This August, Dr. Francisco H. Castillo, D.Min, designed and facilitated a two-day leadership retreat for Spanish-speaking RCIA (RICA/OCIA) catechetical leaders in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. Held at St. Mary’s in Richmond and Holy Trinity in Norfolk, the retreat brought together ministry leaders for prayer, formation, reflection, and practical preparation for accompanying adults on their journey of faith.

Titled Los santos: maestros que nos enseñan a acompañar el camino de la fe (The Saints: Guides Who Teach Us to Accompany in the Journey of Faith), the retreat invited catechists to look to the lives of the saints as models for pastoral accompaniment. Across three talks, Dr. Castillo explored the witness of St. Juan Diego, St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, and St. Óscar Romero, highlighting how each saint offers a distinctive example of accompanying others in faith.

The retreat emphasized three dimensions of pastoral leadership: humble availability, a willingness to seek out those on the margins, and the commitment to walk alongside people amid the concrete realities of their lives.

For Dr. Castillo, the retreat was designed to be more than a time of spiritual renewal. He intentionally created a resource that catechetical leaders could take back to their own communities and adapt for use in parish ministry: “Beyond the spiritual content, I built the retreat as a ‘replicable kit,’ giving catechists a ready-made model, complete with Scripture readings, small-group activities, and pastoral case studies, that they could bring back to their own parishes to guide catechumens through a parallel experience during Advent or Lent.”

By offering time for personal reflection and opportuntieis for theological and spiritual insight along with but concrete tools for ministry, the retreat presents a model of leadership that supports and empowers catechists. Through his design of the retreat, Dr. Castillo demonstrated the integration of academic formation, pastoral experience, and a commitment to serving the Church. His work with the Diocese of Richmond offers a tangible example of how faculty contribute to the formation of ministry leaders and, through them, reach the individuals and families they accompany on their journeys of faith.

As Dr. Castillo’s retreat title suggests, the saints can serve as teachers not only of what it means to believe, but also of what it means to accompany others. By placing that wisdom into the hands of catechetical leaders, the retreat offered the Diocese of Richmond a resource designed to continue bearing fruit long after the two-day gathering concluded.

Francisco H. Castillo, D.Min., is the Joe and Kelly George Visiting Professor of Pastoral Studies  at LIM.