Meet Ernesto Vega

Ernesto Vega is the Coordinator for Adult Faith Formation in Spanish for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is from Jiquilpan, Michoacán, México, and immigrated at the age of 18 and immediately began working in the strawberry fields in Santa María, California. At St. John Neumann Parish, he joined the youth group -jóvenesAnawim, and the Prayer group Oasis de Amor and began to take English classes. Ernesto then entered St. John's diocesan seminary in Camarillo, California where he received a BA in Philosophy and a BA in Spanish literature (1996). He was also a high school teacher in Los Angeles and he studied pedagogy at CSULA. Ernesto has two masters in Marital and Family Therapy (2005) and pastoral ministry (2016) from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Ernesto states,

My hope for the V Encuentro is that as Catholics we have a better understanding of God's mercy expressed in Jesus our Lord. This leads to the formation of conscience and toward Christian and human maturity in our current reality of social pluralism, ecumenism, economic and mental poverty, human sexuality, the media, communion in mission, ecology, the universality of the Church, higher education, an integral spirituality, and the new evangelization. These hopes fill my heart with joy and are strengthened by the Holy Spirit and the of our team that has formed to support the initiatives of the V Encuentro. Trusting in the mercy of Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, we ask God the Father to allow us to serve with love and humility, insight, and intelligence for the edification of his beloved people. Together with Mary something highly commendable and good will come of this call to Encuentro so that we may reflect, share, mission, and celebrate.

Ernesto is part of Region XI's team and serves as a new media representative. Ernesto has formed a production team that serves Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in the areas of evangelism and formation through the new media and the team will also serve the Region XI in its regional ministerial efforts in the V Encuentro process. Ernesto is trying to form a team that is inclusive of the pan-American and indigenous backgrounds that make up the mosaic of modern pluralism, combined with skills in media, event organization, research, art and photography. Ernesto and the team also envision having a team of collaborators who can contribute with articles, interviews, art, in order to better reflect not only the Hispanic mosaic,  but the universality of the Catholic Church. Ernesto and the team ask for your prayers and support to join in the task of evangelizing, forming, and promoting the riches of our Catholic tradition through the V Encuentro in Region XI. 2016 © ENAVE.  All Rights Reserved.