St. Kevin Catholic Church 

Parish Administration

Fr. Miguel Ruiz, SVD

Pastor

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Fr. Miguel Ruiz, SVD was appointed by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone as the 11th Pastor of St. Kevin Church effective July 1, 2021.

 

Fr. Miguel Ruiz, SVD was born in Mendoza, Argentina in 1969. He studied Philosophy at the Society of the Divine Word Seminary in Argentina, and was sent to Montreal, Canada for his Theologate studies. Fr. Miguel was ordained on October 14, 1995. His first assignment was as Secretary of Missions for the Argentina Province of the Divine Word Missionaries.

 

In 2001, Fr. Miguel arrived in the United States to work with the Hispanic Community in Memphis, Tennessee. After four years there, he was transferred to the Western Province of the Society of the Divine Word, where he worked in Los Angeles, and then, in 2005, was appointed Pastor of Queen of Angels Church in Riverside, California. His early objective was to invigorate the faith of the laity and, as part of that quest he founded the lay movement, Lay Missionaries of the Divine Word. During his 11 year Pastorship at Queen of Angels, registered families in the Parish increased from 2,000 to 6,000, and he led the effort to build a new 1,700-seat Church. The new Church was dedicated in 2016.

 

While in Riverside, Fr. Miguel served for a time as the Provincial Treasurer for the Western Province. In 2016, he was invited by the Superior General to come to Rome to work in the General Curia of the Society of the Divine Word. While in Rome, he received an advanced degree in Missionology -- the theological, historical, social and practical work of the missionary dimension of the Catholic Church.

 

Fr. Miguel is a horseman, ran the Los Angeles Marathon, and speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian. His livestream Masses draw an online congregation from around the globe.

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