Embracing Our Hispanic Future in the Catholic Church

The title of a multi-page article in the latest edition of the Catholic magazine America is “The Moment for the Hispanic Catholic Church in the United States is now.” The article details several key realities about the Church’s demographic shifts in recent years. Notably, the author shares that “nearly half of all Catholics in the country (about 45 percent, perhaps more) and more than half of all Catholics under 30 self-identify as Hispanic.” 

Brothers and sisters, the future of the Catholic Church in the United States is going to be Hispanic and the future is now. All major cities in the Midwest now have Hispanic parishes where there are more Masses offered in Spanish on a weekend than in English. There are 25 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis that have a weekly Spanish Mass and nearby parishes to the South (Red Wing), East (Altoona), and North (Rice Lake) all have a weekly Mass in Spanish.

Here in St. Croix County the number of individuals identifying as Hispanic or Latino increased from 1,692 to 2,679 between 2010 and 2020 and we are all aware that there has been a substantial increase of individuals from Latin America moving to our area since 2020. Census data indicates that Hudson is the most common city of residence in the county for those individuals with 908 of the total 2,679 (34%).

At our parish since Fr. John arrived in December 2011, we’ve had Spanish-speaking individuals receive six of the seven sacraments of the Church. Notably, we’ve had nearly 20 Spanish baptisms including 9 since I arrived in July 2023. My first wedding here at the parish was in Spanish and I have another bilingual wedding scheduled for September. We’ve had eight Hispanic children receive First Communion here in recent years and a woman from Honduras received the Sacrament of Confirmation this past Easter.

So, what’s next? How do we as a parish respond to the reality of change in our midst? We respond like we always do. We welcome the stranger. We lead people into full participation in the Main Thing: the Paschal Mystery. We trust in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to speak and understand all languages that reveal Christ.

In the weeks ahead, you will begin to see us continuing our path forward of better serving our Spanish-speaking brethren. At the 5:00 p.m. Mass on August 3^rd, we will have an Ecuadorian band joining us for music and the prayers of the Mass will be offered in both English and Spanish. Then, on August 15^th, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, we will celebrate a Spanish Mass at 6:00 p.m. followed by our first-ever parish mission in Spanish (see below) presented by Deacon David Jaramillo, a transitional deacon from the Diocese of Madison. 

Blessed Solanus Casey used to sign his letters with “Deo Gratias” which means “Thanks be to God” in Latin. As I continue to grow in my own grasp of the Spanish language, I think I’ll take Father Solanus’ cue and we can all learn at least these three Spanish words together as I sign off here in the bulletin.

Gracias a Dios.