Boston College's report on Hispanic parish ministry, Part I | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: These are interesting questions. No doubt there will also be an examination of how Hispanic and Latino Catholics contribute to the life of the parish - or decide to stay separate from the majority population. In times passed - and still existing - there were also separate African-American Catholic parishes - like St. Joseph's in Alexandria, Virginia. We have not full Spanish parishes in Alexandria, although I am sure the Diocese probably has at least one.
The separation is interesting and is likely due to both ethnic distrust and language. 100 years ago, in the Catholic Church a mixed marriage in Iowa was when a German and an Irish Catholic couple married. Language was a part of that too, as in late 19th Century Iowa, German and Luxemberger Catholics went to ethnic parishes and spoke German. When the Germans switched to English speaking (like my grandfather's family) the ability to mix began - although clergy were notorious in discouraging mixed marriages. I suspect that clergy, language and ethnic tension probably keep Spanish and Anglo Catholics from mixing at services, in leadership positions and in marriage - although I suspect the younger generation will end the separation of cultures, just as I married an Irishwoman. When I did, it was at St. Ann's in DC. This parish has become much more Hispanic - but not because of Mexican Americans or Puerto Ricans, but because of Filipinos.
Any real analysis of parish dynamics must include the family dynamics. Of course, with what is almost a one-drop rule in demographic surveys relating to Hispanic heritage, intermarriage over the next century may make the designation meaningless.
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