Ken Johnson-Mondragón will join the Conference as the first-ever Director of Pastoral Engagement, a position unique to California’s Catholic Conference.
This week, the California Catholic Conference (CCC) announced that Ken Johnson-Mondragón will join the Conference as the first-ever Director of Pastoral Engagement, a position unique to California’s Catholic Conference.
Beginning in February 2022, Johnson-Mondragón will be working on the Catholic Bishops’ desire to bridge legislative priorities and pastoral ministries of the Catholic Church in California. His work will focus on researching, analyzing, and expanding the ministry of Catholic social teaching in California by increasing awareness and engagement of the state’s roughly 11 million Catholics.
“The Bishops of California believe strongly that the CCC legislative priorities and pastoral engagement should work cohesively,” said CCC Executive Director Kathleen Domingo. “Ken joins our team at an exciting time as we increase our work on environmental justice, invite new people into conversations about human dignity, and focus on supporting all families to thrive in our state.”
Johnson-Mondragón’s extensive experience seizing opportunities that support faith formation include a gift for creating curriculum and a deep understanding of the needs and challenges of Catholics in California parishes. His most recent work with the USCCB included supporting and implementing V Encuentro. It resulted in the concluding bilingual document “Proceedings and Conclusions of the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry.”
Johnson-Mondragón has also served as the Director of Latino Research and Development at RCL Benziger and as the Director of the National Research and Resource Center for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry at Instituto Fey y Vida.
“For the better part of the last 25 years, I have dedicated myself to equipping pastoral leaders in the Church to accompany and minister to Hispanic/Latino Catholics, first in California and then throughout the country,” said Johnson-Mondragón. “I am excited for this opportunity to build on what I have learned to offer practical guidance throughout the dioceses of California to strengthen the connection between pastoral care and Catholic social teaching.”
Johnson-Mondragón is the 2015 recipient of the Catholic Press Award for Best Review for “Book Review Symposium – Young Catholic America: Emerging Adults In, Out of, and Gone from the Church” by Christian Smith, Kyle Longest, Jonathan Hill, and Kari Christoffersen, and was awarded the 2008 National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana Leadership Award. In his free time, he enjoys cycling along the American River Parkway and spending time with his three children.”
The California Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in California. Governed by the California Catholic Conference of Bishops, it advocates with policymakers and the public to advance the Catholic vision of human life and dignity, the good society, and concern for the poor and vulnerable. It educates and empowers Catholics to put their faith into action consistent with Catholic teaching.
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