Seminario San Pedro y San Pablo (Saint Peter and Saint Paul Seminary) in Bayamón—16 kilometers west of San Juan, Puerto Rico—is seeking accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS). Bishop Rafael Morales Maldonado of Puerto Rico said a visit from ATS officials is expected soon, but he did not have a more specific date.
The organization accredits and supports more than 270 graduate theological schools in North America.
Morales, a member of the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council, spoke to The Living Church through an interpreter in North Carolina after the council’s last session in October. He described the diocese’s efforts to give the seminary “a new dimension.”
“Through the efforts we’ve been making in the past eight years, we wanted to give our clergy a new opportunity,” he said. This includes training clergy, including vocational deacons, in Hispanic-majority parts of Province II, such as the Diocese of Cuba, as well as clergy “interested in doing Hispanic ministries in the United States.”
The seminary, which traces its roots to the 1930s, currently has 36 students. It offers a Master of Arts in Theological studies, a certificate for the diaconate, and an Anglican studies certificate. The latter is intended for those who are not part of the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion, Morales said.
In 2024, the seminary’s leadership achieved one of its primary goals: accreditation as a postsecondary institution by the government of Puerto Rico. “We have a certificate in theological studies for those who want to be priests and have not finished college,” Morales said.
The seminary also maintains agreements with other Latin American dioceses. The Center for Theological Studies in Cuba is affiliated with Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Discussions continue about training clergy for the Dioceses of Litoral Ecuador and Colombia.
“We have seen that there is a lot of interest in studying through a blended learning model, where there can be some in-person time and some distance learning,” Morales said. He added that the seminary’s offerings come from a fully Latino context.
Morales, who was elected in June as the Episcopal Church’s clergy representative to the Anglican Consultative Council, also serves as bishop adviser to the Diocese of the Virgin Islands. He said Latino leaders can help U.S. churches discern how best to support Latino Episcopalians amid current immigration challenges.
“I believe in making known the value that Latinos have and the contributions we make to the church and to the United States,” he said.
A 2023 Pew study revealed that only 3 percent of Episcopalians identified as Latino, making the demographic an important focus and potential source of growth. According to the most recent Parochial Report released by the General Convention Office, 673 worship services held across the church in a given week are celebrated in Spanish.
The Diocese of Los Angeles, which has a large Latino population, recently elected the Rev. Dr. Antonio Gallardo as its first Latino bishop.
Caleb Maglaya Galaraga is The Living Church’s Episcopal Church reporter. His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Broadview Magazine, and Presbyterian Outlook, among other publications.
