PALM BEACH GARDENS | The Palm Beach Diocesan Council of Catholic Women officially began its 2024-25 year Aug. 3, with the Council Enrichment Institute day of appreciation in the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola’s Family Life Center. It was an opportunity to recognize and thank the council women for their steadfast service.
Council women receiving awards from the southern, northern and central deaneries attended the event, which included a light breakfast, lunch and joyful fellowship.
According to the diocesan council’s website, the Council Enrichment Institute provides “personal development and training for all members and officers,” and all council women are encouraged “to apply for a grant to attend the Council Enrichment Institute” with “grants awarded to recipients at the annual meeting.”
Welcoming everyone, Dorothy Harper, diocesan council president, said the grant program “is a way for the diocesen council to say thank you to our sisters who serve and support council in so many beautiful and self-sacrificing ways.” Without the members, “there would be no Council of Catholic Women, thank you,” she added.
Barb Andreas, St. Sebastian council president, said she is pleased that council membership is increasing at her parish. “We have about 43 members in our council, give or take, and a lot of women have called me about joining.”
The keynote speaker for the day, Aban Kavasmaneck, is a cathedral parishioner, professor of English literature for more than 40 years, member of the Jupiter-Palm Beach chapter of Legatus since 2021 with her husband, Percy, and author of her book, “Miracles, Masterpieces, and the Madonna: A Mother’s Journey of Faith and Revelation.”
She began by detailing the miraculous healing of her 5-year-old son, Zubin, from an incurable skin condition in June 1988 while on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. Kavasmaneck attributes her son’s healing to the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes.
After immersing herself in the bath at Lourdes while holding her son, then joining the procession of the sick around the shrine, she experienced an amazing sight. “Suddenly, as I beheld the monstrance with the host, a blinding, brilliantly white light flashed, like the glare of a thousand suns, right into my eyes and heart,” Kavasmaneck said, reading a passage from her book.
While exiting the shrine with her husband and her sons, she realized Zubin had received a miracle of healing. Kavasmaneck said, “When my eyes fell on Zubin, lo and behold, his whole face, hands and legs were as smooth as satin and as soft as a baby’s skin.”
Over the years, the Kavasmanecks have been able to acquire many paintings of the Virgin Mary and other religious works of art. Her talk included a look her religious art collection and insights into how the pieces were acquired, saying everything “is for the church.”
While at a conference in Rome, the author was invited to meet with Pope Francis. At the Vatican’s papal palace, Kavasmaneck presented her book to the pope, with Cardinal Sean O’Malley translating.
Ending her presentation, Kavasmaneck encouraged the council women to purchase the book, saying that “this is a labor of love, and all of the proceeds go to the church and its charities.”
Father Gavin Badway, cathedral rector, who welcomed the women and gave a blessing before lunch, said, “I am grateful to all of you for all that you do, for giving your lives to service to God and to his church, and I am a great supporter of the council.”
Teresa Cecil, a parishioner at St. Rita in Wellington, said, “This was very inspiring seeing someone who has experienced such a miracle.”
Bobbi Dickerson, of St. Clare in North Palm Beach, said, “Today was so enlightening, motivational and inspirational, especially since I am going on a pilgrimage to Lourdes this Tuesday.”
For information on joining the Council of Catholic Women, visit https://pbdccw.org. To contact Kavasmaneck, email percyrk@yahoo.com. To purchase her book, go to https://bookstore.dorrancepublishing.com.
