Robert Hurteau, Ph.D., the Director of the Center for Religion and Spirituality, was awarded his second grant from the Koch Foundation in Spring 2010 to fund the Third Regional Summer Seminar on Formation for Hispanic Ministry.

This sponsorship from the Koch Foundation will support the continued collaboration of parishes across California and Nevada to identify problems and issues that the Hispanic Catholic community faces. This year’s seminar addresses outreach to second, third, and fourth generation Hispanic Catholics and how ministry formation programs can be of service to this group.

“Hispanic Catholicism is a real resource and a gift of substance to the Church. [Hispanic Catholics] focus on celebration, fraternity, sharing, devotion in faith, trust in God, and that is not lost in the later generations simply because they don’t speak as much Spanish as immigrant Hispanics do,” he explained. Hurteau credits the Koch Foundation for providing the tools to accomplish the meeting, which is “a great service to the Church.”

In 2008, the Center inaugurated the Regional Summer Seminar, a forum which gathers together Catholic Hispanic ministry formation program directors from California and Nevada. Funded by an anonymous foundation, the first Regional Summer Seminar attracted 40 participants to initiate a conversation on the needs of the Catholic Church and the needs of future pastoral leaders. The following year, also funded by an anonymous foundation, the Center organized the Second Regional Summer Seminar to further increase awareness of the work for better integration and more effective means in spreading the Gospel.

For the past five years, Hurteau has helped provide continuing education to the public in the area of religion, spirituality, and theology as the Director of the Center for Religion and Spirituality at LMU. With programs that encourage learning in Catholicism and ministry, Hurteau has placed emphasis on programs that address cultural as well as pastoral issues facing churches.

Hurteau chose to work at LMU because it gave him the chance to work with education and cross-cultural issues. With his most recent award from the Koch Foundation, Hurteau will continue to explore his passion for intercultural faith and education.

Before arriving at LMU, Hurteau worked as a missionary in South America, as well as at the School of Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary.