Oscar Salazar Llatas
Oscar Salazar Llatas was born in Peru, in the village of Panamá, Pimpincos District, Cutervo Province, Cajamarca Department, in 1975. His parents, Mr. Felipe Salazar and Mrs. Virginia Llatas, are the second of six siblings. At the age of seven, his parents moved to the Province of Jaén, Department of Cajamarca. There, he completed part of his primary education at the San Luis Gonzaga Fe y Alegría 22 school and completed his studies at the elementary school in the village of El Paraíso, San José de Lourdes District, San Ignacio Province, Cajamarca Department. He studied the first two years of secondary school at a newly founded school, naturally paid for by his parents, in the village of Nuevo Trujillo, San José de Lourdes District, San Ignacio Province, Cajamarca Department. He subsequently completed his secondary education at the Ramón Castilla y Marquesado School in the province of Jaén, department of Cajamarca, in 1993. He took a two-year break and then traveled to Lima, where he entered the San Camilo de Lellis Seminary of the Camillian Fathers, better known as the Convent of the Good Death. He then studied at the Juan XXIII-ISET Institute of Theological Studies in Lima. There, he studied philosophy for two years but then had to interrupt his studies while he completed his novitiate. After being ordained as a temporary professed priest, with vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, he resumed his theological studies at the same institute for two years. In 2001, with his studies unfinished, he left the seminary and devoted himself to other work in order to support his family.
In November 2004, he traveled to the United States and resided in Brooklyn, New York. Immediately afterward, he joined St. Brigid’s Parish and, in collaboration with other brothers in the faith, founded the United in Christ prayer group, which continues to help many people grow in Catholic spirituality. In November 2014, he married Miss Celia Pesántez, an Ecuadorian national. Their marriage was close and genuine, and above all, they both profess the same Catholic faith and are committed to evangelization. Throughout these two decades (2004-2025), Mr. Salazar dedicated his life to pastoral and theological service in the Catholic faith, actively and committedly contributing to various Spanish-speaking parishes.
During this long period, his vocation and mission have been focused on the spiritual, theological, and pastoral formation of the people of God. He taught Bible classes and lectures on theological topics both in person and virtually through digital platforms, benefiting various parishes and community groups. His work also included outstanding volunteer participation in the “Laicos en Acción” program on Radio María in New York from 2005 to 2016, where he was able to contribute programs and content that strengthen the faith and spirituality of the Spanish-speaking community. In parallel, he received academic and pastoral training at the Pastoral Institute of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, from 2013 to 2016, where he graduated as a pastoral leader specializing in the Ministry of Grief. Through these studies, he acquired the necessary experience to accompany and support people in times of suffering and loss.
He then continued his postgraduate studies in Theology at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral levels at the Graduate Theological Foundation (GTF), with locations in Indiana and Oklahoma (2017-2019). This ongoing academic development enriched his personality and his ministry, and allowed him to offer solid spiritual, pastoral, and theological formation in the various parishes and Catholic formation centers that have required his services.
From 2016 to 2022, he was a professor of Bible and pastoral theology at the Félix Varela Institute, Mount Carmel Parish, Staten Island, New York. In 2021, he created the program “Witnesses to the Power of God” with live broadcasts on Facebook, on his personal page. In 2022, he founded the program “Missionary Disciples,” linked to the Promesa MRC channel, with broadcasts on YouTube, thus consolidating a space for digital evangelization. From that same year (2022) to the present, he has served as Director of the Mount Carmel Pastoral Theological Institute, under the spiritual and pastoral guidance of Father Hernán Paredes, SJ. Additionally, from 2023 to the spring of 2025, he taught Sacred Scripture at the Catholic Bible School of the Archdiocese of New York.
This journey of religious, academic, and pastoral life has shown him the profound crisis of faith, values, and meaning experienced by much of our contemporary society. The absence of God in the hearts of many causes an alarming existential void, which translates into the loss of Christian, ethical, and moral values. As Saint Camillus de Lellis so aptly noted: “There is much to do. I would need a hundred hands.” Although this challenge is immense, and certainly not intended to be completely resolved, However, his missionary commitment is firm and persevering, as he has demonstrated, since he is aware that his calling comes from God, who empowers him and accompanies him daily with his grace, in this noble and praiseworthy mission.