Carrying flags representing a variety of Spanish-speaking countries, Catholic school students celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a colorful procession during a special Sept. 26 Mass at Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Highlandtown.
Among those attending the liturgy were students from Archbishop Borders School in Highlandtown, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Fells Point, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Essex and St. Casimir School in Canton – many of whom are bilingual.
Students from Mother Mary Lange Catholic School in West Baltimore watched via livestream, hearing liturgical readings and music in both Spanish and English.
In his homily, Archbishop William E. Lori said there was much to celebrate during Hispanic Heritage Month.
“The schools represented here this morning help you develop your language skills,” Archbishop Lori said. “By learning both English and Spanish, you honor your heritage, and you have the benefit of knowing two languages, not just one. Language is one way to honor your heritage and to preserve it.”
The archbishop said the Hispanic community is an important part of the “family of faith” in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
“It isn’t easy going to a new country, as some of you know,” he said. “Not everyone welcomes you.”
Some students had recently arrived in the past year or two, including Andres Camilo Rodriguez Sirria, a second grader at Archbishop Borders School from Nicaragua. He said his family enjoys festivals honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary as “la Virgen de Dios,” the “Virgin of God.”
Sofia Leon Braca, also in the second grade at the bilingual school in Highlandtown, said she celebrates being Latina by speaking Spanish, dancing and eating “the best” arepas cooked by her mother.
“Anytime we get to highlight the beautiful contributions of the Hispanic community, it changes the narrative of what immigrants and refugees do to this country,” said Lia Garcia, director of Hispanic Ministry for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “This country was built by immigrants, and the Hispanic community has so many gifts, and this is visible in our parishes in our communities.”
Latinos bring both the gift of their culture and the gift of their faith, Garcia said.
“Most of us are raised Catholic and we pass on the faith to our children,” she said. “So anytime we get to highlight our beautiful contributions, it’s a way of saying thanks to God.”
Sister Samaritan of Scourged Love, a member of the Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, said it’s important to have Masses such as the one at Sacred Heart of Jesus because it shows the roots of heritage.
“Sharing our language, our food, our stories, is a reminder that God loves all of us, no matter the color of our skin, our race or our economic class,” said Sister Samaritan, originally from Nicaragua. “And children, especially, should be taught this so that these lessons can be passed down through generations.”
Several schools throughout the archdiocese have been holding special activities during September to highlight Hispanic culture.
Larry Parr, a campus minister with Cristo Rey, said his community held a student-faculty soccer game and homeroom trivia quizzes with Hispanic heritage as the topic.
Scarlett Rodriguez, a student at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, said her school created special bulletin boards, offered announcements and will share food culture at the “Taste of the World” event that occurs in October.
Archbishop Borders School has numerous activities going on, including plays, presentations, food tastings and more. Ana Gray, a teacher at Archbishop Borders, said the school also incorporates Hispanic holidays and celebrations into the curriculum, such as Dia de los Muertos, Virgen de Guadalupe and Hispanic Heritage Month.
“And (we) include Hispanic literature and authors in the reading materials, such as books by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende,” she said.
Jesus Perez, communications director at Mother Mary Lange School, said it’s important for children not to forget where they came from.
“Students should not lose their heritage when assimilation is so accessible because maintaining their cultural identity is crucial for their sense of belonging,” he said.
During the Mass, which featured traditional dancers wearing ornate costumes, Redemptorist Father Ako Walker, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus, presented Archbishop Lori with a basket of fruit. As the archbishop prepared to leave to attend the Synod on Synodality in Rome, the gift was meant to provide a lot of vitamin C to keep him healthy, Father Walker said.
The Mass was coordinated by Kaitlyn Ramos, coordinator of Latino Enrollment and Outreach for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
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