Hispanic Parishes Where Something Seems to Be Going Right
By
Rev. Joseph Fitzpatrick, SJ, Ph.D.
A former member of the Department of Sociology at Fordham University in New York City
A few years ago, Father Philip Murmion published a little book titled The Crisis of the Church in the Inner City. It is a series of case studies about parishes that were in serious trouble in the inner city and where the imaginativeness and effort of creative pastors and laypersons brought the parish back to life. They are encouraging success stories.
Also some time ago, Thomas Sweetser published a little book titled Successful Parishes. Like the Murmion volume, these are also encouraging success stories of parishes which are alive and well because of the creative work of pastors, religious and laypersons. Both volumes were published to give other parish staffs and laypersons a model they might be able to imitate.
Selecting the parishes described here was a trial, not because there were so few but because there were so many. Time and resources were limited; only a few parishes could be visited in a short time. But it must be kept in mind that they are not presented as the best and the brightest. There are certainly others with an equally impressive history. The ones here are presented because they are alive; they provide effective ministry to Hispanic peoples; they also may give others ideas to improve their ministry. We are indeed grateful to the many people who gave generously of their time. They are too numerous to mention. However, they will see their work reflected in the chapter, and we hope they will feel rewarded.
Guadalupe Parish, San Jose, Calif. Guadalupe Parish is both a territorial and a "national parish” for Hispanics. Practically all the characteristics of a national parish are in evidence. Therefore it provides an example of the way ministry plays out in a parish which, from its beginnings, was seen by parishioners as "the Mexican parish." It is located in a section of the city affectionately called sal si puedes (get out if you can). It was originally in a farm area outside San Jose where Puerto Ricans settled in the 1920s and Mexicans began to settle in the 1940s.
During the late 40s as many as 25,000 Mexicans settled in the valley and began to seek the services of a priest to say Mass and administer the sacraments for them. Father Santiago Iglesias began to offer Mass in Spanish at a Portuguese parish, "Five Wounds." In 1950 the Mexicans requested a church for the Spanish-speaking, but the bishop turned down the request with the comment that the Spanish-speaking could go to existing parishes. These were quite far away.
In the early 1950s, some remarkable young priests who constituted a "mission band" began to say Mass in a building in the area or in homes. They are names well known in the history of the Hispanic apostolate: Fathers Louis Kern, Don McDonnell, Thomas McCullough, John Garcia and Ralph Duggan. Jesuit and diocesan seminarians helped out by teaching catechism; Regina Crist, from Catholic Service, was a volunteer, as well as others from O'Connor Hospital and the nearby Catholic high schools. It was an area of active ministry to Hispanics. Father McDonnell raised the money to build a chapel where Mass began to be offered in October 1953.Ministry extended beyond the area to the migrant labor camps in the valley. During the 1950s Our Lady of Guadalupe became the center of religious as well as social activities. The customs of Mexico were carefully preserved and people felt really en su casa (at home) in the area. The Legion of Mary went through the whole county visiting labor camps, praying the rosary in homes, visiting hospitals and jails, and giving instructions wherever needed. Some parishioners even prepared bodies for burial for those who could not afford a mortuary chapel expense. Men from the parish made coffins for the poor, and wakes were held in homes.
Our Lady of Guadalupe was established as a parish June 30, 1962. Father Anthony Soto, OFM, was the first pastor. It was established as a geographical parish, small in territory but large in numbers. However, it functioned from the beginning as a national parish of the Mexicans. Father Soto introduced the Cursillo, the Catholic Council for the Spanish-speaking, the Misa Panamericana Liturgy and the first permanent diaconate program. Its facilities became the home of many anti-poverty groups and community groups, and it organized one of the first parish councils in the archdiocese. In fact Guadalupe is the parish where Cesar Chavez got his start with the Farm Workers Union. Father Don McDonnell had coached him in leader-ship and collective bargaining, and he began to organize the farm workers in the valley.
Finally the people organized to build their own church. The new church was completed in 1967. Thus from the beginning, this was a parish of the Hispanic people. They saw it as their own; they had built the church with their own hands; the religious and social customs of the Mexican people were continued there, and the parish became the heart of the area's community of Hispanics. That feeling of "our parish" is still very strong. What the national parish was for the Italians, Germans, etc., of the last century, Our Lady of Guadalupe represents at the present for the Spanish-speaking in San Jose.
According to the 1980 census, the population was young, ethnically diverse, family oriented and relatively poor. The average age was 24.1 years, almost 10 years younger than the total U.S. population. It was 56 percent Spanish origin, 10 percent black and 12 percent Asian, mainly Filipino and Vietnamese. More than 18 percent of the people lived below the poverty level; 23 percent of the households were receiving public assistance. Labor-force participation rates were low; 60 percent of the jobs were in the service category; 15.8 percent in retail trade, and small numbers in manufacturing, wholesale or other. Thus, it remains a poor area of people who suffer from unemployment. Despite the poverty, the people have an enthusiasm for the parish that is impressive.
Most characteristics of the parish remain the same today as during the '50s and '60s. The parish is seen by Hispanics as "their parish." They come from allover the city to worship there. Gridlock is common in the parking lots between Masses. Father Luis Baldonado, OFM, the pastor, is of Mexican-American background. Of about 50 parishes in the diocese, he is the only Hispanic pastor. Both of his assistants are Hispanic. There are three permanent deacons in the parish. Masses are at 5:30p.m. on Saturday (English); the 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Sunday Masses are in Spanish, with the Masses at 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. in English. The Masses are"standing room only." Many of the Spanish-speaking, as well as the Filipinos and Vietnamese, attend the English Masses. As with most Hispanic parishes, the liturgies are enthusiastic and lively. Families come together to the Masses-parents, young people and babes in arms. The presence of large numbers of children gives the parish a colorful character generally missing from middle-class American parishes. There is ample room around the church for the people to socialize, not exactly the Plaza de Guadalupe, but a very good substitute.
Lay leadership is strong in the parish. One very able woman, Olga Islas Seim, directs the Christian doctrine instruction with the collaboration of 63 volunteers. There is no parochial school. One entire building of the parish is set aside for religious instruction. There are strong RCIA and youth-ministry pro-grams in both English and Spanish, as well as Bible classes. There is a sense of great pride among parish lay leaders. "We know this is ours" is a common expression. The parish has been the center of social action. It has been a center of advocacy for the welfare of the Spanish-speaking. There has been an active St. Vincent de Paul Society within the parish. However, more recently the parish has become part of a network of parishes in a community organization plan called PACT (People Acting in Community Together). This is a regional organization that represents the community by demanding services, which the people deserve, from the city government. Shortly before my visit to the parish, 1,000 people from the area gathered in the cathedral for a meeting with the mayor at which they .presented their demands and apparently received a satisfactory response. Parishioners also participate in a community program for youth called BEST, designed to protect youth against drug abuse and to provide rehabilitation programs for addicted youth. The parish was also the center for the development of the Cursillo movement. The first Cursillos were given in California in 1961, and at a later date Our Lady of Guadalupe became the headquarters of the Spanish Cursillo movement of the archdiocese. Many parishioners are active in the Encuentro Conjugal, which assists married couples in enriching their married lives and helps them prepare to deal with the needs, pressures and tensions which may trouble them. The parishioners also established a senior citizens' center which has been turned over to the Catholic Social Service Department of the diocese. There are six basic Christian communities in the parish, (Comunidades de Base), formed for the spiritual development of their members.
Thus we see at Our Lady of Guadalupe evidence of a parish religiously very active and manifesting an active concern for the social, economic and cultural life of its people. An active parish bookstore makes available to parishioners and other Spanish-speaking people a wide range of books and pamphlets.
The parish represents something similar to the national parishes which played such a critical role in the social, political and religious life of the immigrants from Europe during the last century. The parish is definitely the heart of an active immigrant community. The parishioners know "who they are" and find a great sense of security, solidarity and self-confidence in their parish life. However this does not mean the parish does not face the difficult problems of any inner-city population in a large American city. The dropout rate of children from the public schools is high. Drugs are a serious problem among the youth. The parish is active in drug prevention and rehabilitation programs. Pentecostal and Evangelical churches dot the area, and despite the vitality of the parish it continues to lose members to the sects. Teenage pregnancies are numerous, and there are many female-headed households. Were it not for the activity of the parish, these problems would be much greater. Unemployment is high, especially among men. The area is no longer agricultural, and the work in the fields which provided employment for an earlier generation no longer exists. Women have menial jobs in the high-tech area nearby, but the population is still a poor, inner-city population. What is clear is that the presence of an active national or quasi-national parish alone is no cure-all for these inner-city problems which trouble all inner-city people. A strategy still must be found to protect the community against teenage pregnancy, dropping out of school, violence and drug abuse, long-range unemployment and poverty. However, an active parish such as Guadalupe provides a favorable environment in which efforts against inner-city problems have a much greater chance of success.
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