WE ARE THE WORLD
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A GALLERY OF NEW YORK CATHOLICS
FALL 2018
We come from everywhere. Here are a few of us.
Photographs by Gerri Hernandez
WE LEARNED IN SCHOOL that catholic, lowercased, means universal. Yet when most people think “New York Catholic,” they don’t picture the broad spectrum of humanity. They picture Bluebloods. They picture Caucasians, mostly Western Europeans, mostly of Irish and Italian heritage. Increasingly their vision might incorporate Hispanics and Latinos – but it’s still fairly homogeneous.
As with all stereotypes, this one ignores a reality that is far richer and more complex. In the Archdiocese of New York, Masses are said in more than a dozen languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Polish, Hungarian, Albanian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog (a Filipino language), Arabic, Garifuna (an Afro-Caribbean language from Central America) – and for good measure, even Irish Gaelic. At some parishes, Mass is said in as many as five languages each week.
At Archways, we have embarked on a photographic mission to celebrate the glorious diversity of New York’s Catholics. We are from all corners of the world, and we represent many nationalities and cultures. The Catholic Church embraces and welcomes us all and invites us to celebrate both our differences and the great deal we share in the light of Jesus’ mercy and love.
There are nearly 300 parishes in the Archdiocese of New York. The pictures on these pages are from only a small sampling of them. It would take years – and many more editions of Archways! – to photograph and showcase the full range of New York Catholics, but there’s no better time than now to begin honoring where we came from and rejoicing in where we are now, together, in the universal community of God.
St. Teresa’s, Manhattan: China, first generation.
St. Lucy’s, Bronx: Albania, first generation.
St. Barnabas, Bronx: Italy, first and second generation.
St. Barnabas, Bronx: Ireland, first through third generation.
Good Shepherd Church, Yonkers: Jordan, first generation.
Immaculate Conception / St. Mary’s, Yonkers: Ghana, first generation.
St. Barnabas, Bronx: Ireland, second and third generation.
St. Teresa’s, Manhattan: China, second generation.
Good Shepherd Church, Yonkers: Jordan, first generation.
Immaculate Conception / St. Mary’s, Yonkers: Ecuador and Mexico, second generation.
Immaculate Conception / St. Mary’s, Yonkers: Mexico, first generation.
Immaculate Conception / St. Mary’s, Yonkers: Dominican Republic, first and second generation.
St. Barnabas, Bronx: Ireland, first generation.
Immaculate Conception / St. Mary’s, Yonkers: Nigeria, first generation.
Immaculate Conception / St. Mary’s, Yonkers: Cuba, first generation.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Manhattan: Black History Month Mass, 2018.
St. Teresa’s, Manhattan: China, first generation.
Good Shepherd Church, Yonkers: Jordan, third generation.
St. Teresa’s, Manhattan: China, second and third generation.