Teacher Receives ‘Emerging Leaders for Justice’ Award

Sacred Heart Preparatory (SHP) campus ministry teacher Teresa Cariño-Petersen has been named a recipient of the Ignatian Solidarity Network 2023 “Moira Erin O’Donnell Emerging Leaders for Justice” award, honoring young adults who have received an undergraduate degree from a U.S. Jesuit university and have demonstrated significant social justice leadership in their communities.

 

In her second year of teaching at SHP in the religious studies department, Cariño-Petersen also leads campus ministry where she coordinates the school’s immersion programs.

 

“I’m most passionate about community building, spirituality, and racial justice,” said Cariño-Petersen. “I bring this into the classroom in the way I set up our class sessions, promote an active community of learners, and through the materials I teach.”

 

Cariño-Petersen’s academic accomplishments include writing and preaching; her work can be found on Ignatian Solidarity Network’s Rise Up series, National Catholic Reporter, and Catholic Women Preach. Some recordings of her preaching can be found through St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco. One of her homilies will be featured in the upcoming publication of Catholic Women Preach: Raising Voices, Renewing the Church: Cycle B from Orbis Books. She also serves on the board of directors for the National Catholic Reporter. 

 

Cariño-Petersen holds a master’s in theological studies from the Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara, where her graduate work culminated in a capstone thesis, “Embodied Spiritual Repair: The Case for Somatic Discernment in the Work of Justice.” In layman’s terms, that’s “a different form of prayer where we use our body to help guide our decisions to move toward justice,” she explained. Since graduating, she has presented her work at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice and for individuals and small groups.

 

With a Catholic education stemming back to high school, Cariño-Petersen certainly feels at home at SHP, where she can apply her passion for Catholic social teaching, justice, and service, and be a role model for students.

 

“I'm finding such joy and excitement working here at SHP,” she said. “There are endless opportunities for me to bring my passion for justice into my professional life here.”