Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • September 13, 2024 11 US bishops’ diocesan survey sets new baseline for Hispanic ministry in parishes nationwide BY MARIETHA GÓNGORA OSV News ( OSV News ) -- The U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs conducted a survey of dioceses and archdioceses in the country’s 14 episcopal regions and released its results Aug. 21. The survey shows how Hispanic ministry has taken off across the country and that in most dioceses, there is a parish-based pastoral response to Hispanic Catholics. Alejandro Aguilera-Titus, assis- tant director of Hispanic Affairs under the Secretariat for Cultural Diversity in the Church at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, explained that the subcommittee sought to determine a baseline about the state of Hispanic ministry at the parish level. He told OSV News that it was important to observe the implemen- tation of the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, a 10-year plan that was approved by the U.S. bishops in June 2023, and “to see how that parish ministry will develop in the years ahead.” The survey, which was conducted from last April through mid-August, included questions on the number of parishes in each diocese, the number of parishes offering Mass in Spanish, and the number of parishes with a Hispanic/Latino presence or min- istry without a Mass celebrated in Spanish. “It was very important to know what the starting point is, what is the number of parishes that already have a Sunday Mass in Spanish, which is the quint- essential sign that we see that the Hispanic commu- nity has been welcomed as a community in a par- ish,” said Aguilera-Titus. “In communities where the Spanish Mass is already established, many other ministries emerge as well.” He said the committee was pleased to find that almost 30% of the parishes in the country have a Sunday Mass in Spanish established. An Aug. 21 press release from USCCB indicated that 175 surveys were completed, representing 100% of the Latin Catholic archdioceses and dioceses in the U.S. It showed that 4,479 out of 16,279 U.S. parishes offered Sunday Mass in Spanish. The survey also found that about 2,760 parishes have a Hispanic/Latino presence or ministry but do not currently offer Mass in Spanish and that “99% of the dioceses surveyed have several parishes that offer Mass in Spanish,” according to the release. “We are talking about the fact that there is a Hispanic presence throughout the country, in the 175 dioceses (of the Latin Church) in the country” and that in most of those dioceses, “there is a significant response or parish ministry,” said Aguilera-Titus. This survey focused on examining parishes serv- ing Hispanics/Latinos in U.S. dioceses, but it also clarified that “several dioceses reported having mis- sions or ministries serving Hispanics/Latinos extraordinary ministries or locations that are not identified as parishes” and that the survey did not intent to diminish those efforts. Aguilera-Titus explained that in 2016-2017, a survey that was part of the V Encuentro process showed that about 4,485 parishes had some type of Hispanic ministry, although it did not specify data on Sunday Mass in Spanish, but rather Masses during the week or monthly masses. This new survey indi- cates that 4,479 parishes have Sunday Mass in Spanish and that, in addition, almost 3,000 parishes have some type of Hispanic ministry or presence but do not have a Sunday Mass in Spanish. “We are talking about the significant growth in the response that the church is giving at the parish level,” Aguilera-Titus said. Over 42% of U.S. Catholics self-identified as Hispanic and it has been reported that this is the case for more than half of all U.S. Catholics under 30. But even though Latino Catholics have accounted for much of the growth of the U.S. church for decades, the data shows these Catholics are also leaving the church at high rates and becoming religiously unaffiliated, according to a 2023 report by the Pew Research Center . “Much progress has been made in the awareness of the Hispanic presence in the country and in the response at the parish level,” Aguilera-Titus said, but the sub- committee’s survey also shows “that there are still thousands of parishes where that Hispanic presence needs to be more accurately recognized, and an adequate pastoral response needs to be given to that presence.” Aguilera-Titus anticipated that, in the context of the new pastoral plan for Hispanic ministry and its implementation, the number of par- ishes with Sunday Mass in Spanish and “with developed and well-orga- nized ministries” will grow over the years. Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose, California, chair of the Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, welcomed the results and said these types of surveys are vital to the church’s response to Hispanic/Latino communities. “There are common obstacles that dioceses face when engaging in Hispanic/Latino ministry, such as bilingual priests or limited resources,” the bishop said, according to the USCCB press release. “This survey helps to measure our work and determine how we can continue serving this thriving part of our Church and the importance of ongoing ministry to the needs of our Spanish-speaking brothers and sis- ters.” Aguilera-Titus echoed the crucial need to pro- mote more vocations to the priesthood and religious life among Hispanic Catholics. He added that it was important that, regardless of culture and origin, sem- inarians and priests, “especially pastors, who are not yet interculturally capable, acquire that intercultural capacity,” knowledge, attitudes and skills “that will allow them to effectively and joyfully pastor with that Hispanic/Latino people that continues to grow in practically every corner of the country.” He also told OSV News that despite the financial challenges facing the church in the U.S., particularly dioceses, Hispanic ministry at the diocesan level continues to be very strong. “It’s really good news that 57 of the dioceses that responded (to the survey) have their Hispanic pastoral office and director,” he said. A woman holds a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe during a Spanish-language Mass celebrated on the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Staten Island, N.Y., Dec. 11, 2022. Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta-St. Mary of the Assumption Parish ministers to a large pop- ulation of immigrants from Mexico. OSV News photo/Gregory A. Shemitz