The Church That Spoke Five Languages
The diversity first present in St. Thomas's founding would only grow as the neighborhood around the church continued to change. After World War II, new waves of migrants from both the American South and Southeast Asia would remake Uptown into what locals sometimes called “Little Vietnam” and “Hillbilly Haven.” Community of immigrants and refugees from Laos and Vietnam in particular would become the neighborhood’s largest demographic, whose Catholic members soon began to change the devotional life of St. Thomas. The church soon began to offer mass in Vietnamese and Lao, as well as in Spanish as growing numbers of Latin American also settled in the area. In the late 1970s, a Catholic Magazine called St. Thomas “The Parish that speaks 5 Languages,” which included English, Spanish, Lao, Vietnamese, and Amharic. Many more would be heard throughout the parish halls, as in 1981, Father Rochford counted forty-three nationalities which made up St. Thomas’ diverse population.
St. Thomas Adapts
As St. Thomas of Canterbury’s demographics shifted, the parish sought methods of providing for their melting-pot of a community. In 1968, a Reverend Hoffman was assigned to St. Thomas. He was fluent in Spanish and organized the services for Spanish-speaking Catholics. The Parish provided newsletters and classes in Spanish and Vietnamese to ensure every member of the parish remained informed. In 1994, the parish purchased a nearby house and volunteers worked to transform it into a community center for the parish’s Vietnamese population.
Inter-group Dynamics
St. Thomas News clipping
This is a newspaper clipping that was found at the St. Thomas of Canterbury Rectory. The writer describes the spiritual differences between the diverse ethnic groups that make up St. Thomas of Canterbury—namely the “English-speaking,” Vietnamese, and Laotian. In addition, they explain how the church allows not only a place of worship but a neighborly refuge for immigrants. Ultimately, the writer asserts that St. Thomas Church allows the two groups to unite their religious views and build a sense of community.
From the sixtieth anniversary pamphlet by Reverend Michael Rochford:
“No longer affluent and urbane, it has become a home, refuge, and helping hand to the immigrant and the poor. Its current mix of 1500 families of rich and poor, young and old, handicapped, black, white, red, Latin, and oriental peoples make its worshiping community unique in the city, if not in all the world. It is a microcosm of the eucharistic unity by Jesus, Himself, when He prayed that ‘all men may be one.’”
Everyone is Welcome at St. Thomas
In the opening letter from Father Paul, the pastor in 2016, he welcomes parishioners in Vietnamese, Lao, Spanish, Amharic, and English, continuing St. Thomas' legacy as "The Church That Spoke Five Languages."
