Author: patti

Patti helps Catholic ministries from behind the scenes with Catholic translation services, sharing best practices and practical resources through the Gente Puente Podcast and Gente Puente Facebook group as well as hosting a virtual gathering space for ministers called the Gente Puente Café. Patti is originally from Maine and has lived in the mid-west since she was 13, except for a year she spent serving as a volunteer in Ecuador. She became fluent in Spanish in Ecuador and then moved back to Owensboro, Kentucky. After 3 years as Diocesan Director for Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Owensboro, she ministered in a small, rural Catholic parish for 11 years where about 75% of parishioners are first and second generation immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala. Patti's husband, Deacon Chris Gutiérrez, was born in Los Angeles and raised in Jalisco, Mexico. He is in full-time ministry as the Diocesan Director of Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Owensboro and was ordained a permanent deacon in September 2017. They have two boys, Gabriel who was born in September 2009 and Isaac who was born in June 2013 and a little girl Isabel born in April 2016. Six of their children are waiting for them in heaven after miscarriages: Rosario, Teresa, Elías, Claire, Damien & Juan Diego. After transitioning out of direct ministry while their kids are young, Patti started a business called Patti's Catholic Corner. She has loved using her experience and the gifts God has given her to serve as a guide for other Catholic ministers who want to lead great ministry with and for Hispanic/Latino Catholics. May God use it all for his glory!