Thirty-five percent of all practicing Catholics in the U.S. are Latino, and since 1960, 70% of the growth in the U.S. Catholic Church has come from Latino families. At 62.1 million, Latinos represent the largest — and youngest — ethnic minority population in the U.S. One of every two children in the U.S. is Latino.
In 2017, Lorena Trejo heard a radio spot pitching Catholic schools on a secular Spanish radio station. It piqued her interest, and she reached to out the source, the Catholic Schools Center for Excellence, which focuses on Catholic elementary school excellence and advancement in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Now her two children attend St. John the Baptist in Savage.
Starting in small groups in parishes, lay ecclesial movements, schools and universities, and other Catholic organizations, V Encuentro participants learn to better serve the growing Hispanic population, especially those in the peripheries.
“The children are not immune to what Washington says or what the president says; quite the contrary. They are very much affected by it,” said Brad Capouch, Incarnation’s administrator. “Kids who go to school are concerned about leaving their parents and not knowing if their parents are going to be there when they come home.”
The president of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry, Manancero has been charged with leading pre-conference events for Latin American Catholics Sept. 21, ahead of the World Meeting of Families’ opening event Sept. 22.
Bishop Andrew Cozzens celebrated the graduation Mass July 26 at the Cathedral of St. Paul for those completing the three Latino ministry formation institutes offered in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The Cathedral of St. Paul was packed to the limit June 14, as friends and families gathered to witness the confirmation of 334 youth and young adults from the 14 Latino parishes in the archdiocese. Bishop Andrew Cozzens was the presider.
Spearheaded by Sagrada Familia, a family services apostolate at St. Stephen, the Year of the Fathers programs help parishioners reflect on masculinity and fatherhood in the Latino community
The Latino population in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is growing and is integral to the future of the local Church. That is why, in three of the past 11 years, Latino institutes have been offered for those who would like to receive deeper religious formation in Spanish.
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