A Boston College report has recognized Centro Catolico Carismatico and Corazon Puro, both based in the Bronx, as two of 12 Catholic ministries in the United States that the study deemed exceptional in their efforts to serve Hispanic youths and young adults.
The 2023 national study, “Ministry with Young Hispanic Catholics: Towards a Recipe for Growth and Success,” was released in February by the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry; the lead investigator was Hosffman Ospino, PhD, Boston College; the research team included Christie de la Gándara, PhD, Fordham University. The one-year study was made possible with support from the Porticus Foundation.
“It was a great joy (being part of the study). We don’t do things for recognition, but it is a sign that we are on the right track,” Juan De La Rosa, director of the New York archdiocesan Catholic Charismatic Renewal, told The Good Newsroom in a March 22 phone interview. “That’s the most important thing. For an (institution) like Boston College to have us as a reference in the world of Catholic youth mission, it is a blessing.”
De La Rosa noted that the Centro continues to attract many youths and young adults, even more than before the pandemic lockdown. “The youths know that they can find help at the Centro, definite help,” De La Rosa said, adding that this is true of Centro visitors in general.
Father Agustino Torres, CFR, president and co-founder of Corazon Puro (Pure Heart), said, “You trust in what you know works, and I know that Corazon Puro works, and it’s impacting people’s lives…I was just blown away, actually. I was just humbled to read the positive reviews and even them recommending us to other areas in the Church.”
Fr. Torres, from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, added, “There has been growth, we’re working on our fifth-generation leaders already. What started in the Bronx is now in five different states and five different countries. Our first meeting in 2008 had maybe 50 people, and now on a monthly basis, we reach five times that, and on a yearly basis we’re reaching 30,000 young people in person…We (still) have a presence there (at the U.S. Southern Border); we send mission groups down there with our contacts there, to go into Mexico and to work with the immigrant population.”
The Boston College report focused on ministries that clearly have been highly dedicated to faith formation, evangelization, leadership training, and service projects. The report, on the Charismatic Center, states in part: The consecration of Rev. Francisco Garmendia as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1977 was an acknowledgment of the fast-growing Hispanic Catholic presence in the city. Archdiocesan leaders knew that there was an urgent need to dedicate more resources to Hispanic ministry. As the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in the Bronx, Bishop Garmendia (who died in 2005), established a retreat center for Hispanics in 1978. It began what today is called el Centro Católico Carismático / Hispanic Catholic Charismatic Center. El Centro’s activities grew exponentially as well as the number of Hispanics participating in them. Bishop Garmendia recommended moving it to the installations of St. Anthony of Padua’s school, which had recently closed. This has been the home of El Centro for more than four decades.
El Centro’s is led by mainly lay leaders who have been involved in its activities for several years and are deeply grounded in the experience of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. El Centro currently enjoys the regular support of an auxiliary bishop in residence, Joseph A. Espaillat II, the previous director and the youngest Catholic bishop in the country at the time of his consecration in 2022 (Bishop Espaillat is also pastor of St. Anthony of Padua parish). El Centro, led by a team of young adult Hispanics and aided by the dynamic presence of a young U.S.-born Hispanic bishop, has become a magnet for activities for young Hispanic people – immigrants and U.S.-born. More than 6,000 Hispanics participate in its retreats and formation programs every year.
As for Corazon Puro, the report notes Fr. Torres’ leadership and states: Corazón Puro was established as a ministry to promote an understanding of authentic Christian love. It started in 2008 in the South Bronx as an invitation to share more information about Catholic teachings on human sexuality and chastity in a neighborhood with high rates of divorce, single motherhood, and at-risk behaviors such as alcoholism and drug use. Corazón Puro promotes a healthy understanding of human sexuality and marriage as foundational commitments to form strong families and build a stronger society. Most young people Corazón Puro serves in the South Bronx are Hispanic and Black. The ministry has expanded via affiliate ministries to other parts of the United States (California, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas) and the world (i.e. the Philippines, and Nicaragua).
Corazón Puro’s mission rests largely on a threefold commitment: innovation, missionary activity, and the cultivation of human dignity. This ministry seeks to quench the world’s thirst for authentic love, beginning with young Hispanics, the largest Catholic demographic body in the United States, helping them to embrace their vocations, lead flourishing lives, and achieve holiness.
Corazón Puro is influenced by the teachings of St. John Paul II and the rich Franciscan spiritual tradition. Corazón Puro aims at lifting up and strengthening families, renewing Catholic communities by promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life and mobilizing youth and young adult leaders to become missionaries.
