Bishop Perez is event chair; Cleveland Diocese sends 11 delegates
An estimated 3,000 people – including a delegation from the Diocese of Cleveland — will converge Sept. 20-23 at the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas for the national V Encuentro.
Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, also chairs V Encuentro. He has been involved in the process since its inception. Encuentro for Hispanic/Latino ministry is a four-year ecclesial process convened by the bishops to encourage the Hispanic/Latino community to raise its voice.
“I am excited about the national V Encuentro,” Bishop Perez said, noting he has been heavily involved in the process.
On Feb. 24, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland Bishop Perez – who then was auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York — convened the Equipo de Acompanamiento para el V Encuentro, also known by the acronym ENAVE. This planning group included representatives of 17 regional and national Catholic organizations that serve the Hispanic/Latino community. At that session, they selected teams and leaders and confirmed a regional structure for the Encuentro. The structure is based on 14 episcopal regions across the country. Ohio and Michigan are in Region 6.
During 2015, formation and training of episcopal regional teams and leadership took place. Formation and training of diocesan and parish teams was the focus during 2016. The following year, parish and diocesan encuentros took place and in 2018, regional encuentros occurred as planning for the national event neared an end.
Bishop Perez participated in the diocesan Encuentro, which took place shortly after his installation as bishop last September. He also was in Detroit, Michigan with the diocesan delegation for the regional V Encuentro in early June.
The national event will include an intense schedule of plenary sessions, discussions, breakout sessions and liturgies. Many of the main events can be viewed online at the V Encuentro website, vencuentro.org. Some sessions will be broadcast on EWTN.
Bishop Perez will make welcoming and closing remarks at the national event. He also will participate in some of the sessions and is expected to be interviewed by EWTN.
Once the national V Encuentro concludes, leaders will compile data into a concluding document that will be presented next year. There also will be post-V Encuentro gatherings.
In addition to Bishop Perez, members of the Diocese of Cleveland delegation and their parishes are Antonio Medina, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (West); Juan Carlos Lopez and Oscar Ornela, St. Mary, Painesville; Pamela Mendez, St, Michael the Archangel, Cleveland; Dania Alvarado, Sacred Heart Chapel, Lorain; Lot Santos and Maria Eugenia, Our Lady of Lourdes, Cleveland; Millie Caraballo and Berky Sosa, Sagrada Familia, Cleveland; Jaudith Yepes, St. Matthew, Akron; and Misael Mayorga, director, diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry.
Dioceses were encouraged to select young adults for their delegations. Four of Cleveland’s 11 delegates are young adults. An estimated 25 percent of the national delegates are young adults.