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About Us

Our Roots

The Diocesan Office for Family Life and Spirituality was established in July 2017, one of the first fruits of the diocesan Family Life Synod, which concluded in October 2016. In his document, “Embracing the Joy of Love,” Bishop McElroy had called for a diocesan synod whose goal was to “provide a moment of profound renewal and growth in our ecclesial support of families in San Diego and Imperial Counties. It will also provide leadership in transforming our families ever more fully into authentic schools of the Gospel and be a genuine reflection of mercy and compassion of God.

Synod on the Family: Embracing the Joy of Love

The goal of the synod is to “provide a moment of profound renewal and growth in our ecclesial support of families in San Diego and Imperial Counties. It will also provide leadership in transforming our families ever more fully into authentic schools of the Gospel and be a genuine reflection of mercy and compassion of God in this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

The Family Synod at a Glance

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Challenges of the Family Synod

  1. To witness to both the beauty and the realism of the Catholic vision of marriage and family life.

  2. To form a culture of invitation and hospitality to unmarried couples.

  3. To welcome, nurture, and form children.

  4. To provide authentic pastoral support for those who are divorced.

  5. To bring depth to family life.

 

The responsibility of implementing the proposals of the Synod on the Family falls on each and every one of us as members of domestic church families and members of God’s family, the Church. We are called to grow as disciples and grow disciples within the context of family, both within the institutional church and the domestic church. Our office exists to serve and support the wider diocese in this mission of forming families for missionary discipleship through the efforts of parishes, individual domestic churches, and Catholic schools.

Proposals of the Family Synod

1. To create parish environments that nurture and celebrate marriage.

IN PROCESS

2. To build cultures of marriage and family missionary discipleship at the parish and deanery levels by developing pathways of mentorship
and support.

IN PROCESS

3. To make education in faith for all ages more effective as the foundation for sacramental marriage, strengthening our efforts in the areas of remote and proximate marriage preparation.

IN PROCESS

4. To establish marriage ministry leaders at the parish level to welcome and accompany engaged and newly-married couples into full participation of church life. 

IN PROCESS

5. To form a diocesan task force to establish best practices on support for couples preparing for marriage.

Complete

a. The task force recommended Witness to Love as a resource to build the parish-based marriage catechumenate.

IN PROCESS

b. The task force recommended FOCCUS as the normative pre-marriage inventory of the diocese.

Complete

6. To foster a culture of inclusion for couples in all stages of their relationship; providing pathways of formation and ongoing support for engaged couples (marriage preparation), newly married couples (ongoing marriage formation), seasoned couples (marriage enrichment), and struggling couples (marriage renovation).

IN PROCESS

7. To create experiences and resources that educate and evangelize children and their families through the domestic church.

IN PROCESS

8. To create experiences and resources that educate and evangelize children and their families through the domestic church.

IN PROCESS

9. To identify and minister to families who are alone, isolated, or on the margins of our parish communities.

IN PROCESS

10. To create cultures of support for those in all stages of divorce
and separation.

IN PROCESS

11. To reconfigure the Office for Family Life & Spirituality to include a coordinator focused on all stages of separation and divorce.

Complete

12. To provide formation in the areas of conscience formation and the internal forum in order to facilitate discernment of pathways to full sacramental participation.

IN PROCESS

13. To create a diocesan office for family life and spirituality.

Complete

14. To develop parish cultures of faith that welcome and foster family participation in prayer and liturgy.

IN PROCESS

15. To establish parish and deanery-based centers of support for family spiritual life

IN PROCESS

Contact Information

Staff

  • Director: John Prust
  • Associate Director: Janelle Peregoy
  • Associate Director: Wendy Baez
  • Administrative Assistant: Vivian Toscano

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Catholic Diocese of San Diego

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pulido’s coat of arms is divided into four quarters with wavy horizontal lines from top to bottom. The blue and white lines represent the Blessed Virgin Mary. They also suggest water, which alludes to Jesus washing the feet of His disciples and to the waters of baptism. The red and gold lines represent the Holy Spirit and fire. The colors also can be seen as referring to the Blood that (along with water) poured from Jesus’ side at His crucifixion, as well as to the bread (gold) and wine (red) transformed into the Eucharist. At the center is a roundel featuring a symbolic representation of the “mandatum” (washing of the feet), which he believes exemplifies service to all humanity. The roundel’s outer edge is a line composed of small humps; it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Yakima, where Bishop Pulido served as a priest before being named a bishop.

About the Coat of Arms

Bishop Pham’s coat of arms depicts a red boat on a blue ocean, which is crisscrossed by diagonal lines suggesting a fisherman’s net. This symbolizes his ministry as a “fisher of men,” as well as how his own father had been a fisherman. The boat is also a symbol of the Church, which is often referred to as the “barque of Peter.” At the center of the sail is a red beehive (a symbol of the bishop’s baptismal patron saint, St. John Chrysostom, who was known as a “honey-tongued” preacher). The beehive is surrounded by two green palm branches (an ancient symbol of martyrdom; the bishop’s ancestors were among Vietnam’s first martyrs). The eight red tongues of fire around the boat are a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a representation of the diversity of ethnic and cultural communities. The red of the boat, the beehive and the tongues of fire allude to the blood of the martyrs.

About the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms combines symbols that reflect Bishop Bejarano’s spiritual life and priestly ministry. The main part of the shield shows four wavy vertical lines on a gold background. These represent flowing waters. This alludes to his chosen motto and also symbolizes the graces that come from the Divine life to quench our thirst for God. The upper third of the shield is red because it is borrowed from the coat of arms of the Order of Mercy, of which the Bishop’s patron saint, Raymond Nonnatus, was a member. The central symbol resembles a monstrance because St. Raymond is often depicted holding one. The Eucharist is Bishop Bejarano’s inspiration for his vocation. It was through the Eucharist that he received his call to the priesthood at age seven and which keeps his faith and his ministry going. It represents the call to offer oneself as a living sacrifice. The monstrance is flanked on either side by an image of the Sacred Heart, alluding to the mercy of God and echoing the idea of a sacrificial offering of oneself united to the sacrifice of Christ, and of a rose for Our Lady. It is an allusion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and highlights the bishop’s Hispanic heritage.

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