Blazing a new trail

Franciscan mentors Hispanic ministers

By Alex Gaitán

Family closeness, culture and a deeply rooted spirituality are some of the characteristics that define Friar Gilberto Cavazos-González and contributed to his decision to become a Franciscan. Although initially his calling had taken him to a diocesan seminary, Cavazos left because he felt alone, missed the family environment that was an integral part of his life, and realized that as a Hispanic he really didn’t fit in with the diocesan life.

While reading about the life of St. Francis of Assisi, Cavazos accepted his calling and joined the Franciscan Order of Friars Minors. “I realized that religious life offered me what I was looking for, which was living with a sense of family. I learned about the life of St. Francis, and before I realized it, I became a Franciscan,” says the professor and director of the Hispanic Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union (CTU).

As followers of St. Francis, the friars are “lesser brothers” called to be centered in Christ with the gospels as their rule of life. They are to be instruments of change and heralds of peace in a broken world, serving all people, especially the poor and marginalized, through reconciliation and healing. Just like St. Francis, Cavazos has focused his energies on continually cultivating a spiritual and deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Of course being Latino created problems in the order. The province was established by Germans, and they were not really prepared to receive brothers from other cultures. Just like the Polish and Irish people struggled before us, we had to do the same thing; we also had to pay the price,” says Cavazos.
During formation, he was criticized for being “too Mexican,” but thanks to his spiritual director and the efforts of many brothers he stayed and was among the first Hispanics to meet with Anglo superiors to share complaints, experiences, and grievances.

After he was ordained, Friar Gilberto went to work in a parish in San Antonio, Texas where 98 percent of the congregation was Mexican or Mexican-American. Although I am Mexican-American, my studies at CTU prepared me to minister in an Anglo church, and all of a sudden I found myself in a parish with people from my own ethnicity. It was an eight-year experience where I had to relearn how to be a minister for the Hispanic church.”

Cavazos returned to CTU in 1999 and began working in the area of spirituality and the following year was asked to take over the Hispanic Ministry Program. Since I witnessed the birth of the Hispanic Program and experienced what it is to minister in a Hispanic community without the proper preparation, now I can continue to make progress on the work started at CTU and the efforts made to reach the Hispanic community and to prepare ministers for pastoral leadership,” he says.

Your turn

What do you value the most from your culture and family history? Are you like other people?
What would you do to defend your people?