MESA DIRECTIVA | EXECUTIVE BOARD

Having participated in the Liturgical Formation of lay volunteers in three archdioceses of Cuba, Fr. Sosa has continued to keep his responsibilities as Pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church and Chair of the Committee on Popular Piety.  In May, with the assistance of Ms. Sylvia Sánchez, Fr. Sosa visited St. Thomas University and Barry University in Miami to dialogue over their needs on liturgical formation for Hispanic Catholics and the needs of the INHL as an organization. Preparations have almost concluded with a new Webpage sponsored by the INHL. Fr. Sosa participated in a one day workshop at the Instituto Tepeyac in El Paso, Texas, has been composing some of the Psalms requested by Oregon Catholic Press, reviewed the proposals for the anthem of the upcoming V National Hispanic Encuentro, continues to write reflections in English and Spanish for Liturgia y Canción and has participated in the final preparations of the Misal and other  liturgical texts prepared by the CDW’s Subcommittee for Hispanics.

Sr. Marilú retired last August from her position of Director of the Office of Worship. She continues working as part-time Liturgical Consultant and has taken two new responsibilities as Diocesan Coordinator of the V Encuentro and Pastoral of Hispanic/Latino Ministry. She also remains being responsible for the Paulist Press annual Spanish Ordo. 

A native of Puerto Rico, Damaris Thillet studied at Temple University in Philadelphia. She frequently collaborated with her late husband, Diego Correa, in music ministry. As a team, they served the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, for many years. Serving as the north east regional representative for the INHL. Damaris is also one of the founders and current president of the East Coast Hispanic Pastoral Musicians Association (AMPHE). During the 2016 United States visit by Pope Francis, she was invited to lead the Spanish choir at a Mass to close the World Meeting of Families. Damaris and Diego have two collections of liturgical music in Spanish, Eso Me Basta, Señor and Del Pesebre a la Cruz, their OCP debut. Inspired by the scriptures and marked by evangelical zeal, their songs feature the unique musical styles and rhythms of Puerto Rico. Damaris’s compositions can also be found in ¡Vive Tu Fe! and Flor y Canto. Currently, Damaris was the associate director of the Office of Worship and Christian Initiation of Camden and is currently the Director of Music & Liturgy for the Diocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Maria formerly served as Associate Director of the Ministry of Worship and Spiritual Life Office for the Archdiocese of Miami, Past Secretary of the INHL, and current Treasurer of the INHL. With over 47 years of experience serving as a Pastoral Musician, she is recently retired and serves in various liturgical capacities for churches of the Archdiocese of Miami.. Maria was honored to serve as one of the members of the Chant Team creating some of the musical settings for the new Misal Romano (Spanish Roman Missal for use in the United States). Maria has transcribed or arranged over 200 works for the series Cuba Canta Al Señor, assisting many local and international composers. Maria holds a BM in Music Performance from FIU and an M.S. Ed in Interdisciplinary Arts from Nova Southeastern University. She has her own liturgical compositions published by OCP, WLP, and GIA. In her spare time, she enjoys writing Psalms for liturgy and orchestral scores for Zarzuelas.

Rev. Jose Enrique Lopez is a Priest of the Archdiocese of Miami. He acquired his undergraduate degree in Art in Philosophy at Saint John Vianney College Seminary. He was awarded a Master of Divinity degree at Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. Some of his pastoral experiences have been Ermita de La Caridad, Misión Santa Ana in Homestead, Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Key west, and St. Joseph Parish in Miami Beach. He has served in Assumption Parish in Lauderdale by the Sea and, upon ordination to the priesthood, at St. Gregory the Great in Plantation, FL. . Rev. Lopez is also adept at web management and has expertise in the area of using social media as an evangelization tool. He is currently in Spain pursuing higher studies in Systematic Theology. 

A native of Puerto Rico, Damaris Thillet studied at Temple University in Philadelphia. She frequently collaborated with her late husband, Diego Correa, in music ministry. As a team, they served the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, for many years. Serving as the north east regional representative for the INHL. Damaris is also one of the founders and current president of the East Coast Hispanic Pastoral Musicians Association (AMPHE). During the 2016 United States visit by Pope Francis, she was invited to lead the Spanish choir at a Mass to close the World Meeting of Families. Damaris and Diego have two collections of liturgical music in Spanish, Eso Me Basta, Señor and Del Pesebre a la Cruz, their OCP debut. Inspired by the scriptures and marked by evangelical zeal, their songs feature the unique musical styles and rhythms of Puerto Rico. Damaris’s compositions can also be found in ¡Vive Tu Fe! and Flor y Canto. Currently, Damaris was the associate director of the Office of Worship and Christian Initiation of Camden and is currently the Director of Music & Liturgy for the Diocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Rogelio worked for many years at the Southeast Pastoral Institute (SEPI) in Miami, the archdiocesan Office of Worship and currently the Office of Lay Ministry, as associate director for Hispanic formation. Has taught at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and St. John Vianney Seminary in Miami, as well as conducting workshops on liturgy in various dioceses throughout the U.S., Central and South America and the Caribbean. He is a member of the Instituto Nacional Hispano de Liturgia (National Hispanic Institute for Liturgy) and of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for Hispanic Liturgy.

Pedro Rubalcava is a nationally known bilingual/bicultural clinician, composer and performer with expertise in various musical styles. He has been directing liturgical music groups for more than 40 years and has served in professional pastoral ministry in various areas, including liturgy and music, evangelization, youth and young adult ministry, catechetical ministry, Hispanic Ministry and RCIA for the past 30+ years. Pedro received national recognition in 1990 when Amanecer, his bilingual music collection, was nominated for a Grammy award in the Best Mexican/American Performance category. In 2014, he was recognized with the Faithful Servant Award by the SWLC (Southwest Liturgical Conference). Currently, Pedro is the Director of Music Development and Outreach for OCP. He also serves on the executive boards of the Instituto Nacional Hispano de Liturgia (INHL), the National Council for Hispanic Ministry (NCCHM), the V Encuentro National Leadership Team, and the Northwest Regional Office for Hispanic Affairs (NWROHA). He resides in Damascus, Oregon, with his wife, Kristin. 

Fr. Heliodoro has offered formation classes on the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal for each Deanery of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, TX. He has conducted courses for Hispanic Choirs on the topic of Musical Techniques and Liturgical Techniques. He is very involved with the formation of liturgical ministers for the Archdiocese of San Antonio both in English and Spanish. He has restructured the Archdiocesan Department of Pastoral Services; the Office of Liturgy is now the Ministry of Liturgy and Christian Worship (Secretariado de Liturgia y Oración Cristiana).

Sr. Marilú retired last August from her position of Director of the Office of Worship. She continues working as part-time Liturgical Consultant and has taken two new responsibilities as Diocesan Coordinator of the V Encuentro and Pastoral of Hispanic/Latino Ministry. She also remains being responsible for the Paulist Press annual Spanish Ordo. 

If you are currently a member of the INHL in good standing, live in the mountain states of the USA, and are interested in representing this region, please send your C.V. to liturgia@liturgiahispana.com