A Different Kind of Catholicism is Growing in Latino Communities Marlon Bishop and Maria Hinojosa - NPR Code Switch
go to original January 23, 2014

Worshippers are brought to tears at the Wednesday night Charismatic prayer meetings at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Bronx, New York City. (Marlon Bishop/Latino USA)

In the Saint Anthony of Padua Church in the Bronx, Wednesday night is prayer meeting night.

Fifty people gather in the spare assembly room for a ceremony that looks very different from a Catholic Sunday Mass.

For one thing, the service is led by a woman rather than a male priest. She preaches excitedly while a rock band of young Salvadoran immigrants backs her up.

Some people in the audience hold up their hands; others are swaying gently. There are tears in the crowd.

Suddenly, the woman stops speaking in Spanish and begins speaking in tongues.

It may sound indecipherable, but for the faithful, it's a sacred language given to them by the Holy Spirit.

Welcome to a different kind of catholicism...

Read the rest at NPR Code Switch

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