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Biographical Note
Jorge Lara-Braud (1931-2008) was born in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico in 1931 to Luis Lara Castro and Maria Artemisa Braud de Lara. In the late 1940s, Lara-Braud was sent to attend high school at the Texas-Mexican Industrial Institute in Kingsville, Texas (1950). He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Austin College (1954), and a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1959). Lara-Braud entered a Ph.D. program at Princeton Theological Seminary but left the program one year before completing his dissertation to accept a deanship and faculty position at the Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City in 1962. Lara-Braud was awarded an honorary degree by Austin College in recognition for contributions to inter-American understanding in 1967.
Lara-Braud served as a professor of history of theology for the Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City from 1962 to 1964, assistant professor of mission and ecumencism at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary from 1964-1966. In 1966 he became the first executive director of the Hispanic American Institute and held this position until 1972.
From 1973 to 1980, Lara-Braud served as Director of the Office of Theological Studies of the National Council of Churches of Christ in New York City. During this time, he developed a personal relationship with Archbishop Óscar Romero, visiting El Salvador several times to bear witness to the country's cultural and political unrest of the late 1970s.
Other positions that Lara-Braud held include Director of the Council on Theology and Culture of the Presbyterian Church (1980-1984), and Professor of Theology and Culture at San Francisco Theological Seminary (1984-1991). In 1992, Lara-Braud began preaching El Buen Pastor Presbyterian Church in Austin Texas. In 1994 he was installed as a lay pastor.
In the mid-1990s, Lara-Braud was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His health would begin declining around 2000, at which point he would retire from his professional life. Jorge Lara-Braud passed away on June 22, 2008.
For a detailed biographical note, visit the Jorge Lara-Braud papers finding aid on Texas Archival Resources Online: https://txarchives.org/apts/finding_aids/00161.xml
Biographical Note
Jorge Lara-Braud (1931-2008) was born in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico in 1931 to Luis Lara Castro and Maria Artemisa Braud de Lara. In the late 1940s, Lara-Braud was sent to attend high school at the Texas-Mexican Industrial Institute in Kingsville, Texas (1950). He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Austin College (1954), and a Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (1959). Lara-Braud entered a Ph.D. program at Princeton Theological Seminary but left the program one year before completing his dissertation to accept a deanship and faculty position at the Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City in 1962. Lara-Braud was awarded an honorary degree by Austin College in recognition for contributions to inter-American understanding in 1967.
Lara-Braud served as a professor of history of theology for the Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City from 1962 to 1964, assistant professor of mission and ecumencism at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary from 1964-1966. In 1966 he became the first executive director of the Hispanic American Institute and held this position until 1972.
From 1973 to 1980, Lara-Braud served as Director of the Office of Theological Studies of the National Council of Churches of Christ in New York City. During this time, he developed a personal relationship with Archbishop Óscar Romero, visiting El Salvador several times to bear witness to the country's cultural and political unrest of the late 1970s.
Other positions that Lara-Braud held include Director of the Council on Theology and Culture of the Presbyterian Church (1980-1984), and Professor of Theology and Culture at San Francisco Theological Seminary (1984-1991). In 1992, Lara-Braud began preaching El Buen Pastor Presbyterian Church in Austin Texas. In 1994 he was installed as a lay pastor.
In the mid-1990s, Lara-Braud was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His health would begin declining around 2000, at which point he would retire from his professional life. Jorge Lara-Braud passed away on June 22, 2008.
For a detailed biographical note, visit the Jorge Lara-Braud papers finding aid on Texas Archival Resources Online: https://txarchives.org/apts/finding_aids/00161.xml