Institute for Pastoral Initiatives News

By Liliana Montoya

My name is Liliana Montoya, a native from Colombia. I left my country more than 20 years ago to study in Spain with the idea of being a missionary in Africa, but God had other plans for me. Me llamo Liliana Montoya, nativa de Colombia. Salí de mi país hace más de 20 años para estudiar en España con la idea de ser misionera en África pero Dios tenía otros planes para mí.   

Today, I am coordinating a program of faith formation in Spanish through the Institute of Pastoral Initiatives. 

My recent travels took me to Rome to participate in an International Catechetical Conference.  There, I promoted our English and Spanish online courses (vlcff.udayton.edu) as well as our program for young Hispanics.  The second objective of the trip was to inform the directors of the Latin America Catechetical Society of our programs and encourage them to become partners with the university.  

This trip exposed me to the indescribable beauty of the religious art which was truly breathtaking.  It transported me to a place of faith, a place of prayer, expressed by the painters and sculptors.  I could have stayed all day inside the massive cathedrals, immersed by the art, the beauty, the elegance of each piece as I gazed around in awe.  

Also, witnessing the importance of Mary was uplifting.  Walking the streets of Rome, the image of the Virgin Mary appeared on corners, on buildings, on banners.  Mary remains essential in the lives of people today.

Even though all representing countries spoke different languages, I did not feel alone on this trip. I felt a spirit of community because all delegations welcomed me in as a member of their faith family.  We created our own spirit of community together despite  meeting for the first time. 

We worked and celebrated together our faith.  Their simplicity, communion and joy reflected to me the communion to which the whole Church is called to live.  I did not feel like a foreigner or a guest, but as a resident of the city, just like in the house of God.

This trip served as an inspiration for me to create additional Spanish courses to further strengthen our formation program. In the end, the Dioceses of Brazil & Uruguay expressed their interest to join our Virtual Learning Community. 

 Liliana Montoya, M.DIV. is the coordinator for Hispanic Outreach & Online classes at the Institute as well as the director of the Forum for young Catholic Hispanics, which gathers at Daniel Curran Place.  Faculty/Staff and Alumni are welcome to take our online courses through the  VLCFF  (Find us on Facebook)  Other Institute projects include the Caribbean School for Catholic Communications, Christian Meditation in Catholic schools, Special Needs in Faith Formation, the Chaminade Scholars pilgrimage from Assisi to Rome and Catholic Schools for Tomorrow.