Biography
Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck is a Distinguished Scholar in Pastoral Theology and Latino Studies and holds a dual appointment as Lecturer in the Departments of Theological Studies and Chicano/Latino/a Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He earned doctoral degrees in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and in Latin American Studies from Saint Louis University. Father Deck is the author or editor of nine books and more than 60 chapters in books and journal articles on Pastoral Theology, Latino/a Studies, Catholic Social Teaching, Spirituality and Intercultural Competence. Father Deck’s latest book is Francis, Bishop of Rome: The Gospel for the Third Millennium (Paulist 2016).
In addition to teaching, research and writing, Fr. Deck has served as parish administrator, director of Hispanic ministry, founder and first executive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, California, and co-founder and first president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). He served as first executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. A nationally-recognized speaker Father Deck has received the John XXIII Award of the Catholic Library Association for contributions to church renewal in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the Sadlier Award for contributions to religious education and the Virgilio Elizondo Award of ACHTUS for contributions to the development of a theology of and for Latino/as in the United States.