To help illustrate the impact of the Hispanic community within the U.S. Catholic Church, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a robust document that contains an overview of U.S. Hispanic demographics (population, language, education, country of origin, etc.), a breakdown of U.S. Catholic adults by generation and race/ethnicity, a map illustrating the percentage of Catholics who are Hispanic by diocese, and a timeline of Hispanic ministry from 1945 to 2024, among other resources.
The statistics and information contained in the document show that, even though Hispanics constitute 19.3% of the nation’s total population, they make up around 40.2% of the Catholic population in the U.S. The relevance of this community within the Church is even more striking among younger people, as Hispanics comprise the largest racial/ethnic group of Catholic millennials (50%) and of Gen Z Catholics (54%).
In Missouri, the percentage of Catholics who are Hispanic ranges from 6%-10% in the Archdiocese of St. Louis to 21-25% in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph (it is 11-15% for the Dioceses of Jefferson City and Springfield-Cape Girardeau). This implies a substantial overrepresentation, since Hispanics constitute a mere 4.9% of the state’s total population.
To read the full USCCB document in English, click here.