United States: more and more people pray in Spanish

In less than 40 years, the number of Catholic Hispanics has increased 70 percent. According to the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States, since 1960 the number of Catholic faithful in the country has also increased more than 70 percent.

The Hispanic migration phenomenon is one of the factors that has contributed to this increase, Zenit Agency reports. The majority come for a better quality of life due to the lack of work opportunities in their countries of origin, as well as to join family members that have emigrated to the north.

Of the more than 35 million Hispanics who live in the United States, approximately 73 percent are Catholic. Many encounter a country with very different traditions and therefore look for something they can relate to.

Mario Paredes, president of the CALL (Catholic Association of Latino Leaders), believes that "currently the identity of the Hispanic Catholic world in the United States is very clear, very open, and is very strong despite all the currents that have arisen recently against immigrants in the United States."

This view reflects the words of Benedict XVI during his trip to the United States, who assured that the Church in this country "welcoming in her midst many of her immigrant children, has been able to grow also due to the vitality of the testimony of faith of the Spanish speaking faithful".