Our Hispanic Ministry is keeping busy with programs and retreats during the Lent and Easter seasons. Here is some information about upcoming opportunities, as well as a couple of recaps from the last several weeks.

Upcoming Events:

School of Ignatian Spirituality, Richmond, VA - A new cohort of the School of Ignatian Spirituality ("the Escuela") is forming at Sacred Heart Jesuit Parish in Richmond, VA. The first session will be held this Saturday, April 8. Zandra Schiemann, an Escuela graduate herself, will be presenting the first module on Ignatian Prayer.

Silent Retreat, Faulkner, MD - At the end of this month, April 28-30, 2017, our Hispanic Ministry will offer its annual Silent Retreat for the 2016-17 graduates of the Escuela in the our southern region (Maryland down to Georgia). The retreat will be held at Loyola on the Potomac retreat center in Faulkner, Maryland. Fr. William Noe, SJ, and Ibis Centeno, our regional director of Hispanic Ministry in our southern region, will be leading it. Eighteen people are currently registered. To make this retreat more accessible, we will provide transportation to those traveling from farther away.

News Updates:

Lenten-Healing Retreat, Mooresville, NC - On March 11, 2017, our Hispanic Minsitry offered a Lenten-healing retreat at St. Therese Parish in Mooresville, North Carolina. With this Jesuit parish changing to a diocesan parish soon, there is some concern among Hispanic parishioners about losing the Spanish Mass, or not getting a priest that speaks Spanish. Fr. Don Ward, SJ, decided to offer a Lenten praying session in the morning and a community discussion in the afternoon. After long talks and discernment, participants realized that “they are the Church” and that “they have the power to make it good for them”. Feelings at the conclusion of this retreat were positive. 

Lenten Retreat, Richmond Hill, VA - Our Hispanic Ministry also offered a Lenten Retreat in Richmond Hill, VA, on March 12, 2017. The retreat was for the Family Ministry team of Sacred Heart Jesuit parish in Richmond. Sixteen people participated on a Day of Silence based on the "principle and foundation" found in the Spiritual Exercises. This retreat was the conclusion to a series of Ignatian spirituality workshops offered at Sacred Heart Parish by our Hispanic Ministry team. At the conclusion of this series of workshops, Fr. Shay Auerbaugh, SJ, expressed his desire for all his ministry’s leaders to receive Ignatian formation and share their spirituality with other parishioners; specifcially in baptismal, marriage, and RCIA preparations. Fr. Shay's hope is that this will contribute to a more Ignatian way of proceeding in the parish.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our Hispanic Ministry!