The Center for Latino Spirituality and Culture (CLSC)

University of Notre Dame
250 McKenna Hall
574-631-4741

The Center for Latino Spirituality and Culture (CLSC) was established to increase awareness of the growing importance of Latinos to the US Catholic Church, to engage Latino Catholic leaders in dialogue with the broader Catholic community, and to facilitate the development of the next generation of Latino religious leaders.

Latinos and the US Catholic Church
The rapid growth of the Latino population over the past 30 years has created a fundamental shift in the makeup of the US Catholic Church. Studies show that while only 12 percent of US Catholics were Latino in 1970, today that number is estimated by US Catholic bishops at 40 percent. Over that same period, however, the percentage of US Latinos who consider themselves Catholic has declined. These trends make it imperative for the Church and Catholic institutions like Notre Dame to understand and adapt to their changing constituencies so that they may draw from the strengths and contributions of the Latino community. Accordingly, CLSC’s work is integral to advancing the core mission of the University.

Activities
The Center produces academic materials that arise directly out of the faith experience of Latino/a Catholics, for example, a theology series, Celebrating Faith: Explorations in Latino Spirituality, and a bilingual book series on pastoral issues. CLSC regularly holds international conferences to raise awareness of issues of Latino spirituality. Recent conference topics have included "The Option for the Poor" (2002), "Migration and Theology" (2004), and "Guadalupe, Madre de América" (2006). It has also produced a number of videos, among them Dying to Live, A Migrant’s Journey, a look at the human face of immigration.

In addition to developing and teaching graduate and undergraduate courses relating to the Latino Catholic experience, CLSC faculty are actively involved in preparing and mentoring the next generation of Latino theologians and religious educators.

The Center works within both the formal and informal structures of the Catholic Church to assist it to meet the changes represented by this growing population. For example, the Annual Bishops’ Consultation brings Latino bishops from across the United States to Notre Dame for a three-day event every year to engage in dialogue with academic, administrative, and religious leaders on campus, and the Latino Catholic Intellectual Roundtable has been designed to convene a selection of the most dynamic young leaders to explore issues pertaining to their Catholic faith.

Publications
A list of CLSC publications can be viewed here.