July 3, 2009
Hispanic children now part of parish First Communion classes
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
For many years, Hispanic children in the Diocese of Evansville received their First Com-munion together, yet apart from the Anglo children in their parishes, and as part of their preparation they attended classes in Spanish.
This changed in 2009, as Hispanic children in Dale, Huntingburg and Washington made their First Communion alongside Anglo children in their parishes.
Benedictine Sister Karen Durliat is the diocesan director of the Spanish-speaking ministry. She said, “We are encouraging parents to have their children participate in the regular parish programs in first and second grades.
“The parishes are also adapting to helping children prepare at an older age. In many of the places that they’ve come from, it’s not tradition to prepare in first or second grades.”
Maria “Kande” Batz is the outreach coordinator with the ministry. She has found that it’s easier on the children to take the classes in English because that’s the language they are hearing in school.
Their parents, on the other hand, are a little concerned about their children not learning their prayers in Spanish.
The progress — of integrating Hispanic children into the parish programs — has been a slow one, Batz said, noting that she is seeing more and more Hispanic parents who are becoming interested in sending their children to these programs.
“I think this will take time. It’s a slow process for us.” The children are “more interested” in taking the English classes, she said. “It’s hard for them to study in Spanish because they read in English.” She believes more and more children will join the English-language classes “as they become comfortable in English.”