Deborah E. Kanter (Albion College) will discuss her book Pioneers of Latino Ministry: Claretians and the Evolving World of Catholic America (New York University Press, 2025) alongside commentators Maggie Elmore (Baylor University); Ramón A. Gutiérrez (University of Chicago); and Timothy Matovina (University of Notre Dame).
The fall 2026 Dolan Seminar in American Religion is cosponsored by Notre Dame’s Department of Theology, Institute for Latino Studies, and McGrath Institute for Church Life. The seminar is free and open to all.
From the publisher
Tracing the history of the Claretian Missionaries and their far-reaching influence on Latino Catholics
Pioneers of Latino Ministry tells the story of the Claretian Missionaries, a male Catholic congregation, dedicated to Latin American immigrants and their families on the margins of U.S. society since 1902. The Claretians’ accompaniment of Latinos makes them distinct in American Catholic history. When the first Claretians arrived from Mexico, Spanish speakers were a small, often unrecognized part of Catholic America. Today, Latinos constitute half of U.S. Catholics.
The Claretians inaugurated parishes and schools in over fifteen states. Their outreach was felt in wider Catholic America as they published popular magazines, created missions in Central America, and fostered a now wide-spread devotion to St. Jude. They cultivated respect and dignity for Latino people in regions where wider society marginalized the newcomers. Because they encouraged education and leadership within their parishes, many Latinos emerged to lead and enhance U.S. Catholic life as priests, female religious, and lay leaders. Today, the Claretians have circled back to their original mission in the United States: committed to new generations of immigrants and their children.
Pioneers of Latino Ministry charts the history of the Claretians and their influence on Latino Catholics in the United States, as well as on broader American Catholicism. Filled with compelling stories, the volume offers a vital portrait of unexplored Catholic American history.
Inaugurated in 1980, the Jay P. Dolan Seminar in American Religion convenes each semester at the University of Notre Dame to discuss a notable book recently published in the field. Along with faculty and graduate students from Notre Dame, scholars from throughout the Midwest and beyond travel to campus to attend as invited guests of the Cushwa Center. Joining the list of authors whose work has been chosen for the Dolan Seminar is recognized as a distinct honor among scholars of American religion.
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