The growth of the Hispanic population in the Catholic Church throughout the United States is quite noticeable in the Diocese of Cheyenne. One of the parishes leading the way in welcoming these new family members of the faith is St. Joseph in Cheyenne.
About two years ago, the Diocese of Cheyenne partnered with the Catholic Extension Society to provide Regional Hispanic Coordinators to help meet the needs of the growing Hispanic population within our country. Through the generosity of the grant from Catholic Extension Society, St. Joseph was able to hire Eva Estorga as the first of hopefully three such coordinators.
The pastor last night mentioned that their religious education program has overrun their space due to the number of children in their religious education program, a large percentage of whom are Hispanic. This is a welcome challenge! St. Joseph is also blessed with a dedicated catechist, Mr. Charles Olives. Charles has been overseeing the Confirmation program for the last few years, and is a great advocate for our young church.
Once again last night, our young members who received the Sacrament of Confirmation were challenged to be open to the Holy Spirit. They were invited to allow the Holy Spirit to bring a renewed joy of living their faith and following Christ with their lives. I asked them to please join me as their bishop in serving the many needs of our Church and working with their unique gifts for the renewal of the Church. I believe they and all our young people are up to the challenge!
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