El Paso priest earns Lumen Christi Award for 50 years of helping community

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- An El Paso priest received the Lumen Christi award, the highest honor bestowed by the Catholic Extension Society to those deeply involved in serving their communities.

Monsignor Arturo Bañuelas earned recognition for the work he did with the Tepeyac Institute. He was selected among eight finalists. Lumen Christi is Latin for "Light of Christ."

In his 50 years in the priesthood, he helped educate and lead more than 80,000 lay leaders through the institute. He founded the ministry in 1988.

"The Tepeyac Institute is a lay ministry formation center, one of the biggest in the country, that's English and Spanish," Bañuelas said. "Tepeyac Institute is going to offer scholarships for people to be able to participate in our programs."

He also co-founded the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. in 1989 to promote research and theological reflections. He's also the founding chair of the Hope and Border Institute, where he worked to promote dignity, justice and pastoral care across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Msgr. Bañuelas said he believes the light of the nations and calls on all members of the church to transform the world by helping the less fortunate.

As part of the award, he received $100,000. Msgr. Bañuelas said the money will be split between his ministry and the Diocese of El Paso.

He received the award in the presence of Bishop Mark Seitz and hundreds of parishioners and friends at St. Mark Catholic Church on Wednesday.

"There's never been a day I didn't want to be a priest. I'm going to keep doing it until the Lord says, 'Come home,’" Msgr. Bañuelas said in a statement.

As a pastor, Msgr. Bañuelas served at St. Pius X Parish from 1988-2014 and St. Mark Parish from 2015 until his retirement in 2022. He continues to assist with Mass at around 10 parishes throughout the Diocese at El Paso while teaching at the Tepeyac ministry.