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Born in the South Bronx in 1972, Juan was raised Roman Catholic. He earned his Bachelor's in peace studies at Manhattan College, then as a young adult was received into the Episcopal Church. In 1999, he graduated with a Master's in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. For a little over a decade, he worked as a clinical social worker, mostly in hospital and secondary school settings in New York and Michigan. Juan then offered himself for the ordained ministry. After education and formation at both the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary, he was ordained a priest in 2014 in the Diocese of Michigan. While at Bexley Hall, he married his husband Joseph H. Cloutier.
Within the Diocese of Michigan, Juan was especially known for evangelism within the Hispanic/Latino community. After his first parish ministry as an assisting priest, Bishop Wendell Gibbs of Michigan and All Saints' in Pontiac invited Juan to create a space there for Hispanic/Latino people to engage and develop their faith. Juan then became the diocese's Curate Missioner for Hispanic Ministry, co-leading a new mission church in Southwest Detroit, Santa Teresa y San Juan, and serving as a resource for the entire Diocese of Michigan regarding Hispanic/Latino ministry.
In 2017, Juan came to our diocese to serve as the Priest-in-Charge of three congregations in the Harlem Valley. Fairly soon after Juan's arrival, one of these congregation made the faithful decision to close, yet the other two, Holy Trinity and La MESA, found new vision and energy, under Juan's leadership, for a multicultural and multilingual life and ministry together. Juan also brought his gifts to wider diocese. This past fall, for example, he served as an advisor to our Cathedral in the creation of beautiful Day of the Dead altars for All Souls' Day.
In the past few years, Juan was openly and gratefully living a life of sobriety, and I am proud of his commitment to his ministry and his God especially through times of personal struggle. May God now make his gratitude and joy complete.
Please remember our brother Juan in your prayers and at your altars, and pray for God's comforting presence with Joe and their wider family; the Rev. Deacon Ann Conti and the people of Holy Trinity and La MESA; and the many in our diocese for whom Juan's memory will be a blessing.
With every good wish, I remain
Yours,
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