V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 163 I nspired by Pope Francis’ 2013 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium calling for a “Church that goes forth,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) envisioned a plan to carry out the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry. During their General Assembly in November 2016, the USCCB approved a strategic plan to guide the work of the Conference starting in 2017, and that plan included approval of the V Encuentro process. Although preparatory work for the proposed process had been ongoing for some time within the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church, in partnership with a team of national leaders in Hispanic ministry called the Equipo Nacional de Acompañamiento al V Encuentro (ENAVE – “National Team of Accompaniment for the V Encuentro ”), it was the USCCB approval that gave impetus and brought additional resources to bear on the work to be done, including the benefit of learning from the experience of the USCCB’s Convocation of Catholic Leaders in 2017. Episcopal Oversight Throughout the process that followed at the grassroots, parish, diocesan, and regional levels, the oversight of the Bishops with their local and national staff were the key to the success of the V Encuentro . This oversight was especially important as the V Encuentro National Event came into focus. Major responsibility for the whole V Encuentro process was in the hands of the USCCB Committee for Cultural Diversity in the Church, with Most Rev. Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., Archbishop of San Antonio as its chair. In addition, several Bishops and a Leadership Team were named to guide the process, as follows: Appendix A: V National Encuentro Organizational Structure