conferences, teaching seminars, days of renewal, parish retreats and missions. Since 1975, Bleasdell has been an internationally renowned speaker at various conferences and retreats, including the International Priests Retreat in Rome in 1990. She is also the foundress of the Word of Life Prayer Community in Trinidad. Her gifts include teaching, preaching and prophecy. She has written three books: “Growing in Praise,” “Babsie, Go Teach My People” and “Refresh Your Life in the Spirit.”

Aull is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order and is vice-minister of the Brothers and Sisters of the St. Francis Region. She is an experienced retreat leader, spiritual director and Bible study teacher. She has been a speaker for Life in the Spirit Seminars, the Magnificat breakfast, Women’s Aglow, parish missions, and numerous conferences and days of reflection. She is the author of three books: “Ten Disciplines for the Ten Commandments,” “Understanding Penance” and “Intercession.” Jerry Aull, her husband, is an accomplished musician who is a member of the Catholic Musicians Association and has played concerts in the United States and Canada. They often combine their gifts for ministry, and Jerry will join Cricket to add music to her message at this conference as well.

Father Jacques is a priest of the order of the Scalabrini Fathers of the Province of New York, founded by Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini in 1887. He was born in Haiti, studied theology in Toronto at St. Michael’s College, and received a licentiate degree in human mobility in Rome, Italy. Father Jacques has served the Lord and his people in Immokalee, Fla., Guantanamo, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. He is currently serving in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. As a seminarian in Toronto, he experienced his first Life in the Spirit Seminar, and after ordination spent over three years at a parish in Immokalee, where Charismatic Renewal was an essential part of the life of the parish.

The event is free, but donations will be accepted. Lunch will be available for $6.

The church is located at 1786 Wellborn Road, Lithonia, and on the Internet at www.christourhopeatl.org.