Discover the rich history and legacy of the Mexican American Catholic College through “MACC’s Treasures.” This section highlights remarkable stories and testimonials from past publications, showcasing the profound impact and significance of our institution. Dive into the inspiring journeys of our faculty, students, and community members, and uncover the incredible contributions that have shaped MACC into the vibrant and influential center it is today. Join us in celebrating our heritage and be inspired by the dedication and passion that continue to drive our mission forward!
From Mexican American Cultural Center to Mexican American Catholic College
What began in 1972 as MACC, the Mexican American Cultural Center, evolved into MACC, the Mexican American Catholic College.
“I am very happy to announce that on October 12, 2008, the Mexican American Cultural Center’s Board of Directors unanimously agreed to expand the mission of MACC by offering a fully bicultural/biliterate formation program leading to a BA/MA degree in Catholic Pastoral Ministry beginning in the fall of 2009. Essentially, this means that what began in 1972 as MACC, the Mexican American Cultural Center, has evolved to become MACC, the Mexican American Catholic College!
Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, OMI
Bishop of San Angelo
MACC Board Chairman
The Mission Continues:
What began in 1972 as MACC, the Mexican American Cultural Center, has evolved into MACC, the Mexican American Catholic College! MACC’s mission continues: “To empower and educate leaders for service in a culturally diverse Church and society by offering a bi-literate, multicultural formation program that can lead to a BA and MA degree in Catholic Pastoral Ministry.”
Article: “The Signs of Our Times”
“MACC has always responded in faith to the signs of the times, building bridges of understanding between cultures for 36 years. By the year 2020, Hispanics will represent over fifty percent of U.S. Catholics. This shift has occurred already in Texas and many other states among young Catholics under the age of 25. This is both a source of hope and a challenge. On the one hand, the fervent faith and strong Catholic identity of Hispanics has the potential to revitalize and strengthen the Church in the U.S. and create a leaven in our increasingly secularized civil society. On the other hand, there are many challenges that we must address if we are to pass on our Catholic faith and our country’s core values to future generations. There are large numbers of Hispanics leaving Catholicism, and there are also many social economic barriers that keep Hispanics, — both native and foreign born – in poverty and without the skills to successfully attain higher education.
The Church must address these challenges through a collaborative effort among its institutions to provide educational and pastoral resources for Hispanics, especially futures priests, permanent deacons, and lay ecclesial ministers who speak primarily Spanish”.
Bibliography
“Mexican American Catholic College” Today’s Catholic (San Antonio, Texas), February 13, 2009.
Amazing Space, Amazing Grace – A New Home for MACC
An archival reflection preserved through MACC’s Hidden Treasures, drawn from early MACC publications that honor the faith, vision, and leadership that shaped the College’s mission:
On April 9, 2000, a bright and balmy Sunday afternoon, over 500 supporters and friends of the Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) witnessed more than the dedication of a campus or group of buildings. They participated in the fulfillment of a dream — a celebration of Church, a celebration of neighborhood, a celebration of people.
The new campus reflects the ambiente and hospitality that has always been at the heart of MACC. Around every bend are touches of grace: arches and wrought iron, earth tones and tile roofs, flowers and bird houses. The architect of the new campus, Robert Morkovsky, AIA, said that it was a pleasure to create a complex that not only met the functional needs of MACC, but also reflected the culture of Mexican Americans. “The Hacienda style campus with courtyard really reinforces the purpose of the institution. “It provides a welcoming home for visitors, students and staff – a place for learning, growth, reflection, socializing, prayer, renewal and ministry.
Preserved from an earlier MACC publication and shared as part of MACC’s Hidden Treasures, the following words reflect the enduring vision that continues to guide the College:
“MACC has served over 24,000 students during the past quarter-century, and the need remains great. Our new facility will serve the Church well in the New Millennium.”
— Sr. Maria Elena Gonzalez, RSM (†)
Vision Magazine, Summer 2000
In a letter written for the campus dedication, Sr. Maria Elena Gonzalez reflected on the new buildings as tangible evidence of faith, collaboration, and trust in God’s future. She emphasized that the campus stood as a commitment to empowering leadership through faith and culture and to breaking down barriers in the spirit of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Letter from Sr. Maria Elena Gonzalez, RSM
“Dear Friends:
On April 9, 2000, we began a new era for MACC, and all those MACC serves.
Seeing the campus completed and knowing how many people contributed to making the new MACC facility a reality is humbling. The board and staff of MACC join me in thanking you for your vision, your prayers and your willingness to dream and work with us. We could not have reached this point in MACC’s history without you.
Our new expanded campus will make it possible for us to continue the work of MACC and help us to do it better. It will enable us to touch hundreds of thousands of lives in the year 2000 and beyond and will enable those who come to MACC to erich their faith, improve their quality of life, and strengthen their families and communities.
We see the new buildings tangible, physical evidence of the commitment and determination to continue MACC’s ministry well into the twenty-first century. The work that we do in empowering leadership through faith and culture is the work of freeing God’s children to brothers, sisters, neighbors, partners and friends.
As we blessed and dedicated the new campus, the MACC board and staff re-dedicated themselves to continue to empower persons of all cultures to break down the walls, the fences, the borders and the barriers that keep us separate from each other, instead of allowing us to grow into one human family. We have pledged that we will continue to do our work in the spirit of Our Lady of Guadalupe. From Her we learn that whether we are a bishop or a poor Indian, like Juan Diego, we are loved, well loved; that we are worthy of our dignity and pride: and that each one of us is a child of God.
The Church called us to prepare for the great Jubilee Year of 2000 and to “open wide the doors to Christ, and so we open MACC’s doors to you, our brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bless each of us and each of you with the courage, the clarity, the peace and the hope to realize God’s kingdom on this earth.
Gratefully and sincerely,
Sister Maria Elena Gonzalez, RSM
More than two decades later, this moment remains a lasting testimony to MACC’s mission and legacy. Shared again through MACC’s Hidden Treasures, this reflection continues to speak to the faith, hope, and commitment that shape the College today.
Bibliography:
Mexican American Cultural Center. (1998). Groundbreaking Marks New Beginning for MACC. Vision, Summer 1998. Print
Mexican American Cultural Center. (2000). Amazing Space, Amazing Grace: Dedication of a Dream Come True. Vision, Summer 2000. Print
MACC’s legacy lives in every page, every prayer, every struggle
MACC (1977). Mexican American Cultural Center. MACC Brochure, Print.
“I am grateful to God and to the many people who have helped us, trusted us by coming to us, borne our sufferings, given of themselves to work with us.”
Father Virgilio Elizondo – Founder and 1st President of the Mexican American Cultural Center.
“My feelings about the past five years at MACC can be summed up in two words: gratitude and frustration. I am grateful to God and to the many people who have helped us, trusted us by coming to us, borne our sufferings, given of themselves to work with us. MACC is not the product of anyone but literally thousands who have made it possible. I am grateful to Pope Paul for his personal blessing and financial contribution, Cardinal Rossi of the Vatican’s Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples, to the business and professional groups who have helped us, to the military who have invited us to help them, to our many friends throughout Latin America, Europe Asia, India and Africa who have encouraged us. The list endless – Archbishop Jadot the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, religious communities, Archbishop Furey and Bishop Flores … without these two, MACC would not exist.
From the very beginning, they both played a key role. I am frustrated because the more we do the more we discover how much more there is to do and therefore how many things we should be doing. As anyone who works at MACC knows only too well, it is not easy to work there. Yet everyone knows it is something beautiful and great. There is an inner joy immediately noticed by visitors. Why joy alongside frustration? Because we are taking part in the birth pains of something new. It is an “inner must” which keeps us going and because we accept it, we are happy in spite of our struggles. “
– Father Virgilio Elizondo
Alfaro, Erevia on sabbatical leave in Spain – Spring 1980 Vision – Mexican American Cultural Center
Two MACC faculty members on leave from the Center are now in Spain.
Father Juan Alfaro, OSB, left in late December for Montserrat monastery in Barcelona where he is continuing his pastoral writing, and also living the life of a monk at least until late April when he will prepare to return to San Antonio.
Also in Spain is Sister Angela Erevia, MCDP, who’s continuing her year-long sabbatical that began last July in Asia.
Sister is now studying at the pastoral institute of the Universi- ty of Salamanca, under Father Casiano Floristán, a popular guest lecturer at MACC.
Since July, Sister has visited Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan, India, Europe and the Mideast- including Bethlehem where she celebrated Midnight Mass.
History of this Center – Mexican American Cultural Center
“Honestly, I have not felt so humble for a long time in my life. I have not been so moved for a long time in my life, because I see here people with a dedication that goes so deep; that with so little encouragement and, many times with so little help, they are willing to continue to fight the battle.”
– Bishop James Rausch, secretary-general of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops
No institution created to serve the Spanish speaking approaches the impact, significance and promise of the Mexican American Cultural Center. In its brief five-year history, MACC became the national center for the development of liturgy for the Spanish speaking, for research on hispanic vocations, for the creation of religious education materials in Spanish, for training missioners going to Latin America and for acculturating Anglos and Hispanos alike to minister more effectively to the Spanish speaking in the United States. Additionally, the Mexican American Cultural Center adapted the highly acclaimed Nueva Biblia Espanola (The New Spanish Bible) into a lectionary using the Spanish language of the people of the United States. The Center is also coordinating the preparation of a history of hispanic churches in the United States, which is part of a 10-volume project on hispanic churches in the Americas being produced by CEHILA (Comisión Internacional de Historia Eclesiástica Comparada).
Bishop James Rausch, secretary-general of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, described MACC as “the most effective thing we have going in this country right now…. It addresses the total problem: economics, social integration and other areas and it does it on a positive concept. This is culturally and ecclesiastically speaking the capitol of the Spanish speaking community in the Southwest.” The apostolic delegate to the United States, top leaders in the American hierarchy and U. S. senators were among the many who passed through the Center’s portals to see for themselves. They were deeply impressed. At a liturgy commemorating MACC’s second birthday, Bishop Rausch said:
“Honestly, I have not felt so humble for a long time in my life. I have not been so moved for a long time in my life, because I see here people with a dedication that goes so deep; that with so little encouragement and, many times with so little help, they are willing to continue to fight the battle. Day after day they are willing to continue. They are not going to be discouraged, they are not going to be left out. And above all, they are going to continue to love even those of us who, in our own way, have had a hand in the injustices have had roles in the snobbery we have often dealt out to our brothers and sisters in the church of Christ.”
The Mexican American Cultural Center began in 1971 as a language institute because it was the most critical need at the time. But it soon expanded into seven. The other six institutes are Research and Publications, Higher Education, Culture, Mass Media, Art and Leadership Development. More than 900 students from 37 states and 16 countries have studied at the Center. It has become a vital link between hispanic people of the Americas. Not only do some of Latin America’s top theologians teach at the Center, but also students from Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Cuba, Colombia, Bolivia and El Salvador have come to San Antonio. “A new dialogue is being established between peoples of different cultures and through this a deeper understanding…. which forms a universal bond of learning,” said MACC’s newspaper.
