Caucus celebrates 50 years of dedicated ministry

LOUISVILLE — Last month, the National Hispanic Latino-a Presbyterian Caucus celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the ordination of the Rev. Dr. Blanqui Otaño. She was the first Hispanic-Latina Puerto Rican woman to be ordained to Presbyterian ministry.

According to a letter from the caucus, she was ordained on June 1, 1975, at the Presbyterian Church of Caparra Terrace, where she developed leadership skills while growing up. She was the first Hispanic-Latina woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church in the USA.

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The eldest of five children of Miguel and Dulce, Blanqui was introduced to the Gospel at the United Presbyterian Church in Lares, Puerto Rico, her hometown. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Puerto Rico, and in 1971 earned a degree in divinity from the Latin American Biblical Seminary in San José, Costa Rica. Upon returning to Puerto Rico, she collaborated with her home church and the Christian Education department of the synod.

In January 1975, she was invited to work with the Presbyterian Women unit of the Program Agency of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA and served Hispanic Presbyterian women in the eastern U.S. and in Puerto Rico. Four years later, she was installed as the first woman pastor in the Synod of Puerto Rico at the Presbyterian Church of Guánica.

From 1978-80, she taught religion and ethics at the Interamerican University of Bayamón. In 1980, she received her second pastoral call from the Hugh O’Neill Memorial Church in Old San Juan. Over five years there, she focused on evangelism and leadership development, collaborating with ecumenical organizations and women’s support groups.

In 1985, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) appointed her as a fraternal worker through the Latin American Evangelical Center for Pastoral Studies (CELEP). She was an advisor for the women’s program of the Council of Protestant Churches (CEPAD) and a professor at the Evangelical Faculty of Theological Studies in Nicaragua. She also advised the women’s program of the Baptist Church in El Salvador and the women’s program of the Presbyterian Church in Guatemala.

In late 1988, CELEP assigned her to Brazil to develop a women’s department. Later, she was invited to work with the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Latin America (AIPRAL), where she organized and implemented several ecumenical gatherings for Latin American women.

Her professional journey concluded with her leadership of a private outplacement company in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. She accompanied her husband, the late Rev. Canon Jorge Juan Rivera Torres of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Church, in his ministry.

In June 2023, she was honored by the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico with an honorary doctorate in letters and divinity. Along with other women, she has co-authored three books.

“Puerto Rican clergywomen ordained in the 1970s and 1980s opened the door and paved the way for Latinas from other countries to become ministers of Word and Sacrament,” said the planning committee for last month’s celebration: the Rev. Carmen M. Rosario, Presbytery of the Coastlands; the Rev. Sandra Luciano, Presbytery of Central Florida; the Rev. Zodet S. Zambrana, Presbiterio del Suroeste, Puerto Rico;  the Rev. Zoraida Ramis, Presbiterio del Noroeste, Puerto Rico; and the Rev. Carmen J. Torres, Presbiterio del Suroeste, Puerto Rico.