Jan. 25, 2017
Washington, D.C.) The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) notes that since 1960, 71% of the U.S. Catholic population growth has been due to the increase in the number of Hispanics in the U.S. overall. Sixty-four percent of Hispanics who identify as Catholic attend church services regularly.
Hosffman Ospino, assistant professor of theology and religious education at Boston College, will explore the growth of the U.S. Hispanic Catholic population in a talk titled "Hispanics and the Remapping of American Catholicism in the 21st Century: Reading the Signs of the Times" at noon Monday, Jan. 30, in the Monsignor Stephen P. Happel Room in Caldwell Hall.
Ospino's talk - the Fifth Annual Hispanic Innovators of the Faith Lecture - is hosted by the School of Theology and Religious Studies Hispanic Initiative Committee.
A report by the USCCB notes that "Hispanics/Latino Catholics can inspire other believers with their unwavering trust in God's providence, their effective celebration of the faith, and their appreciation of the sanctity of life. Their religious practices and devotions speak of an intimacy with God that generates unconditional love [of] who cares for them."
Ospino also serves as director of graduate programs in Hispanic ministry at Boston College, where he received his Ph.D. in theology and education. His research and writings explore how the conversation between faith and culture shapes Catholic educational and ministerial dynamics.
Ospino's latest work is the edited collection, Hispanic Ministry in the 21st Century: Urgent Matters (2016). Ospino was the principal investigator on the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry (2014) and currently serves as an officer for the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States.
Ospino and his wife, Guadalupe, reside in Boston with their two young children, William and Victoria, and participate in Hispanic ministry in the area.
MEDIA: To schedule an interview or attend this event, contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at cua-public-affairs@cua.edu or 202-319-5600.