When she was a little girl growing up in Denver, Jaqueline Morales remembers when Hispanics were a minority, not only in the country, but also in church."Growing up in the 80s around here there weren't too many Spanish speaking masses, so we would have to travel across the city," said Morales.
Now, she doesn't have to go far from her Aurora home on Sundays.
The Archdiocese of Denver commissioned a special demographics survey of its own population back in March. The results found that 52 percent of the Catholic population within the Archdiocese is Hispanic. The survey stated that nationally, 37 percent of Catholics are Hispanic.
Morales used to drive to find a Spanish mass; today she can walk.
"It's changed so much, I mean we bought a house in the suburbs and there's a Spanish mass six or seven blocks away from me," said Morales.
"We Hispanics usually have many children," joked Luis Soto.
Soto is the director of Hispanic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Denver. While he jokes about why the Roman Catholic Church may be experiencing a spike in its Hispanic population, his tone becomes calm and serious when referring to the connection many Hispanics have to Catholicism.
"It's part of our lives, it's in our bones. I think it's part of our identity as a people," said Soto.
Soto, in many ways, personifies what's happening in the Archdiocese of Denver. He is an immigrant from Mexico. At the age of 19, he decided to join the seminary. After what he calls a "different calling," he chose to serve the church as a lay person. Understanding Soto's devotion to the faith and his ability to communicate fluently in Spanish and English, the church brought him to Denver. Most of the Hispanic parishioners likely don't share Soto's seminarian history or religious study background, but they do share his migration from south of the border to the U.S.
"We are coming from countries with a very long Catholic tradition. It's estimated that 75 to 80 percent of immigrants from Latin America are Catholic," said Soto.
There is an assumption that illegal immigrants are among the increased number of Hispanics in the church, and in the country. For Sen. Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield), there is no assumption taking place.
"It's practically certain. Only a hopeless optimist would assume everyone in any large public group is here legally," said Mitchell.
Soto, and the parishioners interviewed for this story, say immigration status doesn't matter when it comes to matters of faith. It is generally the position of leaders of Roman Catholic churches.
"We do not ask for identification to anyone coming to church or coming to mass or deny sacraments because of that. The mission of the church is different. Immigration is irrelevant to the church," said Soto.
Mitchell is quite clear on his stance against illegal immigration.
"I believe in securing the border. I believe in enforcing the law and ensuring our sovereignty is protected. There's no doubt that illegal immigrants put a strain on public resources," said Mitchell.
While illegal immigration is a fairly black and white issue for Mitchell, he says there is a gray area when it comes to how the Catholic Church, or any church, should deal with possible illegal immigrants among its congregation.
"There are institutions in society that play a different role and answer to a different authority and I expect them to pursue their mission and not the state's mission," said Mitchell.
Mitchell says his Mormon Church holds a softer position on illegal immigration than his own personal beliefs. A line of separation, Mitchell says, should be maintained between matters of faith and matters of government. Critics in the very much emotional and hotly debated issue of illegal immigration may disagree with Mitchell.
"I hope they would think twice before they urge any church to become an agent of the government and enforcing our immigration laws," said Mitchell.
Carl Raschke, a religious studies professor at the University of Denver, says while the Catholic Church in America may be seeing newer and more Hispanic faces, there are no real big surprises in the latest population trends and shifts. Raschke says dating back to the 1840s, immigrants like Irish Catholics were once viewed as minorities and not necessarily welcomed. The church, Rashcke says, did welcome them.
"The Catholic Church has always been in some ways, the faith of choice for immigrants or non-Anglo immigrants. Really since the 1840s, since we had a huge wave of Irish immigrants after the potato famine. Now it just happens. We've got a huge ongoing Latino migration that's obviously affected the Catholic Church," Raschke said.
Raschke says churches in general have historically gone against various governmental and secular laws in the name of maintaining the position of "moral authorities."
"Usually churches have a good moral reason for doing that. The 'sinner' has always sought refuge in churches. Hospitality to the stranger has been sort of the motto of the Catholic Church," said Raschke.
That hospitality is not universal, even in the Catholic Church. Jay Reszka's parish in Aurora has seen its Hispanic population grow rapidly. Reszka is a pastoral assistant at Saint Pius X parish. Reszka says 10 years ago, the percentage of Spanish speaking parishioners was between 10 and 15 percent. He says today that statistic is nearly 40 percent. Reszka says some parishioners initially did not embrace the newcomers.
"There was a lot of fear, even some of our long-time parishioners, the ones that perhaps lived in the more affected neighborhoods, were nervous because I think they were asking legitimate questions like, 'Well, what's going to happen to our neighborhoods?' It's all changing," said Reszka.
Reszka says for the most part, as the "traditional" parishioners interacted more with their new Hispanic fellow parishioners, some common ground was reached.
"A lot of them worked with the new parishioners and after a while there were these moments like, 'Hey, the Hispanic parents care about their kids just as much any other parent.' That establishes a great deal of mutual goodwill I think," said Reszka.
If current population projections hold true, the Hispanic population in the U.S. could triple by 2050.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Now, she doesn't have to go far from her Aurora home on Sundays.
The Archdiocese of Denver commissioned a special demographics survey of its own population back in March. The results found that 52 percent of the Catholic population within the Archdiocese is Hispanic. The survey stated that nationally, 37 percent of Catholics are Hispanic.
Morales used to drive to find a Spanish mass; today she can walk.
"It's changed so much, I mean we bought a house in the suburbs and there's a Spanish mass six or seven blocks away from me," said Morales.
"We Hispanics usually have many children," joked Luis Soto.
Soto is the director of Hispanic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Denver. While he jokes about why the Roman Catholic Church may be experiencing a spike in its Hispanic population, his tone becomes calm and serious when referring to the connection many Hispanics have to Catholicism.
"It's part of our lives, it's in our bones. I think it's part of our identity as a people," said Soto.
Soto, in many ways, personifies what's happening in the Archdiocese of Denver. He is an immigrant from Mexico. At the age of 19, he decided to join the seminary. After what he calls a "different calling," he chose to serve the church as a lay person. Understanding Soto's devotion to the faith and his ability to communicate fluently in Spanish and English, the church brought him to Denver. Most of the Hispanic parishioners likely don't share Soto's seminarian history or religious study background, but they do share his migration from south of the border to the U.S.
"We are coming from countries with a very long Catholic tradition. It's estimated that 75 to 80 percent of immigrants from Latin America are Catholic," said Soto.
There is an assumption that illegal immigrants are among the increased number of Hispanics in the church, and in the country. For Sen. Shawn Mitchell (R-Broomfield), there is no assumption taking place.
"It's practically certain. Only a hopeless optimist would assume everyone in any large public group is here legally," said Mitchell.
Soto, and the parishioners interviewed for this story, say immigration status doesn't matter when it comes to matters of faith. It is generally the position of leaders of Roman Catholic churches.
"We do not ask for identification to anyone coming to church or coming to mass or deny sacraments because of that. The mission of the church is different. Immigration is irrelevant to the church," said Soto.
Mitchell is quite clear on his stance against illegal immigration.
"I believe in securing the border. I believe in enforcing the law and ensuring our sovereignty is protected. There's no doubt that illegal immigrants put a strain on public resources," said Mitchell.
While illegal immigration is a fairly black and white issue for Mitchell, he says there is a gray area when it comes to how the Catholic Church, or any church, should deal with possible illegal immigrants among its congregation.
"There are institutions in society that play a different role and answer to a different authority and I expect them to pursue their mission and not the state's mission," said Mitchell.
Mitchell says his Mormon Church holds a softer position on illegal immigration than his own personal beliefs. A line of separation, Mitchell says, should be maintained between matters of faith and matters of government. Critics in the very much emotional and hotly debated issue of illegal immigration may disagree with Mitchell.
"I hope they would think twice before they urge any church to become an agent of the government and enforcing our immigration laws," said Mitchell.
Carl Raschke, a religious studies professor at the University of Denver, says while the Catholic Church in America may be seeing newer and more Hispanic faces, there are no real big surprises in the latest population trends and shifts. Raschke says dating back to the 1840s, immigrants like Irish Catholics were once viewed as minorities and not necessarily welcomed. The church, Rashcke says, did welcome them.
"The Catholic Church has always been in some ways, the faith of choice for immigrants or non-Anglo immigrants. Really since the 1840s, since we had a huge wave of Irish immigrants after the potato famine. Now it just happens. We've got a huge ongoing Latino migration that's obviously affected the Catholic Church," Raschke said.
Raschke says churches in general have historically gone against various governmental and secular laws in the name of maintaining the position of "moral authorities."
"Usually churches have a good moral reason for doing that. The 'sinner' has always sought refuge in churches. Hospitality to the stranger has been sort of the motto of the Catholic Church," said Raschke.
That hospitality is not universal, even in the Catholic Church. Jay Reszka's parish in Aurora has seen its Hispanic population grow rapidly. Reszka is a pastoral assistant at Saint Pius X parish. Reszka says 10 years ago, the percentage of Spanish speaking parishioners was between 10 and 15 percent. He says today that statistic is nearly 40 percent. Reszka says some parishioners initially did not embrace the newcomers.
"There was a lot of fear, even some of our long-time parishioners, the ones that perhaps lived in the more affected neighborhoods, were nervous because I think they were asking legitimate questions like, 'Well, what's going to happen to our neighborhoods?' It's all changing," said Reszka.
Reszka says for the most part, as the "traditional" parishioners interacted more with their new Hispanic fellow parishioners, some common ground was reached.
"A lot of them worked with the new parishioners and after a while there were these moments like, 'Hey, the Hispanic parents care about their kids just as much any other parent.' That establishes a great deal of mutual goodwill I think," said Reszka.
If current population projections hold true, the Hispanic population in the U.S. could triple by 2050.
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