The Shared Parish

A disproportionate number of immigrants both now and throughout our nation’s history have been Roman Catholics, from Irish and Germans to Italians and Poles to Mexicans and Filipinos. Demographic transformation and intercultural relations have regularly been a part of parish life in the United States. Yet not every era has dealt with changes in the same way. For much of the 19th and early 20th century, national or ethnic parishes welcomed arriving immigrants. Irish fleeing the potato famine and Poles seeking religious freedom and work both found spiritual homes in parishes completely arranged for their needs. In more recent decades, however, most immigrants join existing parishes, forming distinct communities within the parish, each with its own masses and ministries. At All Saints parish in the Midwestern diocese of Port Jefferson (both pseudonyms), for example, the arrival of immigrants from Mexico led to the establishment of two weekend Spanish masses in addition to the three English masses. The parish hosts parallel religious education and youth ministry programs. In parishes like All Saints, which I call shared parishes, arriving and resident communities develop in parallel fashion, occasionally coming together for celebrations, meetings, or liturgy.