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Home CCSU Theses & Dissertations Growth and experience of the Catholic Hispanic community in Fairfield County

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Identifier	Thesis 2236
Author	Burns, Sonia R., 1951-
Title	Growth and experience of the Catholic Hispanic community in Fairfield County
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date	2012
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Notes	The thesis examines the influence of the Hispanic community of Puerto Rico, and other communities of Latin America, in Fairfield County since their arrival during the last half century. The study focuses on the discrimination that they faced immigrating to a new country and how their faith helped them to survive the hard times in a new economic and cultural experience. The study also shows that the Hispanic immigrants found a refuge in the Catholic Church; more important than the practical help they received was the strong sense of community that strengthened their efforts as they struggled to find their footing in an alien environment. The thesis begins with a review of the experience of the earliest arrivals of ethnic groups (groups of other than English background) in Fairfield County and their enrollment in the Catholic Church. Among these ethnic communities we found the Italian, Irish, French, Polish, Hungarian, Slovenian and others. A brief description of what they accomplished and their desire to stay together as a community by demanding the installation of national churches is recounted by Monsignor Stephen Michael DiGiovanni in his book The Catholic Church in Fairfield County. Following that overview, the thesis describes the arrival of Hispanics starting in the 1950s and traces their role in the community from that point up to the present. The study is focused on the Diocese of Bridgeport, which comprises all of Fairfield County. Neither individual parishes nor the diocese as a whole were prepared initially to accommodate the spiritual necessities of the Hispanic immigrants. However, the Catholic Church of Fairfield County reacted to accommodate the new arrivals. Presently, a large number of the parishes offers services in Spanish, and also have members planning activities that will attract the Hispanic parishioners. The thesis also describes how, during this time period, the Hispanic community of Fairfield County has become very active with the Catholic Church, and shows the impact they have had on the life of the Church on many levels. An example of this cultural restructuring includes the parish of Santa María in Bridgeport. Fifty years ago the parish was known as Saint Mary's and the cultural foundation represented the Irish immigrant background of the parishioners who built the church. Slowly, the Hispanic community increased its size and converted Saint Mary's to a Hispanic parish. In the present, it is common to find many parishes in the diocese, originally founded by different ethnic groups, which are now predominantly Hispanic. San Pedro (Saint Peter), San Carlos (Saint Charles), and San Jorge (Saint George), Our Lady or Montserrat-Saint Benedict, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and many more are now more commonly known by their Spanish name, acknowledging the dominant culture of their parishioners. Additionally, services have evolved to accommodate the spiritual needs of Hispanic parishioners in parishes that are still largely known by their original English names: Saint Peter in Danbury, Saint Mary's parish in Stamford, Saint Mary's parish in Norwalk, Saint Mary's parish in Greenwich, Saint Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport, Saint Joseph in Shelton and Saint Joseph in Norwalk. The thesis also familiarizes the reader with immigrant needs: the importance of expressing faith in their own language, of continuing time-honored celebrations, and of preserving their culture, as these are reflected in different parishes throughout Fairfield County. Religious feasts that were once unknown are today part of English-speaking parish observances after they have been introduced by the Hispanics, among them the celebration on the 12th of December in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of México and the Americas. The Mexicans started with a great "fiesta" procession, mariachi, traditional dances and food, and devotions to the Virgin, and today this celebration has become a part of the wider Catholic community in the diocese. The Good Friday and Corpus Christi street procession celebrations celebrated today in many parishes were also unknown to the American community, and have become attractive to them because of the way that the Hispanic had introduced it to them. Many communities today are united and celebrate these Hispanic festivities together. The thesis separately lists the history of each parish that embraced the Spanish community as it is represented in their centennial anniversary's books. Being an editor of the newspaper I have the opportunity to meet different ethnic groups in Fairfield County and one of my primary sources are my interviews with parishioners from various parishes that have been present in the beginning of Hispanic immigrations in Bridgeport, Danbury, Shelton and Stamford. Their stories provided information about their first years following their arrival, and the changes that they had seen during the last fifty years. Also, I talked to pioneer workers of the Catholic Church in the Dioceses of Bridgeport who made their voices heard so that Hispanic were spiritually served and culturally accepted in a strange community. The thesis demonstrates the hard work of the Hispanic community and their accomplishments. Some of this information is included in Monsignor DiGiovanni's account, and activities of individual parishes have been covered in newspaper articles from the Stamford Advocate, The Bridgeport Post (now The Connecticut Post) and The News-Times in Danbury, as well as in parish anniversary publications. As far as I know, this is the first time that this information, including first-person experiences, has been gathered in one place
Subject	Catholic Church -- United States Hispanic American Catholics -- Religious life Hispanic American Catholics -- United States
Department	Department of Modern Languages
Advisor	Uribe, Lilian
Type	Text
Language	spa
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Home CCSU Theses & Dissertations Growth and experience of the Catholic Hispanic community in Fairfield County

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