From Staff Reports
For Juan Rendon, DMin., opportunities to share his love of the Catholic faith with others ignites his passion for evangelization and ministry.
Rendon, 44, now looks to share that devotion for his faith through his new role with the Diocese of Dallas. After an extensive search, Bishop Edward J. Burns has appointed Rendon as director of the Catholic Social Ministries for the Diocese of Dallas Office of Ministries. Rendon said his desire to serve the Catholic Church through the social dimension of the Gospel led him to accept the position.
“It is a very particular way of evangelization to the peripheries, that place where the Gospel needs to be heard by those who feel isolated and/or marginalized,” Rendon said.
According to Peter J. Ductrám, senior director of the Ministries Office, Rendon will be responsible for the development, implementation, and assessment of a continuum of social ministries aimed at meeting the goals and objectives of the department as part of the Ministries Office.
“Dr. Rendon brings an extensive experience in ministry and a strong background in theology and Catholic social doctrine,” Ductrám said.
As the director of Catholic Social Ministries, Rendon will oversee numerous ministerial efforts, including Hospital Ministry, Prison Ministry, Disabilities Ministry, Addiction Ministry, Grief Ministry, Mental Health and Suicide Ministry, Respect Life and Human Dignity, Homebound Ministry, Honduras solidarity relationship and foreign and domestic missions
As director of Catholic Social Ministries, Rendon said he seeks to collaborate with the Ministries Office in the implementation of Bishop Burns’ vision and priorities for the Diocese of Dallas.
“It is exciting to work with the bishop for the local Church of Dallas, with a faith-filled pastoral center staff, with all the clergy and God’s people,” he said.
Rendon grew up in Los Cabos and La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico and Houston, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Dallas in Irving, master’s degrees in theology and pastoral ministry from the University of St. Thomas in Houston; and a doctorate in spirituality from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Rendon has spent much of his career working in ministries, including serving as a full-time affiliate instructor at the University of Dallas School of Ministry (now known as the Neuhoff Institute for Ministry and Evangelization), as coordinator of the pastoral dimension of formation at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, and most recently as director of the diaconate formation program for the Diocese of Fort Worth. In addition, Rendon serves as an adjunct professor of theological and pastoral studies for the Mexican American Catholic College in San Antonio. An opportunity that Rendon calls a “true blessing.”
“I am very humbled to teach students who are active in lay ecclesial ministry both as volunteers and in full-time employment in the Church,” he said. “Even though we share a language and the Catholic faith, we enrich each other with different cultural traditions. Their journey of faith and current ministry, in primarily mission dioceses, always reignites my personal commitment to serve in the Church.”
Rendon also teaches at the Center Semillero for Hispanic/Latino Theology at the University of St. Thomas, where he said he has had “a wonderful experience” teaching and sharing the Catholic faith with students.
“The students I teach live in South America, Mexico and the United States,” he said. “I am very blessed to have this opportunity with a wider audience that enriches my journey of faith, call to discipleship and love for the Church.
Rendon and his wife Anna Natera Rendon have five children. They are parishioners of St. Jude Catholic Church in Allen.
