September 30, 2009

Four lay Catholics to be honored for service to Hispanic community

By Julie Filby

Four laypeople who give generously of themselves to their parishes and to the wider Catholic community will be recognized next month for their leadership and ministry.

The fifth annual Archbishop José H. Gomez Awards Dinner will be held on the evening of Oct. 15 at Centro San Juan Diego, the archdiocese’s center for pastoral ministry and leadership development in the Hispanic community.

“This has become a tradition that people look forward to every year,” said Abraham Morales, associate director of Hispanic Ministry for the archdiocese. “It’s a great occasion to recognize those who work so diligently without expecting anything for their hard work of spreading the Gospel.

“At the same time, it’s an exceptional moment when Catholics from different backgrounds and cultures come together,” he added.

The awards, named after current archbishop of San Antonio and Denver’s former auxiliary bishop, are given to encourage and recognize pastoral and social leadership among Latinos and Hispanics in the Church.

This year’s honorees are Ana Galván de Tiscareño, Henry Vergil, and Dr. Raul Alvarez and his wife Christine.

Tiscareño, a parishioner of St. Joseph in Denver, will receive the Pastoral Leadership Award for her outstanding leadership in Hispanic Ministry in the parish and archdiocese.

In her nomination letter, longtime parishioner Luz Maria Villa described Tiscareño as the “engine that injects dynamism” into St. Joseph’s due to her active involvement in many projects.

Since her arrival to Denver from Mexico in 1992, her ministries have included youth group leader, catechist, director of religious education, certified lay pastoral minister, fundraising coordinator, associate coordinator of stewardship and parochial pastoral assistant.

Tiscareño is currently a volunteer for Hispanic ministry and religious education at Sacred Heart Church in Denver, a member of the archdiocese’s integration committee, an instructor at Centro San Juan Diego, a volunteer for the archdiocese’s Spanish newspaper El Pueblo Catòlico and a third year student in Denver’s Catholic Biblical School. She is married and has two children.

Vergil, from St. Pius X Parish in Aurora, will be presented the Social Justice Leadership Award for his commitment to social justice and community service. At St. Pius X, he is known as the “bridge” between the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities—greatly contributing to the continual integration of the parish. He is a member of the activities committee, parish finance committee, home and school advisory board, Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and head of the Hispanic ministry leadership council. He recently began serving as the co-chair for the parish stewardship appeal.

“At the heart of our (integration) success is Henry,” wrote Jay Reszka, pastoral assistant at St. Pius X, in his nomination letter. “With Henry’s help, Anglo and Hispanic parishioners get to see the best in each culture.”

Vergil is married with three children and four granddaughters.

The Alvarez’s, who worship at both St. Thomas More Parish in Centennial and St. Mark Parish in Highlands Ranch, will be honored with the Amistad (Friendship) Award as exceptional friends—or amigos—of Centro San Juan Diego. While the other two awards were nominated by pastors and parishioners, the Amistad Award was selected by the organization’s planning committee.

Raul, a hematologist and oncologist; and Christine, an attorney, founded Colorado Cancer Care in 1999. The couple is known for their generous support of Centro San Juan Diego, where Christine was a member of the advisory board. In addition, Christine serves on many boards including the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders, Denver Catholic Foundation, Escuela de Guadalupe and Colorado Christian Home.

“They have believed in the dream of Centro San Juan Diego and have supported our efforts since the beginning,” said Morales. The Alvarez’s have three children and seven grandchildren.

Archbishop Gomez, Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. and Denver Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley will attend the dinner. Archbishops Gomez and Chaput will personally present the awards, which are custom designed pieces of art encompassing an oil painting of St. Juan Diego, engraved in wood, surrounded by tin figures and symbols called repujado.

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. After dinner, there will be remarks from Archbishop Chaput and Luis Soto, director of Hispanic Ministry for the archdiocese. Anne Trujillo, KMGH Channel 7 News anchor wil serve as mistress of ceremonies. There will be a silent auction of unique pieces of craftwork from Mexico City. The event will conclude with remarks from Archbishop Gomez, which are always highly anticipated by guests.

Morales indicated the biggest social and economic justice issue currently facing the Hispanic community continues to be the lack of immigration reform. Second, is the loss of jobs in the construction and service industries where many Colorado Hispanics were employed.

“Last year many students came to Centro to learn skills, so they’ll be prepared for better jobs when they become available,” he said. “We have also seen an increase in requests for scholarships due to more people with no job or their hours being cut.”

Money raised by the event will fund current ministries of Centro San Juan Diego—and allow the center to expand the number of people their services reach. Currently, the center serves more than 31,000 individuals and families each year.