Carlos Obando joined the full-time staff of LIS as an Associate Director in the summer of 2014, responsible for overseeing all our Spanish-language programs.  A native of Costa Rica, Carlos immigrated to the United States in 1966 and has been here ever since. He became a United States citizen in 1995. He is married to his lovely wife, Marjorie, and together they have three grown children and three grandchildren.

 

Before joining Loyola Institute for Spirituality, Carlos was in the insurance business for 43 years. He has worked extensively with the Hispanic community in Southern California since 1979. His ministry has taken him to several parts of the United States, teaching and giving retreats, and he is especially active in teaching pastoral leadership and giving spiritual direction in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Orange. Since 2002 he has also been part of the Formation Team with the Charismatic Commission in the Diocese of Orange.

 

Carlos currently also teaches in the Institute for Pastoral Ministry of the Diocese of Orange, and the Center for Religion and Spirituality of Loyola Marymount University. Carlos enjoys classic Hollywood cinema of the 1930's and 40's.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Jeanne grew up on Block Island, RI, and Eureka, CA. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange in 1957.  Her first ministry was teaching first grade for eight years in California.  She earned a BA in Spanish and also ministered to the parents of her Spanish-speaking students on weekends.

 

In 1967 Jeanne volunteered to go to Papua New Guinea. She was first sent to teach in Sydney, Australia, for one year, and then moved on to PNG, where she served until 1991. She taught primary school, opened a girls’ vocational center, did adult catechesis in villages, taught Natural Family Planning to parents, and worked on the Buka Pastoral Team training lay leaders in the Church. In the 1980’s, Jeanne was involved in the on-going formation of two Bougainvillian religious congregations. In 1986, she spent a year at the Center for Religious Development in Cambridge, MA, to develop her skills as a spiritual director. Her final years in the Diocese of Bougainville were spent in full-time retreat work, spiritual direction, and training national spiritual directors.

 

Jeanne returned to the USA in 1991 and joined the staff at the Center for Spiritual Development in Orange. There she worked as a spiritual director, giving directed retreats, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Bio-Spiritual Focusing, and training spiritual directors. In 1995, Jeanne took a year to earn a Masters in Spirituality at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Returning to Orange, she continued her team ministry in spirituality until 2002 when she began serving as Novice Director for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. After six years, Jeanne returned to the ministry of spiritual direction, supervision of spiritual directors, and teaching in the Art of Spiritual Direction program. One of her delights is to teach Journaling to the Lay Mission Helpers in Los Angeles before they are sent to their missionary posts in Africa.  Jeanne also enjoys teaching BioSpiritual Focusing as a healing process woven into her ministry of spiritual direction.