The Social Impact of Catholic Communities on the East Coast
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.(Mt 6:3-4)
Research Project During Winter Break 2023-2024
Description of the Project
As a French catholic on exchange in the US for a year, I had a lot of questions about how my religion was declined in this country. I did know that Catholic communities existed in the US. I just could'nt understand to what extend, especially with the diverse christian communities that have developped in the US; whereas in France, Catholicism is the primary religion and other forms of Christianity are pretty rare. So my first intention by applying to the Sheffer Fund was to take the opportunity to do research to learn more about my religion in the country I was spending a year in.
From the idea I had of American cities, I felt like that religious life seemed to be out-of-date in these big, noisy and modern American cities, and this was illustrated through the architecture of the cities; churches are overpowered by high buildings and skyscrapers. The architecture of the city conveys the idea that American society is dominated by a highly secular presence. However, by sharing my questions about American Catholicism with some members of the Sheffer Fund council, I learnt that Catholic communities in the US are known to be actively pushing for social justice in the American society. As a Political Science major and a Catholic, this aroused my curiosity, as I find in social justice an urgent cause to raise our voice and take action. But this willingness to fight for social justice is confronted to many disapointments and incoherence, or maybe received ideas and misconceptions I had about the Catholic Church that disappointed me and made me question the consistency of my faith with the Catholic teaching. This is why I decided to orient my research towards the question of the social action, especially what impact the Catholic communities have in this matter in the typical modern space that is the city.
Therefore, my research was based on inquiring about the gap between the visually discrete Catholic Church with what the Catholic communities are actually doing in American modern cities. I chose to do my research on the East Coast where there are the most typically American cities from my perspective. Besides, there is a long legacy of European tradition to be found in these places, which aroused my curiosity to be able to compare with the continent from which I come. The proximity of urban centers on the East Coast also enabled me to visit many cities in a month without the need of taking the plane, which was an important ecological criterion for me.
Description of the Methodology
Important places that I have visited for my research
For the research, I planned on globally visiting the cities, to get an idea of the general atmosphere of the places Catholic communities are getting elvoved in. Then I planned on visiting significant Catholic centers, that are mainly churches. I informed myself as much as possible about the Catholic history of the place. I went to masses, as a personal religious practice, and a way to understand the life and dynamism of the parishes of each city. I collected as many flyers as I could in the churches I visited to get a broader idea on what was happening in the parishes and what were the primary messages or values that the parishes were willing to convey to visitors. I tried to find as many exhibitions as possible in every city that would tackle the question of religion and especially Catholicism. I met with people invested in the parishes or in the communities to discuss with them the significant role Catholic communities are holding nowadays in the American cities.
I do recognize that although I spent hours on the project, it is simply a rapid overview of my personal thoughts and conclusions about the topic. Many aspects that are raised in this report would require further research to be academically solid and legitimate. The current report is definitly subjective and based on my own perception and value of events.
Academic Findings
The main finding of my research is that, yes, Catholic communities are active and play a significant role in the American cities, although it is not clearly displayed to the public. I have also found out that I could broaden the idea of social action beyond purely social action towards social justice. I came to realize that the social action of Catholic communities in the United States is hard to frame in such a short research. I have differienciated a social impact different levels:
- Societal Level
- Community Level
- Individual Level
- Spiritual Level
Social Impact on the Societal Level
For the societal level, it was hard for me to really perceive and experience it within the method and the time of my research. But I have understood that the Catholic Church had historically a tremendous social impact on hospitals and education, and this can still be seen today. Besides, Catholic communities have a social impact by their position on social issues such as abortion (I want to precise that I only explain what I have observed, without giving my personal opinion to the question) that is the main debated societal topic that was visible every where I would go: in the mass sermons, in the weekly parish flyers to promote pro-life demonstrations, or general flyers displayed in the churches about "how to be pro-life".
This can be understood by the fact that "the Catholic Church is constantly promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death" (Director of the Advancement of the Mission, Baltimore).
Left: flyer in the Basilica of Baltimore. Right: sign on a Church in Boston
Social Impact on the Community Level
Catholic communities play a significant role to bring people together through community life, which has, from my perspective, an important global social impact. The Catholic Church has dozens of organizations, parishes or charities that take care of their surroundings and are active on the local scale. This is what I have observed the most during my research.
The social action of Catholic communities can be found in the dynamic life of each parish, that organizes many events to bring people together. In the weekly flyers of the parishes, we can read the updates of the community, prayer intentions entrusted to the community, the parishioners that have lately died, different groups of pray or discussion for the rosary, to talk about mental health, the environnement or even to gather LGBTQ+ identifying people. I have found the power of the community life very impactful for the the people engaged in the parish, which reminded me of my own hometown where the community life of my parish has been important for me to bond with people.
In the weekly flyers of the parishes, the reader can easily find transparency information concerning the money of the parish, notably how much did the parish receive through donations in the past days. However, when it comes to social action, it is really hard to have the information without personnaly asking someone involved in these activites. I also realized why any random person living or visiting the city could not necessarily see the action of the Church it if they don't really dig for answers: the humility of the mission is at the core of the gospel.
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Therefore, the social action of Catholic communities are inherently a shadow work. Another hypothesis about why little do people know about the significant role played by Catholic communities for the city is that the population targetted by the Catholic mission is on the fringes of the society. The population that Catholic communities are trying to take care of and to give dignity to is a population that has been forgotten by the broader society. This concerns mainly homeless people, who, as I have sadly observed during my research, are in aweful living conditions permanently displayed in the streets. But the terrible reality of their fate are just part of the ordinary city life, and they just become invisible to the public. The Catholic Church in the US "fil in the gaps when the govt is not [enough]or they supplement governmental programs as part of the mission of the Catholic Church" (Director of the Advancement of missions, Baltimore). The majority of the social action are driven by associations that are primarily focused on resestablishing the dignity of the person, like the Society of Saint Vicent de Paul notably implemented in New York City, the Knights of Colombus or Catholic charities. Some parishes do organize some events and programms oriented for homeless people like Source of Hope in Baltimore, or the weekly lunch with "the friends of the streets" (term used by the organization to designate homeless people) in Philadelphia that I had the chance to observe.
Left: piece of art in the garden of Saint John the Divine, NYC. The statue has wholes in his feet, making the parallel between the crucifixion of Christ and the fate of homeless people. Right: One of the sayings written of the wall of the crypt in Saint John the Evangelist, Philadelphia.
I have also discovered the "poor box" that is present in every church I have visited. I was wondering how we could know what happens with this money. During a discussion with a priest in the Basilica of Washington DC, I came to understand that most parishes have a committee to oversee the distribution of the money. Usually, the money is used for people in need that come to ask the parish for funds, mostly family and individuals calling the priest for money. The distribution is not limited to Catholics. I think the poor box is a concrete example of ways parishioners can directly give for the poor, especially the ones of their locality.
Poor boxes in different churches.
Regarding the specificity of the social action in the United States organized by the Catholic Church as been greatly explained by Maria Veres during our interview.
There is no other choice but for citizens to take responsibility because of the nature of the way our gvt is set up. I think this is good that the Church does as much as it does, and hopefully is always trying to do more, because it gives responsibility to the community to take care of itself and its members. The State does not abide by the same Truth than the Catholic Church abides by, which is always defending the sacredness and the dignity of all human life and always in the spirit of humility, charity and generosity
Social Impact on the Individual Level
Finally, I am convinced that Catholic communities have a social impact on the individual level, that is hard for me to perceive. But I had the impression that the dynamic community life of the parish was a real way of integration for individuals, who could find many ways of getting involved in the community. I believe that the Catholic communities have an impact on all the individuals that have been helped, considered and given dignity through the different social actions.
Something else that I have found really interesting regarding the gap between the American modern cities and the Catholic tradition, is that this gap could actually also be a treasure for individuals that were looking for a peaceful place to rest or to pray. I have always been positively surprised to notice the big difference between the noisy streets where I came from with the silent and peaceful place that churches offered. There were often some people praying during the day, when I would come to visit a church. I think this is a significant impact that churches can have on individuals to offer them a calm place to pray.
Left: The grounds of the Baltimore Basilica that holds a perpetual adoration. Right: People praying during the day in a church that I spontaneously entered in New York City.
Social Impact on the Spiritual Level
Eventually, I came to frame a last level that Catholic communities could impact, that is the spiritual level. For this one, I have no way to measure the social impact of the prayers of individuals within these Catholic communities. But as a religious person, I want to believe that there is an unmeasurable social impact as a consequence of intercession and praying. Every week, during Sunday mass, Catholic communities pray for the world and global peace. I was particularly touched in the Cathedral of Washington DC, where the universal prayer was oriented towards restoring peace, dignity for everyone and praying for the place of women in church and society. Who knows the impact of such prayers?
Beautiful Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle, Washington DC.
Personal Impact of the Research
As I was personally struggling finding coherence between the Catholic teaching and the actual actions of the Church, I have to say that this research helped me unveil a remarkable historical and daily devotion from Catholic communities to live the gospel through social actions. Social injustice is one of the most urgent societal question that I think unbearable and for which I want to committ my life in every decision I make. It is as a Christian that I find in social justice consistency with the gospel and what I believe in. I needed to see that, beyond social positions on some political issues, I still find my place in this community through these social actions that are, to me, the primary message of God.
Chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine, Washington DC, for Saint Louise de Marillac, Patroness of christian social workers, co-founder of Ladies of Charities in France with Saint Vincent de Paul. She is a important figure to me.
To go further...
During my research, there was one issue that I kept finding problematic and that I did not know how to resolve. I decided that this would need a proper research to carefully find an answer to this topic. This concerns the tension between evangelization and colonialisation. This is nontheless controversial on the American ground that was based on colonialism, which was particularly supported by christian missions. The gospel clearly states that each Christian is called to evangelize and spread the gospel in the world. This pushed European Christian communities to create missionary programs through the world. This resulted in many places in problematic ways of conversion, where religion could be imposed upon populations, which is completely against the gospel that leaves any individual free to believe or not. I acknowledge that I lack a lot of information in the matter, and that my research is based on stolen land that has been colonized by Europeans. I think the next steps of my research would be to understand to what extend Catholic communities were involved in colonialism, and how we reconcile what has been done in the past with the current mission of these communities in the cities. I have been particularly touched in Philadelphia to learn about Saint Katharine Drexel who gave all her wealth to found schools for black and indigenous people across the country, at the time where those populations were overtly discriminated against. This showed me that nothing is completely bad or good. But how can we retrace the ambivalent Catholic history on the American land without minimizing their implications for indigenous people?
Left: The sacred remains of St. Katharine Drexel in the Basilica of Philadelphia. Right: Façade of Drexel University, founded by St Katharine's parents.
Annexes - The journey
New York City
Because I was in the city right after Christmas and during New Year's Eve, I did not manage to get positive responses for interviews with people invested in Catholic communities.
I visited a few Catholic churches, some were planned and some were simply found out on my way. I was thrilled to go to the mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral on the 5th Avenue, but I went on Sunday the 31rst January, and I was disappointed with the number of tourists during the service and how express the mass went by, because they had one almost every hour.
However, this was in NYC that I experienced the most the peaceful places that churches (except Saint Patrick's Cathedral of course) offered in comparison with the noise of the streets. Most Catholic churches were open during the day and had a few people praying in silence. I thought it was interesting to see these "hidden places" of New York. Also, I was so touched to see how, as soon as I entered a church, I felt like I was in a familiar place again, compared with the general vibe of the city that was highly different from my European experience.
During my long walks in the city, I was surprised to see how many churches I could find on my way. I began to try to guess to what branch of Christianity they belonged to. This is really confusing to me to realize how many different kinds of Christianity there are in the US compared to France.
I also realized that a few non-catholic christian churches displayed LGBTQ+ flags on the façade of the building. This never happened on Catholic buildings, and I thought this distinction was really interesting to notice.
I was hoping that New York City would offer many different exhibitions on the topic of religion, but I was very disappointed to discover that this was not the case. I have been to two exhibitions during my stay in New York:
Acts of Faith - Religion & the American West, New York Historical Society: although the exhibition did not fit entirely my research, which is focused on the East Coast and Catholicism specifically, this exhibition enabled me to get a better understanding of the religious background the United States in general. I learnt a lot about the diversity of religions and the complexity of their histories on the American continent. I also realized how religion, especially Christianity, participated to the colonisation of the land and of the developpment of the United States.
Nativists and Immigrants - Beware of Foreign Influence, Museum of the City: I was very excited about this exhibition that turned out to be very simple and summarized. I did not learn that much about the immigration history of the United States, except the fact that Catholics were discriminated against in the 1840s and 1850s.
Eventually, at the end of my stay at New York City, I got the impression that the city was indeed dominated by a secular presence. Religion, and especially Catholicism, were not particularly addressed and visible in the city. Even when I entered churches, it was hard to know what were the events or actions organized by the parishes. Catholicism seemed to me to be considered as part of the past, through exhibitions of European catholic arts of the previous centuries in big museums like the Met. Nowadays in the city, I could only observe that Catholicism appeared to be distant from the city life, and promoting mainly conservative ideas, instead of conveying a message of love that is at the core of the gospel.
Washington D.C.
My time in the capital of the US greatly helped advance my research. I stayed three days there, and I have learnt so much about Catholicism on the East Coast.
First, I visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception with a tour guide. I was amazed by the building and the greatness of the architecture, especially considering the fact that is had been erected in the 20th century. I was a little unsettled about the ethical question concerning the amount of money that were put in such a building. But I appreciated the fact that the place is open to the public and offers many opportunities for Catholics to gather and to pray. Many pilgrimages end in the Basilica. The National Shrine became a national symbol for Catholics but also on a multiculturel level. The tour guide described the building as a "busy and international place". The Basilica counts 82 chapels dedicated to different countries to reflect the diversity of American Catholic origins.
I also spontanously met with a priest of the Basilica whose name I unfortunately don't remember. We had a great discussion about the National Shrine history, but also Catholicism in general in the United States and the use of poor boxes in churches. He emphasized a lot on the diversity within which Catholics have to coexist in this country. He talked about the founding of the US that did not impose any religion. That meant for him that the Catholics were free on one hand, but also had to be strong enough in their faith on the other hand to worship the Lord by themselves, which would require more efforts and dedications. He explained how Catholics had an active role in establishing schools and hospitals in the country. He told me about the Conference of Catholic Bishops that was standing a few streets away from the Basilica that contained various departments, including research on economy, ecology and so on, to prepare policies that can be brought to the government. Therefore, I began to understand that the Catholic Church in the United States is integrated in the society and has a social role at all scales. It is not just an isolated phenomen on the fringes of the city. It is at the core of its life, although it is hardly visible for those who don't dig for it.
It is during the visit of this Basilica that I began to understand that there was a lot going on regarding the Catholic life in the United States, contrary to what I had been thinking and observing in New York.
On Sunday, I went to the mass to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle that is distinguished from the National Shrine. The Basilica is the national Cathedral and St. Matthew is the Cathedral of the diocese of Washington DC. From this perspective, Washington DC is a very rich city in terms of Catholic community life.
The mass was amazing. A professional Choir was singing the liturgy and their performance was breathtaking and really helped the parishers to enter into prayer. Besides, the Archbishop's homily was really edifying and aligned perfectly with my political opinion. I was particularly touched by the sign at the front of the building that promoted urgent action against racism, which is to me a priority as Christians to rise for.
Discovering the Archdiocese of Washington DC made me realise the diversity within the Catholic Church in one territory itself. Some parished looked more progressist than others.
Washington DC was really interesting for my research as I was in the political capital of the country, and I had the opportunity to visit the National Cathedral but also the National Congress that is a great symbol of secularism and religious freedom.
Baltimore
On my way to Philadelphia, I stopped one day in Baltimore. This city is really significant to understand the development of the Catholic Church in the US.
I met with Maria Veres, the Director of Mission Advancement, in the Cathedral of Baltimore and our discussion allowed me to learn so much about the American Catholic history. This Cathedral was actually the first Catholic Cathedral of the United States. Maryland was the first and only state where being Catholic was not criminilized. Today again, the diocese of Baltimore is still significant in American Catholicism as bishops gather here for their Plenary Assembly.
More broadly, the discussion with Maria made me understand a lot about the philosophy of the Catholic Church in the secular United States. She justified the action of the Church, or maybe more the inaction of the government in a way that revealed culture chocks to me. She explained how the Catholic Church "supplements and fills programs" where the State is not enough, although people don't really know about it. This is notably justified by the mission that the Church has to promote dignity of human life from birth to death. From that ensue multiple organizations, initiatives and associations to take action towards social justice.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia was a real challenge for me as I was confronted with high poverty in the streets in a way I had never been before. People literraly sleeping on the ground, even during the day, in very schoking outfit. New York City had already been a schock, but Philadelphia was way worse. This made me overthink about the action we should take as Christians to live the gospel when we face such situation, while being careful with our own security and integrity. Especially as a woman, I don't feel confortable with interacting with homeless people, and I am wondering if this is consistent with my faith or not.
Philadelphia actually gave me more answers than I was expected.
My best discovery during this trip was to learn about Saint Katharine Drexel, that I had never heard of before, who is a significant Saint of Philadelphia and in American Catholicism. She basically represented a model of devotion towards social justice. She was specifically oriented towards racial justice, as she spent all her inheritage in schools for black and indigenous people during a time when those people had no civil rights. The fact that a woman took action for a burning issue like racial justice really struck me.
I visited the Cathedral of Philadelphia, where her tombestone rests. I found the Church beautiful and had a great conversation with the lady selling souvenirs who could tell me a lot about Philadelphia and significant Saints of the city like Katharine Drexel.
Running into a sister I had contacted by email, she told me about a lunch organized by the parish happening at noon for homeless people. I went to the event and talked with one of the organizer. After telling me how the mission worked, she directly adressed the need to create boundaries with "the friends of the streets" who could be sexist and say inapropriate things. Missionaries were formed to create healthy relationships with the homeless people, and some were now friends and met every week to talk about their lives.
I understood that the beauty of the msision was never without hardships, but maybe this should not prevent us from taking action. She offered me to join, but I have to admit that I was really intimidated and I chose to simply observe. I was unsettled to realize that I was afraid of direct action with people in needs, certainly by lack of experience in the matter. Hopefully, I will be able one day to go beyond my primary fears.
Providence
I spent one day in Providence, which has been really interesting to understand the significance of the Catholic Church on the East Coast.
I went to the mass during a weekday at the Cathedral, at noon. And I was surprised to see that lots of people were actually going to mass on weekdays. The community seemed strong and important.
I was also agreeably surprised to see that the diocese was running a programm for equal housing and especially for disabled people. I walked between the buildings as I was going to the mass.
Boston
Finally, Boston. A very "European city" where one can see the very Italian arichitecture and decoration within the churches of the Italian neighborhood.
I went to the mass in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on a Sunday night, and I was so surprised to see how little people were coming.
At this point, I wasn't learning that much about American Catholicism. I felt that I got the main answers for my research, and Boston just confirmed that.
Eventually, this is in Boston that I have found a very cute church with a sign that was really inclusive. The message of the sign was really different from some homelies I had heard or some flyers I had seen in previous churches. This conforted me in the idea that the Catholic Church is really diverse, and one should not imply what someone might think based on their religion. It also gave me hope to find some peers within my religious community with whom I can freely share my opinions, although they might not align with some other peers.
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