TOLEDO—Immigration and youth ministry are two key areas of concern for the new associate director for the Office of Hispanic Ministries in the Diocese of Toledo.

Virgilio Guerra, who joined the office in April, brings enthusiasm and a diverse array of experiences to his new position.

He spent six years studying philosophy and theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit as a seminarian for the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Mich., before ending his discernment last December.

"During my years at the seminary, I have fallen in love with the dream of helping the Hispanic communities grow in their love for Jesus and in their commitment with the Catholic faith," says Mr. Guerra.

A native of El Salvador, he moved to the United States in 1994 at the age of 17 to live with his older brother in Hempstead, Long Island, NY.

He became a local parish youth leader and joined the Vincentian Community in 1997. His membership in the community is what took him to Kalamazoo as a missionary to migrant workers in 1999.

As a seminarian, Mr. Guerra started a program for bilingual youth when he was interning at Holy Angels Parish in the Diocese of Kalamazoo.

He intends to continue to make youth ministry a priority, and expresses particular interest in bridging the gap between second-generation Hispanic youth and their non-Hispanic peers. Mr. Guerra says he hopes to encourage Hispanic young people to join existing youth groups in their parishes.

"They know the English. Their Spanish is very limited, so it would be harder to ... offer a program to them just in Spanish," he explains. "They’re not going to feel comfortable with it."

Ministering to the diverse Hispanic community living in the Diocese of Toledo becomes a bigger job by the year as the population continues to grow.

In 2005, approximately 52,000 Latinos resided in the 19 counties of the diocese, representing 3.5 percent of the overall population. By 2006 that number topped 58,000, or 4 percent of the population in the region.

Lucas County claims the largest number of Latino residents — more than 22,000.

For this reason, Mr. Guerra expresses concern that there is only one weekly Spanish Mass offered in the county, at Toledo SS. Peter & Paul. He hopes his office will be able to spearhead more efforts to reach out to the Hispanic community in Toledo and other areas of northwest Ohio.

Doing so will require training more regional leaders to assist Mr. Guerra and Father Juan Francisco Molina, director of Hispanic ministries, in covering such a large territory.

Recently Mr. Guerra and Fr. Molina started a ministry at the Seneca County Jail in Tiffin, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees. They provide a bilingual service twice a month for the detainees and other inmates at the jail.

"It’s been very enriching for us, that ministry, because we get to know them, they get to know us," says Mr. Guerra. "They’re very grateful, the inmates."

The Office of Hispanic Ministries is recruiting bilingual volunteers to assist with this ministry by attending a training program at the end of September.

Another priority for Mr. Guerra is to formulate a plan that will better equip the diocese to respond when government leaders take action on immigration reform.

Mr. Guerra has been in contact with the En Camino office at Fostoria St. Wendelin, which is accredited by the Bureau of Immigration Appeals, but he hopes to eventually provide "something more substantial for the whole diocese."