Charleston, SC – The Catholic Church Extension Society and members of FADICA will gather here May 10-11, to discuss a new church-led national program to put in place one hundred new leaders to serve growing Latino Catholic populations in the more rural areas of the country. The program entitled: A Vibrant Future: Developing Hispanic Leadership in the Home Missions, will feature lay pastoral leaders from three home mission dioceses, the President of the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC) in San Antonio, as well as Extension and FADICA leadership. Existing research shows that despite the surge in Hispanic populations in Catholic dioceses across the country, resources for pastoral outreach and leadership remain scarce, acutely so, in the nation’s 86 home mission dioceses. These church territories historically have lacked sufficient numbers of priests and religious and, in many cases, even the means to build churches. In an address to Catholic philanthropic leaders one year ago, Father Jack Wall, President of Extension, said, “The growth in the Latino population in the home mission dioceses requires a corresponding welcoming presence on the part of the church.” Father Wall told foundation leaders that to bring this about, there must be enlistment and preparation of more lay leaders in these home mission dioceses that presently have few personnel resources. Extension, he said, was launching an ambitious, $15 million program, to train and link together 100 new pastoral leaders across the country solely focused on providing a warm and welcoming presence for faith communities in home mission territories with growing Hispanic presence. A central and