Immigration created a diverse Catholic Hispanic heritage within the Archdiocese of Newark
Editor’s note: The following article was published in the November and December 2019 editions of The Advocate, which is no longer being published. In honor of Hispanic History month, Jersey Catholic reprinted the articles. Please note that some numbers may have changed.
The first discernible Spanish presence in northern New Jersey manifested in the 1920s. The Spanish immigrants to the United States in the 1910s and 1920s often are called the “forgotten Spanish diaspora.” These folks mostly came from northern Spain and settled in the port area of Newark and Elizabeth. By 1923, they gathered for Mass in the lower church of Saint Patrick’s Church in Elizabeth. More Spanish came in the 1930s to escape the chaos of the Spanish Civil War. At the same time, immigrants from Portugal began to arrive and settle in the Ironbound section of Newark. As Europeans, the Spanish and Portuguese could enter as legitimate immigrants under the quota system.
In 1926, Saint Joseph’s Spanish-Portuguese parish was established in the Ironbound section of Newark. Third Order Regular Franciscans (T.O.R.) from the Spanish island of Mallorca served the parish. Bishop Walsh dedicated the remodeled Saint Joseph’s Church on Dec. 9, 1928. In recognition of Walsh’s assistance to the Spanish community, King Alfonso XIII of Spain named him a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic on July 2, 1929. Portuguese immigration grew after World War II, and, in the late 1950s, a separate Portuguese parish, Our Lady of Fatima, was formed. Its name was changed to Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1965.
The Saint Joseph’s Parish priests in Newark also served the Spanish community in Elizabeth at Saint Patrick’s Church. In 1947, the archdiocese established Immaculate Heart of Mary Spanish-Portuguese Parish in Elizabeth. In 1954, the Religious Teachers Filippini came to the parish, where they provided religious education and a daycare center. In 1973, a separate Portuguese parish was formed in Elizabeth, also named Our Lady of Fatima.
The first phase of Iberian migration followed the established pattern. The immigrants from Spain and Portugal came to a particular section of a city. A national parish was established, served by priests from the “old country.” Sometimes the new parish was given the church and other buildings of a declining parish. This practice of creating national parishes preserved much of their cultural heritage as the immigrant entered American society. The national parish, societies, and local social clubs provided an atmosphere of security, stability, and support for the Spanish and Portuguese Americans of the Ironbound and Elizabeth Port. At the same time, American seminarians were learning some Spanish and Portuguese to minister to this population.
It was inevitable that the diocese established separate parishes for the Spanish and Portuguese. Placing these two nationalities in the same parish demonstrated that the diocesan authorities did not understand the widely different cultures of Spain and Portugal.
Simultaneously, in Newark and elsewhere in the archdiocese, individual parishes were becoming “multi-cultural” before the word was fashionable. Many parishes experienced a continually shifting ethnic makeup, a phenomenon that would become common in years to come. This gradual change in the makeup of an existing parish, combined with providing pastoral care for the new language groups, replaced the traditional national parish approach to new immigrant groups.
The “Great Hispanic Migration” began with the arrival of many Puerto Ricans, not subject to immigration law, and the sudden flight of Cuban refugees in the mid-20th century.
After 1965 however, Hispanic immigrants came from all of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in the general Hispanic “wave” of migrants into the archdiocese in the latter part of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st century.
The number of Catholics among Hispanic Americans has been constantly declining over the last several decades. While 70 percent of adult Hispanics in the United States identified as Catholic as recently as 2006, that figure fell to 57 percent by 2015, according to The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a nonprofit research center. The Pew Research Center currently estimates the percentage of American Catholic Hispanics at 55 percent. The statistical studies done for the V Encuentro state that only 51 percent of the Hispanics within the Archdiocese of Newark are Catholic.
PUERTO RICAN MIGRATION
Since the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, citizens of Puerto Rico have been citizens of the United States without losing their Puerto Rican citizenship. As such, they are free to travel at will within the United States. Because of their citizenship, it is not proper to speak of them as immigrants. Their movement in great numbers from their Caribbean Island home to the mainland United States does, however, constitute a significant migration.
After World War II, the development of relatively low-cost air travel facilitated the Puerto Rican migration north. The promise of jobs and a better way of life attracted them. The harsh climate in New Jersey made frequent trips “home” desirable and low airfare made them possible. These frequent moves made it difficult for many newcomers to settle into a parish and challenging for the Church to maintain stable contact with them. The arrival of large numbers of Puerto Ricans in the Archdiocese of Newark did not elicit the traditional “national parish” approach to pastoral care. In the past, most European migrants intended to stay in the United States. On the other hand, Puerto Ricans could travel to and from their home island with relative ease. From the perspective of some Church leaders, this mobility made the establishment of national parishes an unsure venture. Like previous newcomers, the Puerto Ricans were poor; they sought inexpensive housing in Newark, Elizabeth, and Hudson County aging city centers. Most were not skilled workers, and they often moved to find employment and better housing. Frequent moves created difficulties in relating to a specific parish.
St. Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral was the first church to serve Hispanics in Newark. In 1954, Father Genadius Diaz, O.S.B., from St. Mary’s Abbey (Newark Abbey), began to minister to the needs of the Puerto Ricans attending nearby St. Patrick’s. The pastor of St. Patrick’s, Msgr. James F. Looney, chancellor of the archdiocese, encouraged the ministry to the Hispanic population.
Religious instruction and church services in Spanish became part of the parish program. The 11 a.m. Sunday Mass became “La Misa Hispana.” At the time, it was a Latin Mass with a Spanish homily. The people formed church societies, and various church socials drew the community together. The Hispanic ministry at St. Patrick’s served as a model for many other parishes in this period.
St. Bridget’s Parish in Newark (later merged with St. Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral) began to serve Hispanics in 1956. Also, in the 1950s, the availability of work in the factories and along the waterfront attracted Puerto Rican migrants to Jersey City.
St. Peter’s Parish, staffed by the Jesuits, was the first to minister to the new arrivals. Father Joseph Faulkner, S.J., established an outreach center that made social services and religious instruction available. A similar center was established in Hoboken. These centers served for an interim period before most immigrants gravitated to the parishes.
In New Jersey, the Puerto Rican population has grown from 138,896 in 1970 to 479,873 in 2017. Of this number, 182,083, or about 38 percent, live within the Archdiocese of Newark. Almost two-thirds of the Puerto Ricans in the archdiocese live in Hudson and Essex counties, with a growing number in Bergen County. There are no precise estimates of the percentage of Puerto Ricans in the United States who are Catholic, but Pew Research studies estimate that 56 percent of Puerto Ricans are Catholic.
1959—THE CUBAN EXODUS
Just as the archdiocese was beginning to respond to the mostly Puerto Rican Hispanic community in an organized manner, a new wave of immigrants suddenly arrived from Cuba.
A small number of Cubans had been residents in northern Hudson County since the 1940s. St. Michael’s Monastery Parish in Union City, served by the Passionist Fathers, hosted the first Misa Hispana in August 1955. Fourteen people attended the Mass celebrated by Father Joseph Faulkner, S.J. The numbers climbed, and a Spanish Mass was celebrated every Sunday.
The revolution of Fidel Castro and the subsequent introduction of Communism to Cuba drove numerous Cubans to seek refuge in the United States. Many came to the Archdiocese of Newark, especially Union City and Elizabeth. Like most European immigrants, their decision to come was irrevocable. They had lost their jobs and property in Cuba; many had endured forced labor. Many of the early arrivals hoped that they would be able to return to Cuba. This hope would not be realized for almost 50 years. Like previous Hispanic immigrants, they joined the local parishes. Many Cuban immigrants were quite well-educated in secular and religious subjects. Some had held leadership positions in their parishes in Cuba. Although confronted with a harsh climate, loss of social status, and the necessity of learning English, they were very interested in participating in parish life.
St. Augustine Parish in Union City became a focal point for the Cuban community. Along with spiritual and educational assistance, the parish was very active in efforts of resettlement and social services. Other Union City parishes—St. Anthony’s, St. Rocco’s, and Holy Family—served an increasing Hispanic population in the 1960s. Puerto Ricans and immigrants from other Latin American nations soon joined the Cubans in Union City. In West New York, ministry among the Hispanic people began in the late 1960s. The sudden and rapid Cuban immigration expanded the need for Spanish services. Our Lady of Libera and Our Lady Help of Christians parishes also served the expanding Hispanic community.
After the Communist takeover of Cuba in 1959, the number of Cubans in New Jersey quickly reached 68,048. Since then, it has increased to about 90,000. Almost two-thirds of Cubans in New Jersey live in the Archdiocese of Newark. Nearly half live in Hudson County. Pew Research studies estimate that 51 percent of Cubans in Cuba are Catholic.
SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICANS
The account of the Hispanic presence in the four counties of the Archdiocese, after the initial Spanish immigration, has emphasized Puerto Ricans or Cubans, although there have been some exceptions. This is because they were the first to arrive in certain areas and came here with the legal status of citizens or refugees. South and Central Americans, as well as Dominicans, came later. They tended to gravitate toward the existing Puerto Rican and Cuban parishes and communities. Because many of them were undocumented, their status was insecure. They sought the sacraments and attended Mass, but out of fear of deportation, they often kept a very low profile and shied away from involvement in parish life. Many worked several jobs or long, unusual hours. It was not unusual for them to be mistreated by employers.
Before 1990, the only categories in the United States Census report for Hispanics were Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican. In the 1990 census, separate categories appeared for other Hispanic nations. The Archdiocese of Newark has been of great service in providing immigrant counseling and, where possible and when requested, facilitating the attainment of legal status. Parochial schools have also been a haven when local school districts began asking questions about legal status. For more than a century, parochial schools were a major force for passing on the faith within immigrant communities. The decline in the number of parochial schools, together with its increasing cost, weakens evangelization efforts among recent immigrant groups and calls for new pastoral initiatives and strengthened religious education programs.
THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY
In 1993, at the invitation of the archbishop of Newark, the Neocatechumenal Way opened Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Kearny. The Neocatechumenal Way has significantly impacted pastoral care and evangelization in the archdiocese, particularly among the Hispanic community. Founded in Spain, its spirituality is familiar to many Hispanics. Many of its priests, all of whom are incardinated priests of the Archdiocese of Newark, are from Spain or Latin America and speak Spanish fluently. There also is a significant number of Portuguese-speaking Neocatechumenate priests from Portugal and Brazil. This makes them ideal ministers to the Hispanic and Portuguese, and Brazilian communities.
Over the years, large numbers of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Catholics have joined the parish communities of the Neocatechumenal Way or have been under the pastoral and evangelizing care of priests of the Neocatechumenate. An example is St. Mary Parish in Plainfield. It competes with St. Joseph of the Palisades in West New York as the largest parish in the archdiocese. In Plainfield, almost 4,500 parishioners attend Mass each Sunday. Priests of the Neocatechumenate serve the parish, and many parishioners are members. St. Columba Parish in Newark was on the brink of closing when it was assigned priests of the Neocatechumenal Way and now is a viable, largely Hispanic parish.
Today, Newark priests who are members of the Neocatechumenal Way number more than 100. A significant number serve in predominately Hispanic parishes or in parishes that have a sizeable Spanish- speaking population.
POPULAR RELIGIOSITY AND CELEBRATIONS
As the number of Hispanics grew, the public manifestations of religiosity and celebrations gained acceptance and recognition within the Archdiocese of Newark. These celebrations are a source of pride and unity for the different national groups of Hispanics—mainly celebrations of the Blessed Virgin Mary under various titles prominent in the nations of Latin America. They demonstrate the depth of devotion of the Hispanic people to the Mother of God.
These feasts and observances usually originated within a small local community with the assistance of the local clergy. While each Latino group had its own specific religious-cultural characteristics, there were many similarities. Many came from rural areas that, for centuries, only saw a priest several times a year. Quickly, parishes added shrines to these many Madonnas. St. Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral installed a statue of
donated by the Puerto Rican community, the first Latino group in the parish, in 1985. Similarly, in 2001, a shrine was dedicated to Our Lady of Quinche, patroness of Ecuador, donated by St. Patrick’s most recently arrived immigrant group. In some parishes, such as St. Mary in Jersey City, one can find more than a dozen statues of the Blessed Virgin, each one precious to a different national group.
While the Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants drew the most attention initially, as years passed, immigrants from every nation in Central and South America came into New Jersey and into the Archdiocese, together with thousands from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
Robert J. Wister, Hist.Eccl.D., is a faculty member at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange and has written on the history of the Catholics that make up the Archdiocese of Newark.
