IMAGE: CNS photo/Andy Telli, Tennessee Register
By Andy Telli
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) —
A wave of demographic change is sweeping through the Catholic Church in the
United States. According to projections, in 20 years, half of American
Catholics will be Hispanic.
The
Diocese of Nashville, like many dioceses, is already seeing this wave rolling
toward middle Tennessee. One recent study found that 34 percent of the
Catholics in the diocese self-identify as Hispanic, said Sister Mary Johanna
Mellody, a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in
Nashville whose assignment is to work in Hispanic ministry.
“It’s
the future of our church,” Sister Mary Johanna said of the growing Hispanic
population.
While
the number of Latino families in the diocese and the country is growing, the
number of Hispanic students enrolled in Catholic schools hasn’t kept pace. Of
the 14.6 million school-age children in the United States, 8 million are
Hispanic, Sister Mary Johanna said. Of those 8 million, 93 percent were born in
the United States and are American citizens, she added.
But
only 400,000 Latino students are enrolled in Catholic schools, she told the
Tennessee Register, Nashville’s diocesan newspaper. And that poses a big
problem.
“We’re
totally losing them,” Sister Mary Johanna said of the younger generation of
Latinos who are drifting away from the Catholic faith of their families.
“They
want a good education for their kids,” she said of Hispanic families. “They
want the faith if they could get it.”
All
of the schools in the Diocese of Nashville are trying to reach out to more
Hispanic families, said Therese Williams, superintendent of schools for the
diocese. And several have had some success, including St. Henry, St. Edward,
St. Ann and St. Cecilia Academy. “The more diverse the school is, the more real
world experience it is for our students,” Williams said.
But
there are several barriers to increasing Latino enrollment, both cultural and
financial. Schools have little choice but to try to find ways around those
barriers, said Dominican Sister Anne Catherine Burleigh, principal of St.
Cecilia, an all-girls school.
“Are
we going to reach out with the message of the Gospel to a new generation of
immigrants?” she asked. “The mission remains the same as with earlier waves of
immigrants taught at Catholic schools. Catholic schools exist to evangelize.
The primary mission is to share the truth of the Gospel.”
This
year, St. Cecilia has 21 students who are Hispanic, including 11 in the
freshman class. That’s about 8 percent of the total enrollment of about 270
students.
Rather
than have a campaign to target Hispanic families, the growing number of Latina
students at St. Cecilia is the result of “more word of mouth, person to
person,” Sister Anne Catherine said. “Word of mouth is the best publicity.”
It’s
how Leonel and Julia Santos of St. Rose of Lima Church in Murfreesboro found a
Catholic school for their daughter, Valeria, a graduate of St. Rose School and
a freshman at St. Cecilia.
The
Santos family is from Mexico and moved to middle Tennessee for Leonel Santos’ job as
an electrical engineer. Although Leonel Santos attended public schools in
Mexico from kindergarten through college, his wife, Julia, attended Catholic
schools. When they arrived in Tennessee, they were looking for a Catholic
school for their daughter.
“We
always want the best for our kids. We want to provide for them the best
education,” Leonel Santos told the Tennessee Register. “In Catholic schools they
learn self-discipline and high commitment. They learn not only skills and
academic subjects, but they also learn the faith and values. That’s a
complement to the education.”
Marvin
and Claudia Andrade both attended Catholic schools in their native El Salvador.
And when they moved to Nashville, they were looking for a Catholic school for
their daughter, Grecia, a junior at St. Cecilia who attended St. Edward School
from fourth through eighth grade.
The
Andrades wanted their only child in a Catholic school because “we want her to
live her faith,” Claudia Andrade said. When they came to St. Cecilia for an
interview the first time, they saw that Mass was offered every day and the day
started and ended with prayer, she said. The family found that appealing as
well as the school’s high academic standards, discipline and the foundation it
can provide for college, she said.
A
personal approach is important in recruiting Hispanic families, said Sister
Mary Johanna, who is fluent in Spanish and acts as an unofficial bridge between
Hispanic families and Catholic schools in the area. “It’s all about
relationships with Hispanics. It’s not about a poster on the wall,” she said.
“You have to build a relationship.”
Part
of that is helping Hispanic families cross the language barrier. It’s important
for the schools to have people on staff who can act as translators and to help
the families navigate a Catholic school culture they might not be familiar
with, Sister Mary Johanna said.
In
some cases, families need more practical advice, Sister Anne Catherine said,
such as how to fill out the application, how to apply for financial aid, where
to get uniforms, how to navigate the American college application process, how
to get involved in the school.
At
St. Cecilia, the school hosts a Family Night for the families of all new
students, including the Hispanic families. But the school also held a second
Family Night just for the Hispanic families that was conducted in Spanish,
Sister Anne Catherine said.
Grecia
Andrade and Valeria Santos and their parents all agreed that the school has
made them feel welcome.
“It’s
been amazing. I’ve loved every moment here,” Grecia said. “We’re really like a
family here.”
Valeria
echoed her schoolmate. She’s had the chance to meet girls from other elementary
schools and from all grades at St. Cecilia. “We’re like sisters, she said.
“We’re a family.”
But
the biggest obstacle is most often financial, Sister Mary Johanna said. “We’ve
got to figure out a way to get more assistance,” not just for Hispanic families
but for all families, she said. “We’ve got to do something. We’ve got to figure
out some way to help families.”
As
the former principal of St. Pius X School in Nashville, Sister Mary Johanna
understands the budget pressures and limited financial resources that school
leaders face. “It’s not that schools don’t want to do this. They just have
limited resources,” she said.
Hispanic
families, like all families seeking tuition assistance, go through the
financial-aid application process. A third party looks at the family’s
financial profile and makes a recommendation on the amount of assistance they
need, Sister Anne Catherine said. “And we go from there.”
St.
Cecilia already has endowed scholarships for particular groups of students,
such as those with an interest in the arts or those who come from large
families, Sister Anne Catherine said. She would like to establish a similar
endowed scholarship for Hispanic students. “I know there are people out there
with a heart for this ministry,” she said of potential donors.
And
the appreciation for how a Catholic education can change lives will spread
throughout the Hispanic community, Sister Mary Johanna said. “Once you get a
few families, then you get more. Once you get it started, it’s
self-propelling.”
–
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Telli
is managing editor of the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Diocese of
Nashville.
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