Coadjutor Archbishop Carlos Tomás Morel Diplán of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will be the special guest at this year’s Hispanic Emaús Congress.

The XI Congreso de Emaús is set for Saturday, Sept. 26 at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. The daylong gathering will begin at 8 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. Hundreds of people attend each year. The theme this year is: “Cambio de Rumbo” (Change of Course). Cardinal Spellman is located at One Cardinal Spellman Place in the Bronx.

The day will feature Holy Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and confessions, as well as praise and worship music. Coadjutor Archbishop Morel will serve as principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass, set for 5 p.m.  

La Hermandad de Emaús

Saturday’s members-only event is organized by the archdiocesan Emaús New York – also called La Hermandad de Emaús.

“This is a special annual gathering of all the (Hispanic) Emaús groups at the parish level, together with the archdiocesan hermandad,” a lead event organizer, Richard Felix, told The Good Newsroom. “This is all about fraternity – fraternity among members from the different parish groups. And this is also about the spiritual growth of everyone who attends.” 

Emaús (Emmaus in English) is a Hispanic Catholic lay movement founded in Miami in 1978 based on Church doctrine; its mission is to evangelize through spiritual retreats and social works.

In the Bible, Emmaus means “hot spring” or “warm bath,” but its profound spiritual meaning comes from the resurrection account in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus walked and broke bread with two of His disciples.

About the coadjutor archbishop

Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Morel, 56, as coadjutor archbishop of Santo Domingo in October 2025. A coadjutor archbishop is a lead assistant bishop in an archdiocese who possesses the automatic right to succeed the archbishop upon his retirement, resignation, or death. Coadjutor Archbishop Morel will succeed Archbishop Francisco Ozoria Acosta, 74, upon his retirement.

Ordained to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Santiago de los Caballeros in 2000, Coadjutor Archbishop Morel was appointed an auxiliary bishop of his archdiocese in 2017 and bishop of the Diocese of La Vega in 2024.