Third Regional Encuentro 2026
Encuentro: The Child & The Lamb
The Encuentro Participants (invitation only) will gather to experience and share best practices and resources that can help enhance children’s spirituality in our parishes, schools, and communities.
Among our objectives is to promote the more active participation of children in the liturgy as well as in moments of prayer and catechesis, facilitating their development as authentic apostles of Christ. Special attention will be given to the communities with fewer resources, and to integrating the participation of children with disabilities.
Register now for our April 2026 Encuentro!
Registrations are open for the third regional Encuentro for ministers on Children’s Spirituality
April 17-19, 2026
Please download the Encuentro flyer to review a recap of information on our April 2026 Speakers, Topics and Daily Schedule.
Encuentro Speakers and Celebrants
We will have speakers from many different organizations to share their expertise with Encuentro participants. Click HERE to view the full program.
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller MSpS
Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas
Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller was appointed Archbishop of San Antonio by Pope Benedict XVI on October 14, 2010, and installed on November 23, 2010, succeeding Archbishop José H. Gomez. Previously, he was named an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago by Pope John Paul II on January 24, 2003, and was ordained on March 19, 2003, by Cardinal Francis. George, O.M.I. Born on December 21, 1956, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, he is the eldest of 15 children. He professed as a member of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit in 1975 and has served as a priest for over 42 years, ministering to culturally diverse communities.
Nationally, Archbishop Gustavo has held various roles with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), including serving as Chairman of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, advocating for inclusion and unity across different backgrounds.
Fr. Martin Pablo
Pastor. Sensory-Friendly Mass
St. Helena Catholic Church, San Antonio, Texas
Fr. Martin Pablo was born in Trzebnica, Poland. In 2009 he was ordained to the priesthood. Following his ordination, Fr. Martin served in Mexico, from 2009 to 2016. Then in Scotland, and Poland. In 2018, he arrived in the United States and was assigned as Parochial Vicar at St. Monica Catholic Church in Converse, Texas. The following year, he was appointed Administrator of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Sabinal, along with St. Joseph Mission in Knippa and St. Mary Mission in
Vanderpool. In 2020, he was named Pastor of these parishes. In November 2021, Fr. Martin was assigned to St. Helena Catholic Church in San Antonio, where he currently serves as Pastor. On October 17, 2022, Most Rev. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, M.Sp.S., formally incardinated him into the
Archdiocese of San Antonio. Fr. Martin holds master’s degrees in both psychology and economics and business administration. Passionate about meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, he is fluent in Polish, Spanish, and English. Beyond his priestly ministry, Fr. Martin enjoys movies, music, and traveling. He has
a strong appreciation for new technology.
https:/lstheena.org/
Bishop Michael J. Boulette, D. Min
Auxiliary Bishop Archdiocese of San Antonio, Texas
Most Reverend Michael J. Boulette, D. Min.
The life and ministry of the Most Reverend Michael J. Boulette, D. Min. unfolds as a journey marked by deep faith and dedicated service to the Church.
He was born in Hudson Falls, New York. Graduated from St. John High School Seminary, San Antonio, Texas. Bishop Mike obtained his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas. He has a master’s degree in Psychology from Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas. And a Master of Divinity for Ministry, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. He is Doctor of Ministry in Preaching and Worship, from Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary, Texas.
Was ordained a priest on March 19, 1976 (Feast of St. Joseph). Served as parochial vicar in two parishes, appointed to the Assumption Seminary faculty as Director of Spiritual & Liturgical Formation. In 2004, became the Founder and Director of St. Peter Upon the Water: A Center for Spiritual Direction and Formation, located in Ingram, Texas.
Pope Francis appointed Msgr. Michael Boulette as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio on January 23, 2017. Throughout his years there, Bishop Boulette undertook responsibilities as Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General.
On September 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Boulette. Currently, Bishop Boulette has returned to ministry at St. Peter Upon the Water in Ingram.
https://stpeteruponthewater.org
Charleen Katra
Executive Director
National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD)
Charleen Katra is the Executive Director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD). Previously she served as an Associate Director in the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. For over twenty years her primary responsibilities were directing the Ministry with
Persons with Disabilities and Early Childhood Ministries.
Charleen is the co-author of The Adaptive Teacher: Faith-Based Strategies to Reach and Teach Learners with Disabilities (Loyola Press, 2019) and the author of How to Talk to Children about People with Disabilities (Twenty-Third Publications, 2019). She has extensive experience in systematic and sacramental catechesis and has served as a national consultant, author, and
speaker on inclusion for various Catholic publishers. She holds a bachelor’s in special education and Elementary Education, and a Master’s in Pastoral
Studies.
Mary Mirrione
Directora Nacional -Catequesis del Buen Pastor EU (CGS)
Mary Mirrione has been working with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) since 1991, when a team of catechists and parents-built atria at St Anne’s in Gilbert, Arizona for their 1800 children. She has been a formation leader since 1997 serving as such at home and abroad. She has served as a missionary for CGS in Honduras, and with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity throughout the States as well as in the Philippines, Western Europe, Bangladesh, and Kolkata, India.
Mary holds a Masters in Pastoral Ministry in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd from Aquinas Institute. She serves as a faculty member of Kino Catechetical Institute in the Diocese of Phoenix.
She is a consultant for the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catechism. She is also the National Director for the United States Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Mary has been happily married for 49 years and delights in the friendship and love of her husband.
She has three daughters, all three are grown with children of their own. As a grandmother, Mary has prepared an atrium in her home for her 6 grandchildren. As a native of Brooklyn New York, she loves the big city. She now lives in and loves the desert of Arizona and the dirt roads of the poorest of the poor. While Mary’s passion is for the work of CGS, she enjoys traveling anywhere in the world, and cooking big Italian family dinners on the weekends with her family and friends.
Lourdes Santiago
Spanish Language Coordinator
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd USA
Lourdes began her work in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 1991 as a volunteer with the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. She helped to build the bilingual Atrium at St Anne’s in Gilbert AZ and welcomed many families and children at home and abroad. Lourdes works with all three levels of children and is a formation Leader in English and in Spanish. She has a bachelor’s degree from the State University of Phoenix and holds a master’s degree in Theology from the Graduate Theological Foundation from South Bend, Indiana. She has served as a missionary in
Honduras, Peru, The Philippines, and Eastern Europe with the Missionaries of Charity. Lourdes continues to work with CGS at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Gilbert, Arizona. She joined the staff of the National Association in 2006 and works as the coordinator for those in Spanish and bilingual communities. Lourdes is from Puerto Rico. She has been a resident of
Arizona since 1989.
Kelsey Bell
Associate Director of Hispanic Formation
National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD)
Kelsey Bell joined the NCPD staff following her service as a consultant with the Secretariat of Justice and Peace at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Previously, she served as the Coordinator of the Office for People with Disabilities and Interim Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Portland where she strived to help parishes become places of belonging where all could actively participate. Bell earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and Spanish from the University of Portland. She served on NCPD’s Committee on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities for several years. One of the biggest influences in her life is her younger sister Gina, who has Down syndrome.
Carlos Colón
Assistant Director of Worship and Chapel, at Baylor University; a Resident Scholar at Baylor Institute for the Studies of Religion; and Liturgical Composer for The Catechetical Choir.
Carlos Colón was born in El Salvador and holds degrees from Belmont University and Baylor University. His music and arrangements have been performed at festivals in the United States and abroad, including Carnegie Hall, Duke University, Princeton Seminary, the United Nations, and Festival de Música Contemporánea of El Salvador. His music has received acclaim in China, Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina, Puerto Rico and other countries.
Colón’s projects lie at the intersection of justice and religious transformation.
Colón is Assistant Director of Worship and Chapel, at Baylor University; a Resident Scholar at Baylor Institute for the Studies of Religion; and Liturgical Composer for The Catechetical Choir. His music is published by GIA, MorningStar and other publishers.
His compositions include: Te Deum Latinoamericano, commissioned in 2018 for the canonization of Saint Oscar Romero; Requiem, Las Lamentaciones de Rufina Amaya (2008); and Obertura Para Un Mártir, written in memory of slain Archbishop Oscar Romero, commissioned by the President and First Lady of El Salvador in 2010; he soundtrack for a documentary film, Lamento con Alas, about the deaths of immigrants along the Texas-Mexico border.
angela daly
Catholic educator, musician, and catechetical leader. The Catechetical Choir.
Angela Daly is a Catholic educator, musician, and catechetical leader. A graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, she taught in public schools for over a decade before entering Catholic ministry and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Mary. She began music ministry as a teenager and continues to serve as a musician and vocalist.
Angela’s current focus is The Catechetical Choir, a grant-funded initiative she directs in the Diocese of Austin to raise up the next generation of Catholic music ministers. The Catechetical Choir is rooted in storytelling catechesis and Patristic theology, forming young musicians through sound doctrine, a deep connection to the Church’s traditional and Latin hymnody, and a love for the Catholic Church’s multiculturalism.
CHOIR NIÑOS DE VALOR
Archdiocese of San Antonio, TexaDirector Alejandro Cantú
Parish. Holy Trinity, San Antonio, Texass
The mission of this choir is to develop Catholic Leaders and Musicians. We seek to promote musical talent as a personal prayer and means of our own conversion (for the children and their families). And thus, bring this talent to the service of the Church and the community to proclaim the Gospel through music.
Encuentro 2025
Thank You to All Who Participated!
For more information, please contact Vanessa Balderas at vbalderas@maccsa.org
Encuentro Bimonthly Meetings
Join us in this online follow-up bimonthly meeting to accompany the implementation of the lessons learned from the Encuentro and continue to generate knowledge on methods to support the children’s spirituality. Please contact Vanessa Balderas at vbalderas@maccsa.org for details.
