Hispanic Catholics in Catholic Schools. Hosffman Ospino, PhD

       “Catholic schools, which always strive to join their work of education with the explicit proclamation of the Gospel, are a most valuable resource for the evangelization of culture.”

      — Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel (2013), n. 134

       The National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic1 Families

      In 2014 Boston College, in partnership with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, published the first round of results from the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry.² This groundbreaking study, the first of its kind, provided crucial data about Hispanic Catholics in parishes, including information about the relationship between parishes, diocesan offices of Hispanic ministry, Catholic schools, and diocesan offices of Catholic education. The study has been instrumental in reshaping many conversations at all levels about Catholic ministry in the United States. It was clear from the responses and the positive reception of this study on parishes that Catholic pastoral leaders throughout the country wanted to know more about how Catholic schools were serving Hispanic families. There is no doubt that Catholic schools continue to be a major referent for identity in the American Catholic experience. As the Church in the United States becomes increasingly Hispanic, it is fair and responsible to ask: how are Catholic educational structures, particularly our schools, serving the next generation of U.S. Catholics, which is largely Hispanic?

      Once again, Boston College stepped up to the challenge and embarked on what is to this date the most comprehensive effort to name realities, challenges, and possibilities in the world of Catholic schools in the United States as they adjust to cultural changes and new demographics. The National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families was conducted in 2014 by the School of Theology and Ministry and the Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education, Lynch School of Education at Boston College, under the leadership of professors and researchers Dr. Hosffman Ospino and Dr. Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill. The survey was designed to study local, Catholic school-based, intentional practices to support Hispanic families and better educate their children in light of their religious and cultural heritage.

      The study examined current policies and practices in Catholic schools identified by Catholic educational and ministerial leaders as directly serving Hispanic families. The ultimate goal of this timely exercise was to provide reliable data and insightful analysis to spark national, regional, diocesan, and local conversations that lead to the strengthening of Catholic schools in the twenty-first century so they can better serve as vibrant and authentic instruments of the Church’s evangelization mission in an increasingly Hispanic Church.

      Catholic Schools in the United States in the 21^st Century

      Catholicism in the United States, from its very beginnings, has been shaped by the experiences of millions of immigrants and their descendants. New voices bring hope, fresh energy, and challenges that often require adjustments on the part of our ecclesial structures. In the 1800s and early 1900s, immigrants from Europe made incredible contributions to the American Catholic experience, particularly through Catholic schools. Today, immigrants and their children, mostly from Latin America but also from Asia and Africa, are transforming that experience. This is a unique opportunity for U.S. Catholics in the twenty-first century to reimagine the commitment to Catholic education in an increasingly Hispanic Church while building upon the best of our experiences and resources.

      The Hispanic Catholic population has rapidly grown from being a small, practically unnoticed minority in various corners of the Church in the middle of the twentieth century (about 5% of the total U.S. Catholic population), mostly living in the Southwest with