October 26, 2023

Hispanic Pastoral Institute concludes 2023 course with Mass, dinner

REGIONAL
Staff report

(iObserve photo/courtesy of Deacon Pedro Rivera Moran)

CHICOPEE – Participants gathered at Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee on Monday, Oct. 23 for a Mass and pot luck dinner, marking the conclusion of the 2023 Hispanic Pastoral Institute. Springfield Bishop William D. Byrne was the celebrant of the Mass.

Each year, participants in the Hispanic Pastoral Institute who complete the requirements receive a certificate in Hispanic Ministry through the Elms College Institute for Theology and Pastoral Studies and the Diocese of Springfield. This year, an average of 80 people attended classes in person and 20 to 25 attended via Zoom. Fourteen participants received their certificates this year.

Instructors for the 2023 program included Fathers Gary Dailey, Mark Stelzer, Francis Reilly, José Siesquen Flores, and Sean O’Mannion, and Deacon Pedro Rivera Moran, director of the Springfield Diocese’s Catholic Latino Ministry. This year’s topic was “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of Our Faith.”

In his homily during the Oct. 23 Mass, Bishop Byrne focused on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Noting that the Eucharist is the source of the work of preaching and living the Gospel, he praised those received certificates.

“I am very proud of the work that you have done and I am grateful to God for the good work you will do in our diocese,” said Bishop Byrne.

Speaking to iobserve, Deacon Rivera Moran offered his own gratitude for those who help make the program possible.

“We closed with a great pot-lock dinner at the cafeteria of Our Lady of the Elms College,” he said. “We are very grateful to the Elms College president, Dr. Harry Dumay, and to Dr. Michael McGravey, director of the Institute for Theology and Pastoral Studies (ITPS), for all the help and support for this program.”

“We look forward to growing in love and service to our local church as we continue to live as missionary disciples,” said Deacon Rivera Moran, “living our Christian lives at our homes, in our parishes, and in our Holy Catholic Church.”