Program Overview

The 2026 Catholic Social Teaching Continued Formation Program provided CST graduates and Hispanic/Latino ministry leaders with opportunities to deepen their formation while gaining practical skills across key areas of ministry. Participants engaged resources and learning opportunities provided by national Catholic organizations, strengthening their leadership capacity and expanding their impact within their communities.

The program also provided advanced training in advocacy, equipping CST graduates to live out their faith in concrete and transformative ways. Participants were encouraged and prepared to take part in the 2027 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering (CSMG), where they can continue putting their formation and advocacy skills into action alongside leaders from across the country.

The 2026 live sessions have concluded.

Make-Up & Certificate Completion: Participants in the 2026 CST program who need to complete missed sessions may submit a make-up request. Participants from the 2023–2025 CST programs who have not yet completed their certificate requirements may also request an opportunity to complete their remaining work.

https://ncaddhm-usa.org/cst_formation_makeup/

After registering, participants will complete their assigned work through the NCADDHM Formation online classroom. Submitted work will be reviewed and evaluated by an instructor.

Returning participants: Go to My Dashboard to access your online classroom and available resources.

Interested in continuing your formation? Explore CST 2027.

 

2026 Final Session

September 15: Advocacy Training 201 – Understanding the Legislative Process

Led by: Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Instructor(s): Ingrid Delgado
  • Navigate legislative processes at local, state, and federal levels
  • Identify elected officials and analyze district-level data
  • Prepare participants for sustained civic engagement

September 15, 2026
1:00–3:00 p.m. ET | 12:00–2:00 p.m. CT | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. MT | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PT

  • Ingrid Delgado
    St. Vincent de Paul,
    National Director of Public Policy and Advocacy
    Advocacy Training 201 – Understanding the Legislative Process About Ingrid…

Past Sessions

August 13: Advocacy Training 101 – The Ethics of Catholic Advocacy

Led by: Catholic Relief Services
Instructor(s): William Becerra
  • Articulate advocacy as a Catholic moral responsibility
  • Distinguish ethical Catholic advocacy from partisan approaches
  • Ground public engagement in CST and Gospel values

August 13, 2026
1:00–3:00 p.m. ET | 12:00–2:00 p.m. CT | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. MT | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PT

  • William Becerra, DMin

    Catholic Relief Services
    Advocacy Training 101 – The Ethics of Catholic Advocacy
    LinkedIn

July 9: Storytelling 101

Led by: Coalition for Spirituality and Public Leadership
Instructor(s): Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz
  • Understand storytelling as a tool for advocacy and leadership
  • Learn how personal narratives shape policy and pastoral outcomes
  • Integrate CST, lived experience, and public witness

July 9, 2026
1:00–3:00 p.m. ET | 12:00–2:00 p.m. CT | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. MT | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PT

  • Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz

    Executive Director 
    Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) 
    July 9: Storytelling 101

    Biography

  • Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez

    Director of Training and Formation
    Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) 
    July 9: Storytelling 101

    Biography

June 18: Parish Social Ministry Webinar

Led by: Catholic Charities USA
Instructor(s): David Werning
  • Identify essential components of parish social ministry
  • Conduct parish needs assessments rooted in CST
  • Integrate charity, justice, and advocacy

June 18, 2026
1:00–3:00 p.m. ET | 12:00–2:00 p.m. CT | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. MT | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PT

  • David Werning

    Senior Director, Catholic Identity
    Catholic Charities USA
    June 18: Parish Social Ministry Webinar

    Catholic Charities Stories by David Werning

  • Scott Hurd

    VP, Leadership Development & Catholic Identity
    Catholic Charities USA
    June 18: Parish Social Ministry Webinar

     

  • Deacon Frank Daggett

    Director of Parish Social Ministry
    Catholic Charities, Maine
    June 18: Parish Social Ministry Webinar

  • Dulce Valdez

    Parish & Community Engagement Director
    Catholic Charities Phoenix
    June 18: Parish Social Ministry Webinar

May 28: Environmental Justice Training

Led by: Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Instructor(s): Leonel Yoque

Reflect on Laudato Si’, ecological conversion, and care for our common home through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.

  • Care for creation as integral to CST
  • Environmental justice and pastoral ministry
  • Bilingual formation and community engagement

May 28, 2026
1:00–3:00 p.m. ET | 12:00–2:00 p.m. CT | 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. MT | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. PT

  • Deacon Leonel Yoque

    Maryknoll Team Leader, Hispanic Ministry
    Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
    May 28: Environmental Justice Training

  • Walter F. Mena
    Team Leader
    Catholic Climate Convenant
    May 28: Environmental Justice Training

    Biography

  • Chloe Noel

    Team Leader
    USCCB, Environmental Outreach & Policy Advisor
    May 28: Environmental Justice Training

  • Fernanda Balderrama

    Team Leader
    Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
    May 28: Environmental Justice Training

  • Rafael Quevedo
    Team Leader
    Fe y Vida
    May 28: Environmental Justice Training

April 23: Community Organizing 101

Led by: Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Instructor(s): Alexandra Carroll
  • Ground community organizing in Catholic tradition and CST
  • Apply the See–Judge–Act methodology
  • Strengthen diocesan participation through local CCHD structures

March 3: Animating CST through Death Penalty Abolition and Engaging Restorative Practices

Led by: Catholic Mobilizing Network
Instructor(s): Caitlin Morneau

Participants explored how Catholic Social Teaching inspires responses to crime and violence through human dignity, healing, restorative justice, and systemic transformation.

  • Criminal justice, the death penalty, and incarceration in the U.S.
  • Restorative justice and Catholic Social Teaching
  • Opportunities for restorative responses in local communities
  • Caitlin Morneau, M.A.

    Director of Restorative Justice
    Catholic Mobilizing Network

    March 3: Animating CST through Death Penalty Abolition
    and Engaging Restorative Practices

    Biography

  • María Cristina Hernández

    Consultant

    March 3: Animating CST through Death Penalty Abolition
    and Engaging Restorative Practices

    Biography

  • Stephan Rochefort, MDiv.

    Young Adult Engagement Associate
    Catholic Mobilizing Network

    March 3: Animating CST through Death Penalty Abolition
    and Engaging Restorative Practices

    Biography

Alexandra Carroll, M.T.S.

Alexandra Carroll is the Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), overseeing national grants, partnerships, and educational campaigns promoting solidarity with communities experiencing poverty. She was a core member of the U.S. Synod team for the 2021–2024 Synod on Synodality, contributing to key documents and serving on the General Secretariat of the Synod’s communications team for the 2023 and 2024 Synod Assemblies in Rome. She holds a Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Boston College, specializing in Theological Ethics and Human Rights, where she also served as a lay chaplain with the Catholic prison ministry program.

Biography