The Hispanic Theology & Ministry Program Celebrates 40 Years

Founded in 1982, the Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program is one of the longest continuous running initiatives at CTU, and among the earliest of its kind in Catholic theological education in the USA. The ongoing mission has two goals: 1) to raise an awareness of the Hispanic presence as a resource to CTU, the church, and the theological academy through sponsored public and virtual programming and 2) to ensure the institution’s ability to provide academic programs, degrees, certificates, and courses that prepare students for theological study, ministry, and leadership in a church that is increasingly Latinoax, especially under the age of thirty.

Though open to students of all cultural backgrounds, HTMP was established with the hope of addressing the underrepresentation of Latin@s in theological education, ministry, and leadership in the church and academy. Today, those who benefit from HTMP include laity, religious women and men, and ordained clergy who find themselves in ministerial contexts where demographics have shifted as well as ministry students who are preparing to pastorally accompany these diverse communities. HTM courses also attract Doctor of Ministry and MA students who are interested in learning more about Latinx theologies and Hispanics who often have not been exposed to the rich theological contributions of scholars who share their background.

,In 1982, there was a paucity of Latino/as on theological faculties. Carmen Nanko-Fernández, current HTMP director notes “Among the concerns was that Latino/as were contributing to the church but not getting paid jobs in ministry or teaching in the academy. Lay Latin@s especially were prevented from leadership beyond that of volunteers because they did not have the necessary degrees.” Those being prepared for ministry in graduate education often lacked an understanding of the complexities, cultures, languages, and theological wisdom of the communities they were being trained to accompany. Since the inception of the program, CTU recognized the importance of having Latin@ faculty. The program’s first director was Chicano theologian Andrés G. Guerrero, who completed his doctorate at Harvard Divinity School and later served as Director of the Hispanic Ministries Program in the Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan. His 1987 book, A Chicano Theology, remains a classic text from the pioneer generation of Catholic Latin@ theologians.

Other distinguished faculty from this period were alums who had earned their masters’ degrees from CTU. Known for their skills as teachers and as theologians, their work was particularly accessible to those in ministry and religious formation. Like most of the Latin@s who have served on the CTU faculty over the years, they were leaders in the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS), an association of scholars dedicated to promoting research and critical theological reflection within the context of the U.S. Hispanic experience. This connection with ACHTUS has proven fruitful over the decades as some of its members continue to enhance HTMP offerings through Summer Institute courses, class appearances, lectures and participation in events.

Even as it was establishing its reputation for academic and pastoral formation, the HTMP contributed to the distinctive culture of the CTU campus and community. From ofrendas constructed for the Days of the Dead through celebrations for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the CTU community was exposed to and participated in lived experiences of latindad in ways that revealed its power as theological source and affirmed Latinos/as as partners in ministry.

In the last two decades under the leadership of professors Gilberto Cavazos-González (2000-2012) and Carmen Nanko-Fernández (2014-present) HTMP dedicated its efforts to credentialing students through the establishment of a Hispanic Theology and Ministry graduate certificate, master’s degree, and concentration in the Doctor of Ministry degree. The 18-credit certificate can stand alone for the enhancement of professional development or it can function as a concentration for students earning other CTU masters degrees. Under Nanko-Fernández the MA-HTM became CTU’s first totally online degree, pre-pandemic.

In addition to Hispanic-themed courses offered by Latin@ faculty across the curriculum, a 2014 grant from the Wabash Center of Teaching and Learning, entitled Resourcing Theology Faculty Latinamente, helped prepare CTU faculty to enhance their courses in ways that could sustain student studies in the area of HTM. This initiative began with the presupposition that ministry preparation could not be reduced to the acquisition of language and knowledge of cultural practices. Instead, the development of intercultural ministerial competencies in students calls for teaching/learning strategies built on the interconnectedness of cultural, theological and practical knowledges as well as an understanding that there are particular ways of being community and wisdom that arises out of these particularities.

The second twenty years also exemplified the importance of having Latin@s on faculty. The contributions of these faculty to the greater enterprise of Latin@ theologizing and to ACHTUS cannot be underestimated.

Through a shared resources relationship with DePaul University, professor Christopher Tirres regularly teaches Latin@ courses for the HDS department and the accelerated BA/MA-HTM with Dominican University also creates bridges with Latino/a faculty and students.

The Programming in these past twenty years has brought Latin@ theologians, biblical scholars, artists, musicians and even a chef to campus exploring the creative dimensions of theology accomplished latinamente. Virtual HTMP sponsored programs have produced a wealth of resources available online at Learn@CTU. These offerings cover everything from the pontificate of Pope Francis through popular religion and popular culture as sources for theology. Of note are collaborations with HTMP and the Bernardin Center and especially the Seeking Convivencia series on Islam and Latinidad with the Catholic Muslim Studies Program.

After forty years the accomplishments of our CTU alums who have benefitted from HTMP are to be celebrated. Four of the Latin@ fulltime faculty over the years are CTU alums and three have served as directors of HTMP. Among more recent alums:

Looking to the future, Nanko-Fernández, explains that the vision of the program “remains rooted in a commitment to a Latin@ understanding that ministry and theology are intrinsically intertwined as teología y pastoral en y de conjunto. Such a vision requires that Latin@s and allies who accompany Hispanic communities be trained to value the relationship between ministry and Latin@ ways of theologizing, praying, worshiping, and interpreting the bible.” This insight, present since the founding of the program, underscores the significance of theologies arising from Hispanic lived experiences for ministry with Latine communities as well as for the greater church. It also aligns with the call of Pope Francis to do theologizing from the streets. The relationship between the HTMP and the growth and deeper development of Latin@ theologies in the USA remains an untold story that deserves study. Nanko-Fernández observes “In a future trending toward a Latin@ majority, theological education and ministry formation will only change when Latin@s are a critical mass of those doing the teaching and the forming latinamente! I hope that our HTMP alums, current students and those who will follow in our unfolding mañana will continue that traditioning.”