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SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 12, 2024— On Nov. 13, San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú will bestow a rare honor on Santa Clara University religious studies Associate Professor Ana María Pineda, R.S.M.: the inaugural Encuentros Award. 

The Encuentros Award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs. It honors those who have made a sustained and significant contribution to the development and accompaniment of Hispanic/Latiné Catholic ministry at the national level.

Born in El Salvador, Pineda has lectured, written, and been interviewed extensively on two Salvadorean Catholic leaders—the canonized Oscar Romero and beatified Rutilio Grande—who were murdered for speaking up for the poor and vulnerable in Pineda’s home country. Grande, in fact, was a distant relative of hers. Pineda also teaches on Hispanic theology and religiosity.

Her two books on the martyrs—“Romero and Grande: Companions on the Journey” and “Rutilio Grande: Legacy and Memory of a Jesuit Martyr” —explore the links between the two men and their ongoing influence in the Church and the country. 

Pineda, a member of the Sisters of Mercy order of women religious, has been a regular participant in all five sessions of the national Encuentro, or “Encounter,”  process, instituted in 1972 by the U.S. bishops to better serve the growing Latin American community. The gatherings seek to listen to the voice of the people, train new leaders, evangelize, and find the best pastoral practices for a community that is heavily Catholic.

“Sr. Pineda’s presence at the Encuentros has been very significant and has contributed to the strength of the movement to welcome the growing number of Hispanic Catholics to the Church in the U.S.,” said Luis Calero, S.J., rector of the Santa Clara Jesuit Community. “This award is well-deserved.” 

Pineda was previously on the faculty at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was one of the founding members of the Hispanic Theological Initiative. She is the past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theology in the United States and served on the board of the Louisville Institute, the Bishops' Committee for Hispanic Affairs, and numerous other groups.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Russell College, a master’s from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain. She joined Santa Clara University in 1997, becoming the first Latina in the Department of Religious Studies and the first professor in the country to teach the theology of Our Lady of Guadalupe at a university.

“The communal reality is at the heart of who we are as Latinas/os,” said Pineda. “I am grateful and humbled to be a recipient of this award, but in truth it is a communal acknowledgement of the efforts of a multitude of Latiné Catholic leaders, and of the need for our ongoing commitment.”

The Encuentros Award will be presented Nov. 13 at a special ceremony in conjunction with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual assembly in Baltimore. Three other inaugural recipients will also receive the Encuentros Award: Sean Cardinal O’Malley, OFM; Bishop Gerald R. Barnes; and Carmen Aguinaco, president of National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry.

About Santa Clara University
Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley—the world’s most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University’s stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education.  For more information see www.scu.edu. 

Media Contact
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