Promising demographic data can easily be interpreted in a way that overlooks the textured history of Latino Catholics in the United States, one in which the very existence of Latino church communities has often come under threat.

Natalia Imperatori-Lee draws upon a variety of sources to develop an ecclesiology that is shaped by narratives as much as dogmatic theology.

"Young Latinos are engaged. They are open to giving of themselves,” Archbishop José Gomez said. “We need to be more conscious of ministries for young Catholics.”

Only about 8 percent of teachers in Catholic schools are Hispanic, compared with 17 percent of students. Low salaries and a weak professional pipeline make it difficult to diversify the teaching staff.

Encuentro, which means “Encounter,” is an initiative from the U.S. bishops that seeks to better serve the growing Latin American community and will continue through 2020.

“For Hispanics, whatever the priest says goes. But that’s not right. The priest is not God. Nobody is above God.”