RAÍCES Y ALAS 2022 – 6TH NATIONAL CATHOLIC CONGRESS ON HISPANIC MINISTRY CONVENES IN WASHINGTON, DC – NCCHM – National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry

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After many months of planning and dialogue on how we would encounter each other in Raices y Alas 2022, the decision has been made to gather in person in Washington, DC. On behalf of the NCCHM Board of Directors and all the ministry leaders planning the National Leadership Congress on Hispanic Ministry we appreciate your support and patience as we work on how to convene Raices y Alas 2022 in the safest manner possible for participants.

The leadership congress, originally scheduled for September 2021 was moved due to the pandemic, but the planning never stopped with over 70 leaders from 64 organizations praying, discerning, and preparing for Raíces y Alas 2022. The national congress will take place at the Doubletree by Hilton in Arlington, VA., with safety precautions being taken into consideration by committees planning the congress.

Participants will convene under the theme: Raíces y Alas 2022, Prophetic Voices: Ser Puentes Para Una Nueva Epoca. In collaboration with the USCCB’ Office for Hispanic/Latino Affairs, Hispanic Ministry leaders from pastoral organizations, apostolic movements, religious communities, Catholic publishers, dioceses, and educational institutions, among others, will gather for an in-depth dialogue to discern and develop pastoral responses and initiatives to the ministerial priorities documented in the Conclusions of the V Encuentro and in the post-pandemic reality.

The congress is focusing on four pastoral priorities: Family, Pastoral Juvenil Hispana, Social Justice, and Pastoral Formation. Raíces y Alas Pastoral Leadership Teams are currently working on the pastoral initiatives and actions steps in response to these ministerial priorities. Responses and actions steps from the congress will be presented to the USCCB as the leadership’s contributions for the national pastoral framework or Hispanic ministry plan being proposed by the bishops.

Raíces y Alas 2022 includes a Day of Advocacy where Hispanic ministry leaders will visit the US Congress to meet with their legislators to advocate for a comprehensive immigration reform and DACA. Young leaders from throughout the US are being prepared to lift their prophetic voices as advocates for these issues and as the spokespersons during the congressional visits.

Now is the time for the leadership who serve in Hispanic ministry to discern with our bishops on the actions we are called to take in response to the voices of the V Encuentro. This is a call to action at a time when our people face even greater challenges. Things are not the same in our ministries, dioceses, and parishes in the aftermath of a pandemic that has severely impacted Hispanic and Black communities. Raíces y Alas 2022 will gather leaders in Pastoral de Conjunto, in synodality, and in prayer, so that together we can reflect on the pastoral initiatives needed for the present reality and act accordingly.