New director of Diocese’s Office of Hispanic Ministry sets goals to serve

MARIA MONCALEANO

CLIFTON  During National Hispanic Heritage Month, which concludes Oct. 15, the Diocese of Paterson has recognized the rich culture, tradition, and influence that Hispanic Americans have had in the Catholic Church, especially in the Diocese of Paterson, as their numbers continue to grow.

In his column on Sept. 16 at the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney announced the opening of a “new” Office for Hispanic Ministry, which was previously part of the Multi-Cultural Office under the Vicar for Evangelization. The new Office for Hispanic Ministry will continue to evolve and it will also include diocesan Migrant Ministry, which served Spanish-speaking immigrants in the Diocese by providing pastoral care, outreach, and other services for more than two decades.

Maria Moncaleano is the new diocesan Director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry, previously serving as coordinator of faith and leadership formation for the Office of Hispanic Ministry when it was previously under the Office for Evangelization.

“I am deeply honored for this designation,” said Moncaleano, who was born in Colombia. “I am very grateful to God and to Bishop Sweeney for giving me the opportunity to serve my community in this capacity. I also celebrate his vision in creating the Office of Hispanic Ministry in response to the growing presence of the Hispanic community in our Diocese.”

For four years, she has been instrumental in helping to guide the Diocese through V Encuentro, a nationwide process to revitalize the Catholic faith in Hispanic communities and creating missionary disciples. Recently, the V Encuentro met on a diocesan-level at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson with Bishop Sweeney.

According to Moncaleano, the Office of Hispanic Ministry seeks to enhance the ecclesial experience of discipleship for the Hispanic/Latino communities within the Paterson Diocese. The office will develop leadership opportunities for Spanish-speaking Catholics to take an active role in the evangelizing mission of the Church. “It is important for the ministry to be carried out in the language of the people, while assisting them to effectively integrate into their parishes and society respecting and honoring their history, their values and their faith traditions,” Moncaleano told The Beacon.

Immigrants and descendants of those from South American and Caribbean nations make up the largest non-English speaking group in the Diocese. More than a third of the 109 parishes in the Paterson Diocese have Mass in Spanish and a significant number of men have come from Spanish-speaking nations to be ordained as diocesan priests. Because of this, the Office of Hispanic Ministry will seek effective ways to continuously respond to the ever-growing Hispanic presence in the Diocese.

Some of the ways the Office will serve the Spanish-speaking community are:

• Identify and promote opportunities for Hispanic pastoral leaders to serve in leadership positions.

• Stimulate a new wave of faith formation and leadership development initiatives that prepare Hispanics to share and celebrate the Good News of Jesus Christ and to become a leaven of the “Reign of God” in society.

• Embrace and affirm the cultural identity of Hispanics, meeting them where they are in terms of their language preference and level of cultural integration. It seeks ecclesial integration and inclusion, not cultural assimilation.

The new Office of Hispanic Ministry includes migrant Ministry, which has been active in the Diocese for more than 20 years. “It is time to renew its vision to serve the mission better,” Moncaleano said. “We would like to find new ways to accompany, educate, and defend the social, civil, and spiritual needs of the documented and undocumented immigrant community by creating bonds of solidarity among all the members of the Body of Christ. I believe that such a coordinated action at the local level is the work of missionary disciples and it is urgently needed amid the current situation.”

Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese has launched numerous programs from helping to strengthen marriage and family to offering more opportunities for faith formation, to providing greater outreach to youth and young adults.

At the present time, Moncaleano is also adjunct professor for St. Elizabeth University in Convent Station for the Certificate of Leadership in Hispanic Ministry with concentration in evangelization. This unique diocesan program created in cooperation with St. Elizabeth’s, consists of five courses and a Capstone experience over a three year period, designed not just for Hispanic leaders but for all those who are called to minister to Hispanics. Funds from “Prepare the Way Lay Leadership Formation Fund” are available for those who worship within the Diocese of Paterson and/or who need financial assistance.

Moncaleano, who lives in Clifton and is the mother of two and grandmother of three, came to the United States from her native country of Colombia in 1986. She has volunteered at the Diocese as an instructor for the Catechists Formation Program with the Office of Catechesis and as a speaker and workshop presenter in pastoral ministry for Spanish-speaking leaders in the Ministerial Develop­ment Program. She also has participated with the Evangelization Task Force for Spanish-speaking ministries for the Evangeli­zation Program and as a certified instructor for the Diocese’s Protecting God’s Children Program.

Shortly after arriving in the U.S., Moncaleano became a member of St. Anthony Parish in Passaic, where she has served on its Evangelization Task Force since 2000 and served as parish council president (2007–10). From 2013 until starting her job with Hispanic Ministry, she served as director of religious education for an inter-parish program for three Passaic faith communities: St. Nicholas, St. Mary Assump­tion, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

From 2013, until coming to work at Hispanic Ministry, Moncaleano worked as administrator/director of St. Nicholas Cemetery in Lodi and St. Mary Cemetery in Saddle Brook. In 2014, she also established with two friends Theology on Wheels, a freelance catechetical ministry that offers religious education in the area when needed — from retreats and workshops to Confirmation and marriage preparation. Moncaleano has served as speaker and worship presenter for the Catechesis Formation Program of the Catechetical Department of the Newark Arch­diocese.

In the U.S., Moncaleano also worked as a paralegal for 10 years and opened a business that handled mortgages and title insurance. In Colombia, she practiced law, having earned a law degree there from the Universidad Libre in Bogota in 1983. She also earned a certificate in pastoral ministry from then-College of St. Elizabeth (CSE), Convent Station, in 2008, funded by a diocesan Lay Ministry Grant, and a master’s degree in theology in 2014 from CSE.

Moncaleano wants the faithful to know this ministry “is not about me, as the new director, it is what the office represents for the entire community. I am just opening the door for future leaders who can also develop effective ways to invite, engage, form, and promote opportunities for the entire Hispanic community to live out their baptismal vocation.”

[For more information: insidethewalls.org]