V Encuentro Proceedings and Conclusions

Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry | 187 Appendix D REGION VII Pastoral Profile of Region VII in Hispanic/Latino Ministry • Region VII includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; the Archdioceses of Chicago, Indianapolis, and Milwaukee; and the Dioceses of Belleville, Evansville, Fort Wayne-South Bend, Gary, Green Bay, Joliet, La Crosse, Lafayette IN, Madison, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield IL, and Superior. • Diocesan personnel dedicated to Hispanic ministry in the Region: 47 • In offices of Hispanic ministry: 48 22 • Responsible for pastoral juvenil hispana: 1 • In ethnic/multicultural or other specialized offices: 7 • Office personnel assisting these leaders: 6 • Estimated Hispanic Catholic population: • 718,000 immigrant Hispanic Catholics • 923,000 Hispanic Catholics born in the U.S. • 26% of the Catholics in the Region are Hispanic/Latino • Parishes with Hispanic/Latino ministry: 333 • Masses in Spanish: • Weekly Masses: 625 • Once-a-month Masses: 18 • Average attendance per Mass: 362 ( 14.2% of all Hispanic Catholics) • Among Catholic children from 0 to 17 years old: • 36% are Hispanics/Latinos born in the U.S. • 3% are immigrant Hispanics/Latinos • In K-8 Catholic schools, 16.9% are Hispanics/Latinos • In Catholic high schools, 13.8% are Hispanics/Latinos • Hispanic/Latino ecclesial ministers serving in the Region: • Immigrant priests: 190 • U.S.-born priests: 40 • Religious sisters and brothers: 116 • Deacons: 201 • Lay ecclesial ministers: 163 The V Encuentro in Region VII • Sent 110 delegates to the National Encuentro , including 6 ENAVE/ ERAVE and 5 bishops . • The Regional Encuentro was celebrated with 188 delegates and 6 bishops. • 12 Diocesan Encuentro s were celebrated, with total attendance of 2,420. • 143 parishes/organizations conducted the five sessions and 99 held a Parish Encuentro. • 1,242 leaders from 130 parishes received training for the V Encuentro in 102 trainings. • Main areas of new outreach in parishes through the V Encuentro : • English-speaking Hispanics/Latinos • Hispanic/Latino young adults • University students 47 Of the sixteen (arch)dioceses in the Region, two do not have an office or personnel for Hispanic ministry or multicultural ministry. 48 May include personnel in other offices when their responsibility is for the Latino community, such as the Director of Hispanic Catechesis. A Powerful Tool to Evangelize The preparation and implementation of the V Encuentro process in our Region gave many of our communities the opportunity to discover the richness of the Encuentro with each other in the mission phase of the process. Many of them have embraced this action as a powerful tool to evangelize and reconnect with inactive Catholics and sometimes neighbors in their own “backyards.” Their renewed vision as missionary disciples has motivated them to continue visiting and listening to people in the peripheries. The Process of the V Encuentro has forged a renewed pastoral de conjunto as we worked together to provide an effective and cohesive model of cooperation and collaboration with the individual dioceses of our Region, without losing our identity as one regional body in Christ. At the end of the Regional Encuentro , the fraternal care and joy of having concluded this part of the process will motivate future parish, diocesan, and regional work.