Latino, Hispanic Americans proud of heritage, connection to pope

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PHILADELPHIA — Throughout his visit to the United States, Pope Francis opened his arms to all people, expressing compassion and pastoral care for children, the elderly, the disabled, prisoners, immigrants, refugees and the poor. His speeches and public events expressed concern for the universal Church in its many forms throughout the world and were attended by individuals speaking dozens of languages. However, one group with whom the Holy Father expressed a particular solidarity and who represented themselves in overwhelming numbers at the events in Philadelphia was the Hispanic and Latino population of the United States and its neighboring countries.

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Carla Batista, a parishioner at predominantly Spanish-speaking Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Providence, signed up for the pilgrimage with the diocese as soon as she heard about it. She asked her sisters and niece to accompany her and encouraged fellow parishioners to register, quickly gathering a group of over 50 pilgrims from Assumption Parish alone. As the numbers continued to grow, Keith and Lisa Kline, organizers of the pilgrimage, asked Batista to consider leading a bus group.

“It was a lot of responsibility, and I was worried,” said Batista. “We knew that a million people would be there. But I felt I had a commitment from this group of people. They had so much faith. Nothing would stop them.”

From the beginning, Batista offered valuable assistance to her fellow pilgrims from Assumption Parish, translating important documents for those who spoke little or no English. She anticipated serving as translator on the trip itself as well, expecting most of the Holy Father’s speeches to be given in English. She and other pilgrims were overwhelmed with joy when they arrived in Philadelphia to discover Pope Francis would offer most of his addresses, including the homily of Sunday’s concluding Mass, in his native Spanish.

“When we heard him starting the homily in Spanish, we just stood there in silence absorbing every word of his message,” she said. “He said you need to start the compassion and love from your house, within your families. You don’t need to be a big leader. You start with the person next to you. Every message about respecting and loving others I’ll never forget.”

Along with being the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, Pope Francis is the first pope to speak Spanish as his mother tongue. A native of Argentina born to Italian-immigrant parents, he has often expressed a special affinity with immigrants and those with Latin American heritage, both of whom he addressed directly during his Saturday afternoon speech at Independence Hall.

“Among us today are members of America’s large Hispanic population, as well as representatives of recent immigrants to the United States. I greet all of you with particular affection,” Pope Francis told the crowd in Spanish before continuing with a personal message to immigrant families.

“Many of you have immigrated to this country at great personal cost, but in the hope of building a new life. Do not be discouraged by whatever challenges and hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to your new nation. You should never be ashamed of your traditions.”

Pope Francis’s call for a more welcoming attitude toward immigrants and Americans of non-English-speaking heritage comes at a divisive time in American politics when immigration policy reform is a front-and-center issue in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election. The deliverance of the speech at the same venue where the nation’s founding fathers once declared the rights of all people in the Declaration of Independence gave extra weight to the Holy Father’s words.

“You are called to be responsible citizens, and to contribute fruitfully to the life of the communities in which you live,” he told Hispanic Americans. “I think in particular of the vibrant faith which so many of you possess, the deep sense of family life and all those other values which you have inherited. By contributing your gifts, you will not only find your place here, you will help to renew society from within.”

Santa Javier, a parishioner at Holy Spirit Parish, Central Falls, whose family is originally from the Dominican Republic, said that she thought Pope Francis was able to offer a unique perspective for the current generation. “I didn’t know who he was at first,” she admitted, “but the world needed him for this time.”

Dilania Inoa, a parishioner at Assumption Parish who traveled with friends on a bus from Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish, Woonsocket, said she comes from a “very traditional Dominican family.” She recalled hearing stories as a child from Saint John Paul II’s visit to the Dominican Republic in 1992, where many of her family members were present.

“I remember those stories. I feel like I’m reliving my grandmother’s journey,” she said. Inoa keeps in close touch with family back in the Dominican Republic, sending photos and carrying prayers and rosaries on her journey. For her, the Holy Father’s Sunday homily held a special significance. “I actually closed my eyes throughout the entire homily, just listened,” she said. “It was like his words were coming into me because he was speaking in my native language. For me it was especially important to hear it in my mother tongue.”

Like Batista and other pilgrims, Inoa said she planned to carry Pope Francis’s message back home with her following the pilgrimage. “His message of family and love is something I hope to internalize in my daily life,” she said.

Angela Carmona, a parishioner at All Saints Parish, Woonsocket, who takes pride in her Columbian heritage, traveled on the pilgrimage with her sister Blanca Carmona of Holy Spirit Parish, Central Falls. Like many of those journeying from Rhode Island, and like thousands more gathered on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, she said the Latin American heritage she shares with the pope has given her a greater appreciation of the Holy Father’s papacy and visit to the United States.

“I feel proud to be Latina,” she said. “This is a great man.”

Philadelphia