You cannot celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) without celebrating faith. Hispanic Catholics make up 40 percent of the U.S. church. This group, however, is hardly monolithic. “Latino” encompasses every nationality from Chilean to Cuban to Mexican. They are immigrants and third-generation U.S. citizens. Some trace their roots in the Southwest to before that area was part of the United States.
Together the following articles provide snapshots into the lives of Hispanic Catholics in the United States, as well as into the lives of the parishes that serve them.
No dream too big
Undaunted by the obstacles of life as an undocumented immigrant, Ana Aguayo has become a voice for the voiceless. (June 2014)
Embracing Latino popular devotion
A U.S. Catholic interview with Roberto Goizueta (August 2013)
How can we be a church of the poor?
A U.S. Catholic interview with Roberto Goizueta (August 2013)
Latino Catholics: Caught Between Two Worlds
A U.S. Catholic interview with Timothy Matovina (March 2013)
The Latino priest shortage and three ways to respond
A U.S. Catholic interview with Timothy Matovina
Dream deferred
A U.S. Catholic interview with Rep. Luis Gutierrez on immigration reform
Read: Latino Catholicism
Review of Timothy Matovina’s book (May 2012)
Alabama to Latino Catholics: No room at the inn
The popular devotions of a small Alabama parish mirror the fears and hardships of its members (March 2012)
Houses divided
New state laws and lack of immigration reform take heavy toll on children and families (March 2012)
Unexcusable absence
Catholic schools recruit Hispanic students (February 2011)
What’s right with this picture?
Young Latinos are changing the face of Catholic youth ministry (March 2011)
Spanglish lessons: Diversity and theology
A U.S. Catholic interview with Carmen Nanko-Fernández (March 2011)
The lies are killing us
Msgr. Arturo Bañuelas makes the case for immigration reform (December 2010)
Facing change
Three ways to become a multicultural parish (June 2010)
Journey to the center of the church
Dispatches from the history of Hispanic Catholics in the United States (March 2010)
It takes a parish
Msgr. Arturo Bañualas on creating a vibrant parish (November 2009)
See also: Many cultures, one church
Somos el cuerpo de Cristo
The history of covering Hispanic Catholics in U.S. Catholic
February 2008 Special issue on Hispanic Catholics:
Ni aqui nor there
Second-generation Hispanics seek their place in the church (February 2008)
Hispanic Catholics deserve more from their church
Father Ken Davis argues for an increased emphasis on Hispanic ministry (February 2008)
The other Latin Mass
How charismatic Masses can inspire Latinos (February 2008)
Come together
Martin de Porres as a Wise Guide today (February 2008)
Here comes everybody else
A column on the church’s “diversity office” (February 2008)
When worlds collide
An interview with Gary Riebe-Estrella on culture clashes at parishes (December 2004)
July 2000 Special issue on Multiculturalism:
That all may be one
An interview with Sister María Elena González
Don’t be indifferent to difference
How Catholics can learn to live with other cultures in a parish
Tolerance isn’t good enough for the Body of Christ
An opinion essay on what the church needs beyond tolerance
The gift of Guadalupe
Guadalupe is for all Catholics (December 1999)
Hispanic Catholics: Does the church speak your language?
An interview with Father Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J. (December 1993)
Hispanic Catholics: They don’t fit into the melting pot
An interview with Father Virgil Elizondo (October 1981)
The Claretians, who publish U.S. Catholic, have been committed to ministering to Hispanic Catholics since arriving in this country in 1902. They founded the Hispanic Ministry Resource Center in 1989, and it soon became a pioneer in producing culturally appropraite bilingual publications, including OYE!, a vocational magazine for Hispanic youth.
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