95th Annual Educational Conference
September 10-12, 2026 | Phoenix, AZ
The theme of the 2026 Catholic Medical Association’s Annual Educational Conference is:
Mysteries & Miracles: Restoring the Practice of Medicine to Heal the Whole Person
Conference Chair: Mary Keen-Kirchoff, M.D.
In the twenty-first century, “wounded humanity” is experiencing uniquely difficult challenges. Despite significant advances in science, technology, medicine, and philosophy this century is marked by a psycho-spiritual void with profound crises of meaning and identity. War, hostilities, moral and personal disintegration also contribute to extensive traumatic suffering throughout our world.
There is strong and growing evidence in literature that trauma of all types adversely affects the whole person and even subsequent generations.
In the meantime, our healthcare system has a laser focus on a disease model that prioritizes technology and standardized treatment protocols toward managing symptoms while ignoring the person, the family and the intergenerational effects of trauma. This unbalanced view of “person” promotes optimization of biological functions and an avoidance of death (as seen with the emergence of longevity medicine). Simultaneously, there is a rise in physician assisted death in efforts to avoid all suffering.
The desert Fathers (ascetics) understood the human person to be mind, body and soul. For the ancient Fathers, Christian anthropology was central to the concept of the human person, and salvation was intimately connected with the notion of healing: a return to humanity’s original creation in the image and likeness of God. The Fathers saw an intimate connection between healing and sharing in Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.
We need to promote a much more complete understanding of health, a more consistent recognition of the complexity of the human person (we are not just human bodies) and insist on more respect for the mysteries of health and disease.
Come to the 2026 CMA Annual Educational Conference to explore these and other mysteries and miracles!
