Looking for Leaders
Fr. Patrick Keane, Vicar for Hispanics for the Diocese of Raleigh, talks about the
joys and challenges of serving this growing population of North Carolina Catholics.
An interview with Fr. Patrick Keane by Rich Reece
Father, tell us a little about your life before you became a priest.
I grew up in Winston-Salem, the youngest of four children. My parents are deceased.
As a youngster, I didn't plan to be a priest. I earned a Master's Degree in Civil
Engineering at NC State University, and worked for the North Carolina Department
of Transportation, doing design and management for projects across the entire state.
As a young man, I wasn't as close to the church as I should have been. I hadn't
been confirmed. But I started to recover my faith, and went
through the RCIA program
at St. Michael, and in 1994 got involved my spare time in nursing home ministry.
It was such a joy to bring the Eucharist to the sick and the elderly!
The thing that actually started me on the road to priesthood was a Bishop's Annual
Appeal video in 1995. A sister in the video was talking about the priest shortage
and how, without more priests, Catholics in rural North Carolina might have so far to drive to church that they would start going to any "church" that was closer.
And I loved the Catholic Church; I hated to think of people going without the sacraments.
So I started praying for more priestly vocations. But I didn't think about being
a priest myself until one day I was reading the Bible and came upon Jesus' call
to Peter. Jesus said, "Simon, do you love me?" Simon said, "Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you." And Jesus said, "Feed my flock."
This passage just struck me. It's as if Jesus was speaking to me: "Patrick, do you
love me?" And I wondered what "Feed my flock" could mean for me. So I left my job,
my two cars, my house. I did a year of pastoral work at Our Lady of Lourdes, and
at age 34 I went back to NC State to study Spanish. Before going to the seminary,
though, I went to El Salvador to do missionary work.
I fell in love with the people and culture in El Salvador. God touched my heart,
and I knew right away that Hispanic ministry would be a big part of my priesthood.
I started a non-profit foundation called The Least Among Us to build Catholic schools
in the poorest places there. Every penny donated to the foundation goes toward building
schools and sponsoring students.
Later, as a seminarian, I spent seven weeks in Guadalajara, Mexico. Serving there was a great joy, and a great help in my priesthood here, since so many Hispanic
people in North Carolina come from Mexico.
What was it you admired about the people in El Salvador and Mexico?
These are Catholic countries. North Carolina is not a Catholic place. We
tolerate anything here, from Wicca to Buddhism. In Latin America, Catholic values,
family values, respect for priesthood - these are woven into the culture. The people
know their faith, and care about it.
It is a great and dangerous change for these people to come to the U.S. and be absorbed
into a much more secular society, with all its liberties. Poverty forces migration,
and I have the greatest respect for people who have come here to work for a better
life for their families. But there is a cost. Migration has eroded families and
faith; children back at home can become virtual orphans. So it is important for
people here to ask migrants not, "How did you get here on my doorstep?" but, "Now
that you are here, how can we help you?"
What are the challenges you face in your role as Vicar for Hispanics?
The most important challenge is helping people to maintain their faith, whether
they are here for two years or the rest of their lives. We need to provide ongoing
faith formation, to continue teaching about God and the Bible.
A second challenge is helping with practical things, like getting driver's licenses
or car insurance or prenatal care for young mothers. I have blessed far too many
Hispanic babies who died because they were born prematurely to mothers with no prenatal
education or care.
Yet another important task is developing spiritual leaders within the Hispanic community.
Education is crucial to this task. A young man may feel a call to the priesthood,
but his education may have stopped at the eighth grade. The seminary requires a
college degree. Another concern may be residency or visa status. We need to try
to help change the legal status so the young man can remain here and go to school.
Immigrants experience a fair amount of prejudice and hostility.
Sadly, yes. But Hispanics are just the latest wave in America's long history of
immigration. Irish, Italians and Germans built our cities in the nineteenth century.
The Chinese built our railroads. Today Hispanic immigrants are building our economy
by doing jobs no one else wants to do. For example, many work in poultry or pork
processing plants. The work is repetitive and dangerous; there's no vacation. But
it's a way for these people to better the lives of their families. That's always
been the immigrant story.
And some are already living the American dream. I know a man who has five acres
of land and a house. I know others who are business owners, with employees. These
people have more than I did with my Master's degree. We need to get immigrants the
rights we take for granted, get them in the system working towards residency.
I know you believe that Hispanics have things to teach the rest of us.
Absolutely. You hear a lot about the goal of assimilation, and that's a good thing
in the economic realm. But while they are working with others, it's important that
Hispanics not lose their own identity and values. They need their own worship communities,
their own Bible studies and youth groups. And they need to be fully bilingual. The
children of immigrants speak some Spanish, but many of them read and write in English
only. My mother immigrated from Lithuania; she spoke no English until she was eight
years old. Do you know how much Lithuanian I speak? Zero. And that's my loss.
Hispanics still cherish religious and family values that our culture has lost. Their
love of children, for example. In their culture, children are seen as a blessing.
And they are the future of our Church. I know a doctor who learned Spanish in order
to teach Natural Family Planning to migrants, he knows that someday the children
of the people he's teaching will buy into our culture and be seeking his advice
on contraception.
Hispanics value the extended family: grandparents, aunts and uncles, everyone is
together - it's beautiful the way they take care of each other.
They also take their faith seriously. Sometimes you will notice at a Spanish Mass
that many people don't receive Communion. That's because they haven't been to confession,
and they have a profound respect for the Eucharist.
These are values that are important to preserve, and values the rest of our culture
would do well to imitate.