By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

About one-fourth of all Catholic parishes in the United States offer Mass in Spanish to the growing number of Hispanic faithful nationwide.

To see photo gallery from the Nov. 20 presentation in St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, click here.

To see photo gallery from the Nov. 21 presentation in St. Rose of Lima School, click here.

With Spanish Masses offered in 25 of 107 parishes, the Diocese of Trenton is in line with the national trend in spiritual outreach to the broad and culturally diverse community of faithful who worship in that language.

It's a good start considering recent reports indicate those of Hispanic background comprise 42 percent of the Catholic population in the United States and more than 50 percent of Catholics under 35.

And with this demographic trend in mind, the Catholic infrastructure of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties is being called to deepening engagement with the community of Hispanic faithful.

Indeed, one of the five goals established by Bishop David M. O'Connell C.M., for the Faith in Our Future pastoral planning initiative  which is to provide pastoral ministry to Hispanic Catholics, the fastest growing segment of the diocesan population.

That being the case, the Diocese brought in a leading expert, Dr. Hosffman Ospino, to deliver two presentations to priests, staff and lay ministers Nov. 20 and 21 aimed at nurturing and fostering Hispanic Ministry in Catholic Parishes.

For four hours Nov. 20 Ospino delivered to 40 priests and their guests at St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold.

Drawing on the ground breaking “National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry” which he led, Ospino's non-stop, energetic stream of insights on everything from the complex history of Hispanic settlement in this hemisphere to the many cultural traditions, musical and artistic preferences, culinary approaches and family values all wrapped in a tilma of faith.

During his talk, he highlighted the transformation of the Catholic population in the past 30-40 years and stressed the need for clergy and lay men and women with bilingual competencies. He shared how leaders have struggled to meet the needs of the growing number of Hispanic families from religious education resources to vibrant liturgies.

Ospino, a native of Colombia, who is assistant professor of Hispanic ministry and religious education at Boston College, spoke of the constantly evolving face of the Church in the United States and the concerns which have emerged with it – signs of disaffection among the young – that call for outreach, understanding and a willingness to “embrace our cultural differences and push open the doors.

Overall, his presentation offered a litany of information that clergy, staff and guests said they would take home and unpack for their teams.

Among them was Nancy Grodberg, who coordinates religious education at Visitation Parish, Brick, and St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Lavallette, both of which have significant Hispanic populations. She said Ospino's presentation offered her ideas she will draw upon in just a few weeks for the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“He gave me insight into things that we can do” regarding the liturgy and the love of music and culture that the Hispanic community brings to the Church, she said. “The women have volunteered to sing and (lead) prayers. They are very enthusiastic whenever I ask them to do anything.” She'll refer to Ospino's insights as the liturgy takes shape.

Msgr. Leonard F. Troiano, who will retire as pastor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Jan. 4, and serve as coordinator of Faith In Our Future, and Msgr. Sam A. Sirianni, pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine, as well as Grodberg, all found his grasp of statistics particularly eye-opening.

“His presentation was very much on target,” said Msgr. Troiano. “He pointed out the realities of a major demographic shift, not only in the United States, but locally in the Diocese of Trenton. This is something that is a reality we are going to have to deal with.”

Msgr. Troiano said he appreciated the way Ospino outlined “several really important approaches” to the Latino community. “I was really taken by the fact that he talked about reaching out to youth in specific ways” –generally tuning into the culture and connecting to all facets of the community – from the majority –those with abiding faith and strong family relationships – to those on the margins involved in gangs.

Becoming aware of the variety of preferences in the diverse community, “being aware of cultural needs, foods, music is very important.”

Where the liturgy is concerned, he said: “the fact is, we are on a mission,” he said. “We need to raise consciousness at all levels.”

Msgr. Sirianni especially appreciated Ospino's clear focus on the historical context of the past 200 plus years. “It reminded us that recent waves of immigration have had an impact that is no different than this one. It is the same.”

“If you like the American society you have now, you must recognize that (millions) of foreign immigrants had an impact on that. You must realize that this is an evolution of who we are as a country.”

More to come on this story.