September 15 starts National Hispanic Heritage Month. The 15th was chosen as the starting date because five Latin American countries celebrate their anniversary of independence on that day. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua declared independence in 1821. Hispanic Heritage Month started in 1968 as National Heritage Hispanic Week under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1989, the observance was extended to an entire month by Congress.

The 2017 proclamation from President Donald Trump included the following statement:

“From America’s earliest days, Hispanic Americans have played a prominent and important role in our national heritage, and Hispanic Americans continue to embody the pioneering spirit of America today. . . . Hispanic Americans are a testament to the American promise that anyone can succeed in the United States through hard work.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that Hispanics constitute 17.8 percent of the nation’s total population. It’s projected that by 2060, Hispanics will make up about 28.6 percent of the nation’s population.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, here are six prominent religious leaders with a Hispanic background.

Wilfredo DeJesús 

Rev. DeJesús is affectionately known as Pastor Choco. He is the lead pastor for New Life Covenant Church in Chicago. Pastor Choco is largely known for his social justice work. The church has more than 130 ministries that reach out to the underserved communities, not only in Chicago but around the world. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013, but he deserves to be on that list annually.

Minerva G. Carcaño

Bishop Carcaño was the first Hispanic woman to be elected to the episcopacy of the United Methodist Church. She is the leader of the UMC’s Immigration Task Force and an outspoken advocate on immigration. She is also a supporter of the GLBT community and favors full inclusion of gays and lesbians within the denomination.

José H. Gomez

Archbishop Gomez has served as the Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops since 2016, the first person of Latino descent in the position. He is the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the United States. He is known as a conciliator who unites Anglo and Hispanic Catholics and for opening dialogue between the Latino community and the church.

Mujahid Fletcher

Fletcher was raised in a Catholic household, but he became a Muslim as an adult. He founded IslamInSpanish, an educational nonprofit that translates Islam sermons into Spanish to educate Hispanics about Muslim faith. His move to educate his family and friends turned into a huge movement to bridge a gap between communities. The nonprofit organization is responsible for opening a Spanish-speaking mosque in Houston.

Rigoberto Emmanuel Viñas

Rabbi Viñas is the founder of El Centro de Estudios Judíos “Torat Emet,” a spiritual and education center for Hispanic Jews. He is trying to bridge the gap between Hispanic and Anglo-Jewish communities by fostering understanding and encouraging communication. His family came to America in the 1960s and discovered their Jewish heritage. The center reaches out to Hispanic Jews around the world who may have lost their Jewish faith during the Spanish Inquisition when families were forced to accept Catholicism to avoid persecution.

Rubén Austria

Austria is the founder of Community Connections for Youth, a grassroots faith- and community-based organization that develops alternatives to incarceration for youth. He is nationally known for his intervention work in youth crime, even though the organization is based in New York. Austria hopes to eliminate youth prisons and find resources that keep youth out of the justice system. It’s a lofty goal, but one of his projects, the South Bronx Community Connections, is a recognized model for strengths-based interventions that improve the community by reducing recidivism.