St. Juan Diego Parish takes shape as the newest parish for Hispanic Catholics in the archdiocese

Nearly two years after the announcement of a new parish for Hispanic Catholics in St. Charles County, a community of the faithful is taking shape, step by step.

When Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski announced a new structure for parishes in May 2023 as part of All Things New, he established St. Juan Diego, a new personal parish for Spanish-speaking Catholics, located in O’Fallon. The parish is named for the Indigenous Mexican saint who is said to have been visited by the Blessed Mother in the 16th century.

The community’s growth has been a steady process, with evangelization at the forefront of everything they do, said Father Eric Olsen, St. Juan Diego’s founding pastor.

“I always say to myself — progress is not a straight line, right? It’s going to be grow, maybe even take a step back, grow, take a step back,” he said. The people “are just very strong in faith — inspiringly strong in faith — and who want to know the faith, to live the faith and to love the faith.”

Father Olsen hit the ground running in August 2023, offering Masses in English and Spanish at St. Barnabas Church in O’Fallon. As word has gotten out, attendance has steadily increased to an average of 420 people between the two Spanish-language Masses at 7 and 11 a.m. on Sundays. The parish draws Catholics from across St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren counties.

“Faith, work and family are Hispanic cultural traits that, to me, are just really rewarding to work with,” Father Olsen said. “In a very good sense, there is still a cultural Catholicism within the Hispanic culture. I find that even if somebody’s not terribly religious, it’s not a crazy thing for Father to be saying, ‘You should go to church, you should love Mary, you should love Jesus.’”

Several parish ministries have taken root through the work of lay leaders, including family catechesis lessons on Sundays, a charismatic prayer group, men’s and women’s Bible studies, a Jonah Prayer Team and BailaMe Academy, a traditional Mexican dance ministry. Other regular activities include a Tuesday night Spanish-language Mass followed by a mini catechesis lesson and a eucharistic Holy Hour and confessions on Friday nights.

Parish ministries take off

Cesar Guzmán was one of the first lay leaders that Father Olsen called upon to help as the parish began forming new ministries. Guzmán, who was involved in the charismatic renewal in his home country of El Salvador, found a home in a charismatic prayer group that meets twice monthly on Saturday evenings.

About two dozen adults attend the gatherings, which include prayer, praise and worship music, invocation of the Holy Spirit, a reflection and small group discussions. Parish prayer groups are formed from Life in the Spirit seminars offered by the archdiocesan Catholic Renewal Center, with parishes remaining connected to the Renewal Center for growth and inspiration.

“There’s always someone new in the group, and it fills us with joy to see how God is working in the community,” said Guzmán, who spoke through a translator. “It’s very important that we always invite the community to participate in prayer and the praise of God in invoking the Holy Spirit. We must open the door to the community so they can always come and pray and feel welcome to experience God in this way.”

The parish also has partnered with the Catholic Renewal Center to offer Sunday family catechism classes, training for the Jonah Prayer Ministry Team, a discipleship program called “Walking as Disciples in Pentecost” and Life in the Spirit Seminar training.

The community “is advancing step by step,” Guzmán said, adding that there’s been a “very good start in its growth. We are working very hard at evangelization.”

Family catechesis

On a Sunday morning in February, Lizett Mata paced around the parish hall as she talked to her class about some of the differences between the Old and New Testaments.

Mata created the family catechesis program, which meets every week before the 11 a.m. Mass. Younger students anticipating their first Communion or confirmation sit together in groups, while parents sit in the middle and receive the same lessons.

A native of Mexico, Mata previously served as a catechist around the archdiocese before coming to St. Juan Diego to help out. She is inspired by the Indigenous Mexican saint, who was chosen as a messenger of the Blessed Mother and wanted to know more about the Catholic faith through catechesis.

“It was more about, how do we ensure that this was something for the whole family?” Mata said. “We do the conversations here. So we do break down, like today, the exercises. It’s a more practical, dynamic way to learn in your own family.”

Armando and Sylvia Murillo Avalos and their three children joined the parish about a year ago and have been attending catechism classes together. Through a translator, Armando Murillo Avalos said that learning the same lessons have helped with conversations about the faith at home. Maritza, 9, and Brenda, 11, anticipate receiving their first Communion, and Yessenia, 14, will be confirmed this year.

“We’ve learned a lot more about God and Catholicism,” Armando Murillo Avalos said. “We’re learning new things that we haven’t known before. It’s very calm here, and we’re talking about the faith at home.”

BailaMe Dance Academy

Itzel Larson and her 2-year-old daughter Luna met members of the BailaMe Dance Academy last December when they attended a Las Posadas event at the Missouri History Museum. The parish-based dance team performs traditional Mexican dances at parishes and events throughout the community, including at festivals and schools.

Luna has since become the youngest member of the dance troupe, attending practices twice a week at St. Juan Diego. Her mother saw it as an opportunity to encourage her daughter’s love for dance while also embracing her Mexican heritage.

The Larsons had been attending another Catholic parish, but came to know St. Juan Diego through the dance ministry and are making the transition to become parishioners.

“It opened a door for me also to feel even closer to home, because now it has opened even for myself an opportunity to be more in touch with the (Hispanic) community for myself,” she said.

Mata, who also leads the dance ministry, said the Larsons are an example of how they are evangelizing in the broader community.

Who was St. Juan Diego?

St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, a member of the Chichimeca people, was born in Cuautitlán, Mexico, in 1474. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him four times in December 1531.

When the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego, she instructed him to build a church at the top of Tepeyac Hill. To help prove Our Lady’s appearance to the archbishop, she instructed the saint to collect Castilian roses at the top of hill, which during December would have normally been barren. When he presented the roses to the archbishop, the image of Our Lady miraculously appeared on his tilma.

St. Juan Diego was known for his great faith, his devotion to Our Lady, his care for his sick uncle, Juan Diego Bernardino, and for his dedication to the pilgrims who came to see the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe imprinted on his cloak. He died in 1548.

On July 31, 2002, he was canonized by St. John Paul II who, on that occasion, spoke of Juan Diego as “a just and upright man, a loyal son of the Church, docile to his Pastors, who deeply loved the Virgin and was a faithful disciple of Jesus.” His feast day is celebrated on Dec. 9.