Denver Catholic

6 NOVEMBER 14-27, 2015 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese L uis Alvarez grew up picking grapes in the San Joaquin Valley as a migrant worker; now, he'll be pick- ing souls in the Archdiocese of Denver. Alvarez succeeds Luis Soto, who stepped down as the Archdiocese of Denver's director of Hispanic Ministry and executive director of Centro San Juan Diego June 5. He intends to con- tinue Soto's work while bringing a new approach that he hopes will take the min- istry in exciting new directions. The second eldest of six siblings, Alva- rez grew up in Fresno, Calif., where he and his family worked as migrant work- ers. It was a very humble beginning, Alvarez said. His family later moved to central Mexico, where he learned Spanish fl uently. In 1995, his family moved to Col- orado Springs, where he's lived ever since. As a youth, Alvarez attended Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in the Springs. He met a seminarian who started a youth group there, but after a time, the seminarian was transferred, and a new youth program was implemented. With their leader gone, the fi rst order of business was electing a new director for the youth group. An introvert with no experience leading people, Alva- rez didn't expect people to elect him. "I was very shy at the time, [ but] people started voting for me, and I got elected by a landslide," Alvarez said. This sparked a long and fruitful path of ministry for him. Through it all, he discovered that he loved to teach and moreover, was good at it. "My forte, my passion, is teaching," Alvarez said. However, he also had a strong desire to learn. "I always felt a calling and a hunger for studying the faith," he said. "If we're to love God above all things, we can't really love that which we don't know." Alvarez enrolled in Centro San Juan Diego (CSJD) in 2006. He obtained his bachelor's degree over six years in a col- laboration CSJD has with Universidad Anáhuac del Sur in Mexico City. Now, Alvarez is now the executive director of CSJD, the very place which helped him get to where he is. "In hindsight you see how beautiful God's plan is," he said. "It's scary before the fact but then everything falls into place." Under Luis Soto's direction, the O' ce of Hispanic Ministry and CSJD had already been recognized as one of the best in the country, Alvarez said, so there's not a big urgency to revamp the whole system. He said his staž is great and they've been nothing but supportive to him as he begins this new endeavor. Alvarez has goals to make the programs and services his ministry ož ers even better and more encompassing. One such initiative is to plant the seeds of faith very early in the lives of the youth in response to the restored order, and a campaign in 2016 of the Year of Mercy. Luis Alvarez sows seeds for Hispanic ministry BY AARON LAMBERT 303-715-3138 | aaron.lambert@archden.org www.twitter.com/AaronLmbrt SCHEDULE YOUR DONATION TODAY! Your donation to Bishop Machebeuf High School will provide tuition assistance that supports academically strong students with character and courage to stand as today's leaders with confidence to inspire tomorrow's future. Coloradogives.org/Machebeuf Donating to Holy Family High School helps to provide ongoing support that keeps tuition affordable while maintaining a first-rate educational product to form the next generation of Catholic leaders. Coloradogives.org/HolyFamilyHighSchool A donation to Seeds of Hope allows economically disadvantaged students access to a quality Catholic grade school education that will provide opportunities for success in college, career and life. Coloradogives.org/SeedsofHope an academic community of faith MACHEBEUF HOLY FAMILY H I G H S C H O O L SUPPORT CATHOLIC EDUCATION THIS GIVING SEASON Luis Alvarez, director of Hispanic ministry, Centro San Juan Diego, speaks to group of employees. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT

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