Describe why your institution/program was founded. Has your mission evolved overtime?
MACC (currently Mexican American Catholic College) was founded in 1972 as the Mexican American Cultural Center. It was founded by the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the Texas Catholic Conference to offer pastoral formation and language study, critical unmet needs in the Church of its time. Early achievements included the translation of liturgical documents from English to Spanish as well as the production of materials on Hispanic culture and ministry. MACC soon became a national center for theological education and a catalyst for development of Hispanic Ministry throughout the United States.
In 2008, MACC became a Catholic College, the first in the US to offer a biliteral Bachelor of Arts (In English or Spanish). The evolution has continued until today, such that MACC offers both degree-based and continuing education programs. Along with certificates and degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, certification in specialized training, continuing education courses, and workshops are all part of MACC’s offerings. Distance and online education options now respond to the critical needs of ministry throughout the Catholic Church.
Who is your main “audience”? Whom do you hope to include in the future?
MACC specializes in training a variety of people in the Catholic Church—priests, seminarians, deacon candidates and their wives, lay ecclesial ministers including Acolyte and Lector formation, young adults, children’s initiatives for those who work with children, and many other people who can benefit from the bilingual and bicultural approach to ministry in the church community. People arrive from across the U.S. and sometimes outside the U.S. to study Spanish or English, pastoral ministry, or any of the other variety of courses or workshops that MACC offers.
The experience of being together provides an opportunity for participants to learn from each other as well as the educational content of the classes. People often learn about their own cultures as well as the Hispanic culture they came expecting to study. Coming up soon is MACC’s support of Dioceses to assist them in strengthening or expanding ministry in small towns and rural areas. This will be done in partnership with twelve (12) dioceses across the U.S.
What initiatives are you focused on at the present? If people want to become involved/attend, how would they do so? Whom should they contact?
MACC is focused currently on initiatives on Praying and Learning with the Family, Empowering Young Adult Leadership, Diaconate (and wives) Formation, Forming the First Generation of Installed Acolytes and Lectors, Sustaining Hope for Pastoral Leaders, enabling Sisters from Latin America but ministering in the United States to learn about Intercultural competencies in ministry in the U.S., and setting up programs for Rural and Small-Town Ministry.
People who wish to become involved/attend, can obtain information on the MACC website at www.MACCSA.org, email MACC@maccsa.org, or call (210) 732-2156 for more information. Whether someone wishes to pursue a master’s degree or just attend a weekend workshop, involvement at any level can make an impact on a person’s life to the extent that they wish to be involved.
How are you unique, or well-poised, to contribute to the life of the church?
With MACC’s history of over 50 years of leadership in Hispanic ministry education, it continues to attract a diverse population of students to its programs. Recent fundraising efforts have enabled MACC to extend its outreach, collaborate with a variety of partners in other Catholic institutions or dioceses, and be innovative in creating new programs and bringing them to new groups. While the Hispanic population in the U.S. continues to grow, not all maintain allegiance to the Catholic Church, due, in part, to an inability of the local Church in some areas to provide the resources for critical outreach.
MACC’s resources and educational as well as ministerial expertise can help bridge the gap to make outreach to Hispanics more feasible. As the needs of the milieu in which Hispanic ministry today finds itself changes, MACC continues to reach out in new ways. MACC is blessed by its ability to adapt to these changes. Each challenge provides an opportunity, such as the challenge of COVID, which provided the opportunity for distance and online education to flourish. Continuing to work together to respond to immediate needs is the hallmark of MACC’s contribution to the life of the church and what keeps it evolving.
Anything else you would like readers to know about your work or trending issues?
There is a great opportunity in many of the programs to obtain partial scholarships to attend the programs. Our summer language programs are always a great opportunity for experienced and new ministers to expand their horizons for ministry. Be sure to inquire how these programs can be affordable for your needs. Our cutting-edge educational endeavors can be your gateway to a different future for you in your ministry in the Catholic Church. Give MACC a call or look over our website to see if what MACC offers is the right fit for your educational goals.
May God prosper your work!
This interview was conducted with Fr. Juan Molina via email. Fr. Molina is the MACC President and CEO.
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