Pioneers of Latino Ministry

Deborah E. Kanter is Professor of History Emeritus at Albion College. She is the author of Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican and Hijos del Pueblo: Gender, Family, and Community in Rural Mexico.

"Pioneers of Latino Ministry relates the apostolic fervor of Claretian Missionaries, especially among the Latina and Latino faithful they accompanied. With engaged storytelling and critical assessment, Deborah E. Kanter unveils not just the history of one religious order, but the sojourn of Hispanic Catholicism and immigration from the dawn of the Mexican Revolution to the present." - Timothy Matovina, author of Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America's Largest Church "It is necessary to tell with dignity and respect the stories, struggles, and hopes of Hispanic/Latino Catholic immigrants and Deborah E. Kanter accomplishes that in Pioneers of Latino Ministry. This book provides key insights and pastoral orientations to better minister, serve and accompany Hispanic/Latino Catholic immigrants in the United States. Pioneers of Latino Ministry embraces a missionary spirit and an ethic of bridge building and social responsibility with underserved communities. This book will be treasured by members of the Claretian community as well as historians, pastoral agents, directors and coordinators of Hispanic/Latino ministry, and social justice advocates." - Yohan Garcia, Loyola University Chicago "A beautiful and engaging narrative history that brings to life not only the Claretian Missionaries, but the Latino laity whom they served. In telling this vibrant and dynamic story, Deborah E. Kanter has expanded the story of the American Catholic Church and its people." - Julia G. Young, author of Mexican Exodus: Emigrants, Exiles, and Refugees of the Cristero War "Well-researched and delightfully-written, Deborah E. Kanter invites her readers to delve into the exciting work and mission of the Claretian Missionaries in the United States and their audacious commitment to accompanying Hispanic Catholics since 1902. Pioneers of Latino Ministry is simultaneously a history of a religious order and a fresh account of the U.S. Catholic experience in which Hispanics play a mission-defining role." - Hosffman Ospino, Boston College "An insightful look at an underexplored corner of Catholic American history." - Publishers Weekly "Kanter gives important insight into how a little known religious congregation did its work and evolved over nearly a century and a quarter in America. She shows how the Claretians and their parishioners worked together to create Mexican America, a community within the broader national society that is rooted in the United States but is enlivened by the cultural traditions and wisdom of the Mexican homeland." - Third Coast Review "Kanter reveals how Claretians successfully mediated diocesan preferences for centralization and Americanization and Mexican and Puerto Rican Catholics' desire to nurture the culture of home." – U.S. Catholic