MADISON — Since 1972, the Catholic bishops in the United States have held an Encuentro every five to eight years to give Hispanic/Latino Catholics an opportunity to express their needs, aspirations, and contributions to the Church.
In 2018, the fifth Encuentro — V Encuentro — is being held throughout the country. Its theme is “Missionary Disciples: Witnesses of God’s Love.” The main goal of the V Encuentro is to discern ways in which the Church in the United States can better respond to the Hispanic/Latino presence, and to strengthen the ways in which Hispanics/Latinos respond to the call to the New Evangelization as missionary disciples serving the entire Church.
In the Diocese of Madison, the Encuentro process began in the summer of 2017. Training was held on July 7, 2017, for diocesan and parish team members. In late summer and fall, 12 parishes involved with Hispanic ministry began the Encuentro process. Each parish held sessions focusing on such topics as prayer, mission, and evangelization.
On Sunday, March 11, delegates from these parishes will gather for a Diocesan V Encuentro to be held at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Madison starting at 8:30 a.m. and concluding with a Mass in Spanish at 5 p.m. Most Reverend Alberto Rojas, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago and V Encuentro Lead Bishop for Region VII, will celebrate the Mass. Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, will concelebrate the Mass.
Besides the delegates, the closing Mass is open to the delegate’s families, members of St. Maria Goretti Parish, and any Hispanic persons, said Lorianne Aubut, a member of the diocesan Encuentro Core Team and chair of hospitality for the event. She is the Coordinator of Elementary Religious Education and Hispanic Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Madison.
At the Diocesan V Encuentro, the delegates will give recommendations on how to reach out to Hispanics on the diocesan and regional levels. They will work on a document with priorities and recommendations, which will be sent to the Region VII Encuentro, to be held Friday, June 8, to Sunday, June 10, in Indianapolis.
The Region VII Encuentro will include delegates from the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The names of nominations for the Diocese of Madison delegates will be submitted during the Mass on March 11. The diocesan Encuentro Core Team will make a selection of the final delegates.
People from throughout the country will gather September 20 to 23 for the V National Encuentro event in Grapevine, Texas. Some 3,000 delegates from arch/dioceses and other Catholic organizations are expected to attend.
“The V Encuentro promises to be another watershed experience that provides the Church the clarity, enthusiasm, and means it needs to more adequately respond to the Hispanic/Latino presence in the spirit of the New Evangelization,” says information published on the V Encuentro website (www.vencuentro.org).
Parishes involved in the V Encuentro process in the Diocese of Madison include:
• Cathedral of St. Raphael (Holy Redeemer), Madison
• Divine Mercy, Sauk City
• Good Shepherd, Madison
• Sacred Heart, Reedsburg
• St. Cecilia, Wisconsin Dells
• St. Francis of Assisi, Jefferson
• St. Henry and St. Bernard, Watertown
• St. John the Baptist, Waunakee
• St. Joseph, Baraboo
• St. Patrick, Janesville
• St. Peter, Madison
• St. Thomas Aquinas, Madison