Volume 5/Issue 4: March 9, 2017
Marist Contributes to Theology
New Marist Pastor at OLPH
Marist Faustino (Tito) Cruz currently serves as the
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Seattle University’s
School of Theology and Ministry. In April he will travel to
Oslo, Norway to attend the biennial conference of the
International Academy of Practical Theology (IAPT).
Pending confirmation by members at the conference, Tito
will serve a two year term as Vice-President after serving
on IAPT’s executive board as a member-at-large and
treasurer since 2013.
On Sunday, February 26, at the 9:00 a.m. Mass, Marist
Héctor Cruz-Lesbros was installed by the new Bishop of
Saint Petersburg, Gregory L. Parkes, J.C.L., who announced:
“It is a joy this morning to install Fr. Héctor Cruz as Pastor of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Ybor City!”
Before his arrival, Héctor wrote to the parishioners and
friends of Our Lady of Perpetual Help: “I am humbly
soliciting your prayers, so I can be for you a zealous pastor,
serving the Church in the spirit of Mary.”
Marists present at the Installation Mass were Raymond
Coolong, Roland Lajoie (Pastor Emeritus), Paul Morrissey
and John Beckley. Ray and Paul signed as the official
witnesses of the installation.
At the end of the Mass, Bishop Parkes asked the
parishioners to do three things for the new Pastor of OLPH.
“Pray for Father Héctor. Support Father Héctor. And love
Father Héctor.”
The purpose of the International Academy of Practical
Theology is the study of and critical reflection on practical
theological thought and action. IAPT is the most
comprehensive and most international body in its field. At
the IAPT conference Tito will present his current research,
a critical theological reflection entitled Migrant teachers:
reframing enslaved spaces of imported labor in the United
States. Through the lens of migration ethics and practical
theology, his research examines how enslaved spaces of
imported labor could be dismantled and reformed in the
United States and beyond.
On his part, Héctor asked the parishioners for their kind
cooperation, especially in the many service ministries within
the parish, and warmly invited their help with the support
of the parish and the diocese.
by Paul Morrissey SM
Tito writes of the potential of his work: “My current
research will inform a possible special topics course on the
intersection among religion, ethics, and immigration at a
time when pastoral leaders struggle to find an effective
response to the crisis of global migration.”
Read the complete story https://www.seattleu.edu/stm/news-events/theschool-of-theology-and-ministrys-associate-dean-of-academic-affairscontributes-to-international-practical-theology-research.html
Bishop Parkes and Héctor