(Photo by Jeff Carrion/DePaul University)Leadership at the Congregation of the Mission Western Province and DePaul University are pleased to announce that Fr. Guillermo Campuzano, C.M. (commonly known as “Fr. Memo”), has been named chief mission integration officer for the Congregation of the Mission Western Province. In assuming this position, which has been vacant, he will transition out of his current role as vice president for Mission and Ministry at DePaul University in Chicago, where he has served four years.
“This new responsibility, we feel, is uniquely suited to Fr. Memo’s talents and experience, in that it calls for someone who can both lead a multi-faceted and international approach to mission integration for the entire province as well as someone who possesses a genuine fire for the Vincentian charism,” said Fr. Patrick McDevitt, C.M., Provincial Superior for the Western Province. “This position will provide leadership, direction, and focus for the Western Province’s efforts in keeping with our current Apostolic Planning process.”
At this role with the Western Province, Fr. Memo will help create new levels of cooperation and initiatives between the Province and DePaul, enhancing the Catholic and Vincentian presence at the university.
While DePaul searches for a permanent replacement for the vice president for Mission and Ministry, Mark Laboe, who currently serves as associate vice president for faculty and staff engagement in that office, will hold the position on an interim basis.
“I am genuinely excited for the tremendous opportunities this new arrangement brings forth,” Fr. McDevitt said, “both for building our mission integration efforts and for enhancing our collaboration with DePaul University, which remains an important part of the Vincentian family.”
For five years prior to his time at DePaul University, Fr. Campuzano, a native of Colombia, was at the UN as the international representative of the Congregation of the Mission. He has worked in a variety of roles in his 30 years of ministry, mostly in priestly, laity, and religious life formation and higher education. He has been a member of the Western Province since 2007 after working for five years in Aparecida, Brazil.
“Fr. Memo has been a trusted leader at the university, and I am excited to see him serve the Western Province in this capacity,” DePaul President Robert L. Manuel said. “I am equally excited to know that he will be instrumental in helping DePaul build on our commitment to the Vincentian charism through this position.”