The annual award, established in 1978, is the Chicago-based organization\u2019s highest honor, \u201cgiven to those who radiate and reveal the light of Christ in the communities they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Msgr. Arturo Ba\u00f1uelas has dedicated himself to empowering laypeople to take an active role in the life of the Church, Catholic Extension said in a Sept. 28 news release announcing the award.<\/p>\n
That commitment is reflected in his founding of the Tepeyac Institute<\/a>, a lay ministry formation center that has strengthened the Church across the El Paso Diocese.\u00a0<\/p>\n Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas was chosen from eight finalists<\/a> for the award announced in August. The finalists were selected from 46 nominees<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bishops nominate an individual, group or institution<\/p>\n Each year, bishops are asked to nominate one individual, group or institution from their diocese for the award. Collectively, their stories of spiritual care, compassionate service, and compelling self-sacrifice for others showcase the mission of the U.S. Church, Catholic Extension said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great honor to have received the Lumen Christi Award,\u201d Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas said in a statement. \u201cFor me, this award highlights the incredible blessings that Tepeyac has been to the community. It is an affirmation \u2014 a blessing from God, the Blessed Mother and San Juan Diego, that the Lord has blessed this diocese with incredible men and women who have dedicated their lives to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cWe regard Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas as one of the most exceptional priests in the United States whose vision is rooted in the Second Vatican Council\u2019s powerful invitation in \u2018Lumen Gentium<\/a>,\u2019 in which all members of the Church are called to the mission of transforming the world,\u201d Father Jack Wall, president of Catholic Extension Society, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been our honor to partner with him for decades to help the Diocese of El Paso become a more vibrant and transformative faith community,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Award ceremony planned for Nov. 3<\/p>\n At an award ceremony planned for Nov. 3, Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas will receive $100,000, which will be split to support his ongoing ministry and the Diocese of El Paso. Award finalists will receive $15,000 each.<\/p>\n Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas grew up in Pecos, Texas, where his parents were heavily involved at Santa Rosa de Lima Parish. He and his seven siblings grew up in a house right next door to the church.<\/p>\n He entered Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, where Catholic Extension Society supported his seminarian education. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of El Paso June 11, 1976.<\/p>\n As a young priest, he went to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome where he earned a licentiate in sacred theology in 1986 and a doctorate in fundamental theology in 1988.\u00a0<\/p>\n Remains grounded \u2018being with and serving the poor\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cHis vocation to priesthood went through various stages, but what remained constant was his love for and solidarity with the poor,\u201d Catholic Extension said in its news release. \u201cMsgr. Ba\u00f1uelas has always felt that being with and serving the poor allowed him to remain grounded as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n Following a discernment retreat in 1988 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where, he has said, he received inspiration<\/a> from the Blessed Mother, he returned to the Diocese of El Paso and established the Tepeyac Institute.<\/p>\n \u00a0Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas also co-founded the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States in 1989 to promote research and theological reflections rooted in the faith experiences of Hispanic communities.<\/p>\n He also is the founding chair of the Hope Bo<\/a>r<\/a>der Institute<\/a>, created in 2015, where he has worked to promote dignity, justice and pastoral care across the U.S.-Mexico border region.<\/p>\n Legions of laypeople spearheading various ministries<\/p>\n As a pastor, Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas served in El Paso at St. Pius X Parish from 1988 to 2014 and later at St. Mark Parish from 2015 until 2022. Both grew into large parishes with legions of laypeople spearheading various ministries not only within the walls of the church but bringing faith and compassion to those outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite his retirement in 2022, he continues to assist with Mass at roughly 10 parishes throughout the Diocese of El Paso and continues teaching through the Tepeyac Institute.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s never been a day I didn\u2019t want to be a priest. I\u2019m going to keep doing it until the Lord says, \u2018Come home,’\u201d Msgr. Ba\u00f1uelas said.<\/p>\n The mission of Catholic Extension Society, founded in 1905, is to build up the Catholic faith communities in underserved regions of the U.S., including offshore U.S. territories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"28 CHICAGO (OSV News) \u2014\u00a0An El Paso, Texas, priest who has helped form approximately 80,000 lay leaders throughout…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-452293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/20260930T0600-EXTENSION-LUMEN-CHRISTI-WINNER-BANUELAS-1827471-1024x682.jpg\")
Msgr. Arturo J. Ba\u00f1uelas, a retired priest of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, is pictured in a 2017 photo. On Sept. 28, 2026, he was named the recipient of Catholic Extension Society\u2019s 2026-2027 Lumen Christi Award. (OSV News photo\/Rich Kalonick, Catholic Extension Society)<\/p>\n