Hispanic and Latino adults, youth and young adults from five parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville want to help their parishes thrive.
They are taking part in a five-year program called Thriving Catholic Parishes offered by the Institute for Faith and Life located at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill.
As the name implies, the goal of the program is to encourage parishioners — especially the youth and young adults — to take an active part in the life of the church, said Eva Gonzalez, director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry for the archdiocese.
Participants gathered on Aug. 31 at St. Edward Church for their sixth and final workshop in the program’s first phase. Next, they’ll be focused on mentoring and accompaniment, said Gonzalez.
Ricardo Veloz, who presented last week’s workshop, said in an interview, “My goal is to get them to go back to their parishes and put into practice what leadership means.”
The program aims to “put the young people as a priority. We’re working for the future of the church,” said Veloz, the director of programs at the Institute for Faith and Life.
‘A parish can hire a young, enthusiastic and outgoing young adult (to minister to youth) but it can never substitute the input and ownership that the group of parents provides.’
Father Mike Tobin
The program, funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., also aims to help youth ministry and family ministry programs work in tandem.
Veloz said parishes achieve greater success when these ministries work side by side.
Participants in last week’s workshop have been meeting over the past year. They gather together as youth, young adults and adults to better understand one another, Veloz said.
He’s already seeing results in the parishes, he noted.
The other parishes taking part are St. Edward, Annunciation Church in Shelbyville, Ky., St. Joseph Church in Butchertown and Christ the King Church in Tompkinsville, Ky.
All have started youth and young adult groups or are seeing their groups grow, he noted.
Father Mike Tobin, pastor of St. Rita and St. Luke churches, said what makes the program unique is its involvement of parents and young people.
“It says that there’s a Catholic model for youth ministry. It begins with parents and families,” said Father Tobin. “A parish can hire a young, enthusiastic and outgoing young adult (to minister to youth) but it can never substitute the input and ownership that the group of parents provides.”
Young people are part of a family and the goal is to always help them to keep communicating and working together, Father Tobin noted.
As the program enters its mentoring and accompaniment phase, participants will remain connected to Veloz, who will support them as they work in their parishes.
The group from the archdiocese is part of the program’s first cohort along with a group from the Diocese of Joliet.
