FALL 2012 A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM MISSION AMERICA Gulf Coast C  Spiritual Wealth from Mission Challenges BY BETH GRIFFIN

atholics in the northwest Florida Diocese of Pensacola- try to be very clear in helping people understand the treasure we Tallahassee are spread thinly across 14,000 square miles, have and that we’re proud of our faith,” she says. 18 counties, and two time zones. In some areas, Catholics At the level, the modest numbers are seen more as an makeC up less than one percent of the population, and parishes are opportunity for evangelization than a challenge. “Th ere’s a great separated by miles of rural interstate highway. deal of openness to share and invite. We make a conscious eff ort Nonetheless, Catholicism is deeply rooted and vibrant in to value the diff erence between religions, and I feel that’s mutual,” this diverse Bible Belt diocese. Peggy says. “Th e positive side to being a small Ultimately, actions are more community is our faith is relatively powerful than words; people of dif- unique, and we stand out as a faith ferent traditions cooperate on proj- family,” says John Kennedy, dio- ects in the region, and Catholics cesan director of stewardship and are oft en leaders of charitable and development. “It allows us to defi ne interfaith eff orts. Peggy describes, ourselves better, and the faith is not “Th e work together taken for granted.” for the good of the community, Th e Diocese of Pensacola- and Catholics are at the forefront.” Tallahassee receives grant support Examples include post-hurricane from Home Missions to relief and rebuilding, Catholic help it enrich the spiritual lives of Charities’ outreach to those in need, people in 57 parishes and missions. and free clinics that serve the unin- Catholics in the diocese enjoy sured, homeless, and working poor. a cordial relationship with mem- Vast physical distances and a bers of other faiths, according to rocky economy are greater chal- Peggy DeKeyser, diocesan direc- lenges in the diocese than scant tor of communications. “Th ere is a numbers, according to Peggy. She certain amount of misinformation says the distances between parishes about Catholicism, but there is little in Florida’s panhandle are bridged ill will connected with it. Because by modern technology and the we are such a minority, we fre- commitment of the people to unite quently need to provide a lot more in diocese-wide events. background information than in “We try to make the best use areas of the country where Catholic of technology to engage the people knowledge is more pervasive. We The Annual Migration Mass honors the diversity of those from in the parishes and help them come many nations.

continued on page 2 CATHOLIC HOME MISSIONS

continued from page 1 FROM THE CHAIRMAN together as much as possible,” she says. This Dear Friends, includes using Skype and online conferenc- When you think of ing to connect diocesan “mission America,” staff with priests, reli- the state of Florida gious, and in the might not spring to parishes. mind immediately. In reality, however, the Diocese of “The people in Pensacola-Tallahassee is a prime the parishes are where example of a home mission diocese the richness of faith that, while better off than others, is and building up of the still confronted with many challenges Church come together. in resources and geography. The fruit of bringing them together is just so The two namesake cities of the rich,” Peggy says. diocese are a three-hour rural But the spiritual interstate drive away from each wealth of the diocese con- other. They, and a few coastal trasts with the low-wage cities in between, accommodate the majority of the diocese’s parishes jobs filled by many peo- and activities. Catholics who live ple in communities that outside those areas must either travel retain their rural, small- to find a parish or hope that there town character. The local are priests, religious, or lay ministers economy includes a lively who will come to them. tourism industry, a well- established agricultural As in most of mission America, base centered on small- A young girl receives her First Holy Communion. being a visible Church in Pensacola- scale farms, higher edu- Tallahassee is important. Catholics cation, large health care providers, and day-to-day details of combining cultures are only four percent of the both active-duty and retired military per- in an effective and respectful way,” Peggy population, and parishioners can unwittingly absorb non-Catholic sonnel. Hurricanes and the 2010 oil spill explains. and even anti-Catholic views from in the Gulf of Mexico impacted the tour- Fr. Nicholas Schumm, administra- local radio stations, bookstores, ism and fishing industries; uneven weather tor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Quincy and friends. Other well-funded and the national recession placed added since July 2011, says, “The parish commu- denominations are only too happy stress on families already living on annual nity here is bringing the walls down and to send a bus to pick up Catholics incomes under $35,000. These challenges building community by allowing people to who don’t have a local faith put pressure on the local church to provide encourage one another and also encoun- community. This is especially true of resources for the community, Peggy says. ter Christ.” The parish includes established the growing Hispanic population. Pensacola is known as the City of Hispanics and newcomers from Mexico Five Flags, because since its first settle- and El Salvador, as well as long-time Anglo It is only with your support that the ment in 1559, it has been under the con- and African-American members. Catholic Home Missions can help make the Church a living presence trol of Spain, England, France, the Con- “We try to offer a place that’s welcom- in places like Pensacola-Tallahassee. federacy, and the United States. Today, ing and hospitable to all and honors the the diocese ministers to Catholics who history of the people who have been here With gratitude, identify themselves as Anglo, African- the longest and built the community,” Fr. American, Hispanic, Vietnamese, Fili- Schumm says. pino, Korean, and Eastern European, His efforts include a three-day bilin- Most Rev. Michael W. Warfel among others. gual summer parish pilgrimage to mon- Bishop of Great Falls–Billings The diversity brings blessings and asteries in neighboring Alabama. Fifty-six Chairman, USCCB Subcommittee challenges. “Like many , we people financed the 2012 trip with tamale on Catholic Home Missions are working on how to best be a uni- sales and car washes. They shared fun, versal Church and to best live out the activities, and the experience of going on

2 •fall 2012• STRENGTHENING THE CHURCH AT HOME continued from page 2 a journey together. Th ey also shared their • In Pensacola-Tallahassee, the 62,545 own stories in a way that helped the par- Catholics make up 4.44% of the ticipants understand one another. “We population. were building community among people • Catholics are concentrated in the cities aft er a very hard year that included deaths of Pensacola and Tallahassee and the of children and young people from cancer coastal communities of Panama City and violence,” Fr. Schumm says. and Fort Walton Beach, but there is Fr. Schumm’s bridge-building also no community in the diocese where includes establishing a bilingual pastoral Catholics exceed 10% of the population. council, with representatives from both English- and Spanish-speaking communi- • There are 49 parishes and eight ties, “instead of having parallel churches. missions. The largest parish in the diocese has 2,700 families. It is We meet 90 minutes once a month and adjacent to the smallest, which numbers 26 families. have an agenda-driven meeting,” he says. • Seven parishes have more than 1,000 families. To underscore the welcoming atmo- • The diocese covers 18 counties. Three counties do not have a resident sphere at St. Th omas, Fr. Schumm com- priest, and one has no . missioned 30 pairs of people to knock on doors in the seven hamlets of the county- • There are 75 active and retired priests in the diocese. wide parish. Th e visitors brought bulletins • Eleven congregations of religious sisters, the Brotherhood of Hope, and with Mass and sacrament schedules and the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy have religious houses in invited people to come to Holy Week ser- the diocese. vices. “Th ey came back exhilarated,” he • More than 2,900 students study in seven elementary schools and two says. “Many of the people they met were Catholic high schools. Another 7,300 participate in parish religious baptized Catholics who fell out of atten- education programs. There are no Catholic colleges or universities. dance and were surprised to be visited. A lot of people came back to the sacraments, • Catholicism was brought to the Gulf Coast from Mexico in 1559 by and there is an energy, a vibe, a sense of settlers who established a community in a port discovered by the Spanish. belonging.” And Mass attendance is up, They landed in Pensacola on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15. among both Spanish and English speakers. Dominican in the group celebrated Mass on their arrival. Th e Church in Pensacola-Tallahassee • The diocese was formed in 1975 from parts of the Dioceses of St. is growing. Since the diocese was formed Augustine (Florida) and Mobile (Alabama). Since then, the Catholic in 1975, the Catholic population has population of the diocese has grown more than 68%. expanded by more than 68%. Bishop Gregory L. Parkes, who was installed as the fi ft h bishop of the diocese on June 5, Bishop Parkes says, “We are blessed of Catholic Women who work to support 2012, pointed to a healthy vocations pic- to have a good number of men in forma- vocations and the education of our future ture. Ten men have been ordained in the tion for the priesthood and to have orga- priests. We also have both across-the- past four years. nizations such as the Diocesan Council diocese and intergenerational cooperation in this area.” With the help of Catholic Home Mis- HISPANIC/LATINO CATHOLICS are growing in numbers across sions, Bishop Parkes will be able to imple- the nation. Bishop Gerald Barnes, Chairman of the USCCB ment his “vision for the diocese, which Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, says, “Never before has it been is basic to our faith: to spread the Good so urgent for all ministers to serve Hispanic/Latinos . . . Nor has News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it been as important for Hispanic/Latino ministers to reach out to northwest Florida. We will celebrate our Catholics from different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities in the Catholic tradition and history, encourag- ing the faithful to witness to the Gospel as spirit of the New Evangelization” (Foreword, Hispanic/Latino an extension of the love and compassion of Ministry—Past, Present, Future: A New Beginning). For details, visit Christ, especially to the most vulnerable in www.usccbpublishing.org and search product code 7-314. our midst,” he says.

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•fall 2012• Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 61 Hyattsville, MD

Subcommittee on Catholic Home Missions Office of National Collections United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 Fourth Street NE Washington, DC 20017-1194

Fall 2012

In this issue . . . The Diocese of Pensacola- Subcommittee on Tallahassee, located in Florida’s Catholic Home Missions region of the Bible Belt, faces its Chairman challenges with help from the Most Rev. Michael W. Warfel Catholic Home Missions. Look Members inside to learn what faith life is Most Rev. Peter F. Christensen like in this diocese that spans two Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley time zones. Most Rev. Curtis J. Guillory Most Rev. Your generosity to the Catholic Home Most Rev. Robert F. Vasa Missions Appeal supports essential Most Rev. Joe S. Vasquez ministries in poor dioceses across the United States and its territories. Staff THANK YOU for being part of our efforts Mary Mencarini Campbell, Director to strengthen the Church at home. Ken Q. Ong, Grants Specialist

Copyright © 2012, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Photos courtesy of Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.