Meet María José García

María José García Coordinates the Pastoral Juvenil Young Adult Ministry Office in the Diocese of San Bernardino. She was born and raised in Ecuador, South America. From an early age, she was exposed to social justice initiatives through Catholic school education and these experiences had a great impact on her. Four years ago, she co-founded "ACT," Arts Caring Together, Community Outreach Project, which aims to help children and youth develop cognitive skills through the use of arts, music and sports – this has been one of the greatest joys of her life! She has been married for 11 years and has two daughters, Valentina who is now 3 years old, and Camila who is 7 months old. Maria Jose feels blessed to have been given the opportunity to minister with Latino/ Hispanic youth and young adults, and with those who are disenfranchised and oppressed in her community. Today, her commitment to the Church has materialized in new ministerial horizons. As we journeying towards the VEncuentro, this is an experience that certainly fills her heart with hope.

“When I was invited to be part of ENAHVE, as part of the Communications Team, I knew that through the use of technology and social media, I was going to be able to carry out the mission of the Church at a bigger extent… And I am grateful for it! We are an ever changing Church; therefore, we need to engage in a dialogue that helps us to recognize the blessings and hopes in each particular culture.”

As a young adult woman, a Latina, mother, wife, and professional, she believes that the Church needs the

Encuentros

to recognize and celebrate the presence of the different cultures, spiritualties and ministerial needs that shape in one way or another the Catholic Church. As Pope Francis challenged us at WYD in Rio de Janeiro: I am putting on Love! So that my “journey will be joyful, because

will find many friends to journey with

." Let us walk, reflect, pray and celebrate together as we journey

hacia el V Encuentro

!   2015 © ENAHVE. All Rights Reserved. Featured image by María José García.