Hispanic Ministry: In the United States and in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe
The Beginnings
Hispanic Ministry officially began in the U. S in 1945 with the establishment of the National Office for Hispanic Ministry by the American Bishops. Up until the 1960’s however, the Hispanic presence in the United States was minimal outside of the West and Southwest region of the country where most of them lived, not because they came to the U.S., but because the U.S. came to them. For them the history of the realignment of the borders between Mexico and the United States with the “Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo” in 1848 and their shifting to a new country is a sad memory and a painful experience of discrimination, of forceful assimilation, of eradication of language and cultural traditions, and of loss of identity, even on behalf of the Church. When the Christian Faith was brought into what is now the Southwest region of the U. S. by the Spaniards in 1598, with the arrival of the new country, the Spanish-speaking clergy left, and the Church of the new country began to create new dioceses with new clergy, who spoke a different language and brought different traditions.
As for the East region of the United States, the first regularly scheduled Spanish Mass in the Washington DC area began in 1962. The early 1970’s saw a dramatic increase in the number of new Hispanic immigrants in the United States. This new wave of immigrants generated national attention as Hispanics became increasingly numerous.
The Encuentros
In 1972, the American Bishops convoked the first National Encuentro for Hispanic Ministry, as the Bishops began to respond to the needs and aspirations of Hispanics at the national level. It was also at this time that several bishops of Hispanic heritage were first appointed in the U.S., including our own former Archbishop, Most Rev. Robert F. Sanchez.
In 1977, the U.S. Bishops convened a second National Encuentro to further provide Hispanic Ministry with a distinct sense of identity and mission in the context of the Second Vatican Council.
The third Encuentro of 1985 identified a number of pastoral priorities on the national and local levels, and it offered a series of recommendations to make ministry among Hispanics a comprehensive and well established ministry in the country. A National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry was approved by the American Bishops in 1987.
Hispanics in the 90’s
Hispanic Ministry in the 1990’s was marked by three major trends: the rapid growth of the Hispanic population and its accompanying social challenges, the multiplication of the number of parishes with Hispanic ministry and the growing number of Hispanic Catholics involved in the life of the Church, and the uncertainty created by unjust immigration laws and the lack of Hispanic participation in the decision-making process of local government and institutions.
Hispanic Ministry in the 21 Century
The figures are inescapable; by 2004 Hispanics had become the largest minority, with a 14.8% of the population and with an estimated number of 44.2 million. Within the next fifty years Hispanic are expected to reach up to 25% of the total population of the United States. The large number of undocumented immigrants, the threat of terrorism, and Media misinformation has caused an anti immigrant sentiment in our nation which fueled by the ambition of unscrupulous politicians who are capitalize on this anti immigrant sentiment and has made life in the United States more difficult for immigrants and for Hispanics in general.
The Churches Challenge
The large number of Hispanics in the US and the fact that a large number of them come from Spanish speaking countries where most of them are Catholics, bring a number of challenges upon our Church and upon our Archdiocese:
- Hispanic Ministry is no longer the ministry of a few or of a particular office, but of the entire Church.
- Church documents call us to minister to immigrants in their own language, as the Good News should be proclaimed and taught in the language of the hearer.
- Formation of Hispanic pastoral leaders in dioceses and in parishes is a must as we are preparing the leaders of the future.
- The old way to evangelize by assimilating the cultures into a melting pot of uniformity, must give way to the incorporation of the diverse groups into a unified body of faith, learning from one another and working together to build the Church of the future.