Fr. Allan Deck, S.J. Biography
Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck, SJ
Fr. Deck is currently Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of Theological Studies and an Associate of LMU’s Center for Religion and Spirituality (CRS). He earned doctorates in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Saint Louis University and in Theology at the Gregorian University. He has served in academic and administrative positions at LMU as holder of the Casassa Chair of Social Values and Associate Professor of Theological Studies. In the early years of priesthood Father Allan was the administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (Delhi) in Santa Ana, CA and founding director of the Hispanic Ministry Office for the Diocese of Orange. Later he served as Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Jesuit School of Theology (JST) of Santa Clara University. In 1988 he founded the Instituto Hispano at JST. That same year he co-founded and served as first president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). In 1990 he co-founded and was first president of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry (NCCHM). 1997 he served as founder and first director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, CA. From 2008-2012 he was founding director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, DC.
Father Deck is a member of the Board of Directors of Mt. Saint Mary’s University and of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality. He is the author or editor of 10 books on Hispanic ministry, faith and culture, Catholic Social Doctrine and Spirituality. He has written more than 70 chapters in books as well as articles and reviews in popular and academic publications.
Email: Allan.Deck@lmu.edu Phone: (310) 338-7445 (residence)
Programs
Father Deck offers workshops in English and Spanish on pastoral ministry, Ignatian spirituality, catechesis, and faith and culture at the LMU Center for Religion and Spirituality. In recent years he has served as spiritual director/chaplain for LMU spiritual immersion programs and pilgrimages. He serves as a reader for capstone projects and master’s theses as well as on the Latino Theology and Ministry Initiative of the Department of Theological Studies. He collaborates with the Loyola Institute of Spirituality (LIS) in Orange, CA in giving retreats and days of recollection and workshops on Ignatian spirituality.
Education
S.T.D. Pontifical Gregorian University, Missiology
Ph.D. Saint Louis University, Spanish and Latin American Studies
Ph.D. Saint Louis University, Spanish and Latin American Studies
S.T.L. Pontifical Gregorian University, Theology
M.Div. Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, Ministry
B.A. Saint Louis University, Philosophy and Classics
Recent Publications
Spirituality of Communion: A Synodal Encounter with Jesus, Paulist Press 2026.
365 Dias con los Santos, Loyola Press, 2021.
Francis, Bishop of Rome: The Gospel for the Third Millennium, Paulist Press, 2016
La Justicia Brota de la Fe, Vols. 1 & 2, Renew International, 2014
Awards
O’Grady Award of Catholic Charities USA for best article on Catholic Social Doctrine (1978) for “A Catholic Perspective on Illegal Immigration.”
Catholic Press Association Award for best article on ministry for The Second Wave: Hispanic Ministry and the Evangelization of Cultures (1989)
Virgilio Elizondo Award of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) (1992) Aggiornamento Award of the Catholic Library Association (2009) Aggiornamento Award of the Catholic Library Association (2009)
Current Research
The Legacy of Pope Francis
Synodality as spirituality
Latino spirituality
Ignatian spirituality
Biography of U.S. Catholic leader