Learn Spanish and Experience Hispanic Culture
Spanish 2019: June 1 to July 13
Prepare for Ministry to the Spanish-speaking with the International Institute for Culture's (IIC) 6-Week Intensive Spanish Language and Culture Program. This program is ideal for Catholic religious and seminarians who intend to minister to the Spanish-speaking.
GROWING NEED FOR SPANISH-SPEAKING MINISTRY:
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The majority of Catholics in the United States will soon be Spanish-speaking.
After Census 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that by the year 2050, one of every four Americans (24.5%) will be Hispanic/Latinos.
In fact, Hispanic/Latinos are already the largest minority in the United States with a population larger than all of Canada.
With these changes to the Catholic population of the U.S., knowledge of Spanish language and culture will be an essential tool not only for ministry but also for the work of the New Evangelization.
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The purpose of the Mexico program is to provide U.S. Catholic priests, seminarians and religious with the language skills and cultural sensitivities to minister effectively to Spanish-speaking Catholics.
Click here if you would like to apply on-line to this program.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW:
There are several things about our program that are distinctive. Spiritual and intellectual formation is not left behind during the Spanish language program. The IIC collaborates with the Catholic Universidad Popular y Autonoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP). The participants have the option to live together in a modern dormitory close to the main campus, or to be placed in a home-stay program with trusted families by the University. In either case, they have access to a private chapel in the dorm where participants can pray together the Liturgy of the Hours daily in Spanish. Opportunities for daily mass and rosary in Spanish are also available. None of these daily devotions is required but they are recommended. Another unique aspect of our program is its curriculum: in addition to studying Spanish, two afternoons each week feature lectures on Latin American history and culture from a Catholic perspective, presented in Spanish with an interpreter.
Ours is a rigorous program. Its principal purpose is to help participants learn Spanish so that they might more effectively minister to the Spanish-speaking in the United States. There are six hours of intensive Spanish instruction five days a week. Because the program takes place on the campus of a university there is ample opportunity for interaction with those who are native Spanish-speakers. There will also be weekly cultural excursions including a service project with students from the university.
LOCATION:
Puebla, Mexico is a city of two million. It rests on the route which Cortes followed to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, today Mexico City. It is 1.5 hours from the Mexican capital over mountain roads passing by the great volcanic peaks of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. Puebla de los Angeles, Puebla, Mexico. The program participants will be housed, take classes, and have use of dining and other facilities on the campus of the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP).
Costs:
$6,000 for Language Instruction, Language Books, History and Cultural Instruction, Tours, Room and Board. Participants are responsible for travel expenses to Mexico City. We suggest approximately $800 to $1100 for personal expenses (toiletries, dining out, souvenirs, etc.).
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