In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month beginning on September 15th, Cardinal Wilton Gregory and the Archdiocese of Washington Secretariat of Communications produced a video sharing best practices in inclusive and bilingual communications. In partnership with the Crimsonbridge Foundation’s Bridges Program, the Archdiocese of Washington significantly expanded its communications with Hispanic and Latino communities by adding bilingual staff positions, working directly with parishes, and creating a robust Spanish-language communications strategy. The video highlights the impact of these collective efforts in the Greater Washington region, where nearly 40% of Catholics are Hispanic or Latino.
Under Cardinal Gregory’s leadership since 2019, the Archdiocese of Washington has transformed the way it communicates with Spanish-speaking families in parishes and schools. Prior to Cardinal Gregory’s arrival, the late Bishop Mario Dorsonville championed these efforts for many years as a pastor and auxiliary bishop. In 2019, Bishop Dorsonville introduced Crimsonbridge Foundation staff to Paula Gwynn Grant, the Secretary of Communications, who had previously worked with Cardinal Gregory in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. This initial meeting led to a years-long thought partnership between the Foundation and the Archdiocese of Washington Secretariat of Communications, and funding to hire their first Spanish Translator/Hispanic Communications Specialist and a Parish Support/Hispanic Communication Integration Specialist. With this new bilingual staff capacity, “we are able to travel throughout the Archdiocese and provide hands-on, one-on-one training for our parish and school communication staff so that they can improve and expand their own local community bilingual communications outreach strategies. Our people are, therefore, more connected and are participating and responding more to the bilingual Spanish only texts, emails, and digital communications that we send out each week,” Cardinal Wilton Gregory shares in the video.
Since its founding in 2015, the Crimsonbridge Foundation has prioritized communications capacity building for organizations, schools, and (arch)dioceses seeking to better engage with Hispanic and Latino families. One of the Foundation’s first partnerships, with the research institute Child Trends, resulted in the publication of Reaching and Engaging with Hispanic Communities: A Research-Informed Communications Guide for Nonprofits, Policymakers, and Funders. This proactive, research-based approach prepared the Foundation for its collaboration with (arch)dioceses and Catholic schools, to increase parish and school vitality through inclusive communications.
Momentum for this type of work is growing across the country. Just last year, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops re-emphasized this call to action, in the 2023 National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry: “We must urgently redouble our efforts to better reach Hispanic/Latino families and to welcome, embrace, mentor, and form Hispanic/Latino young people.”
As cited by Cardinal Gregory in this video, these efforts are bearing fruit in the Archdiocese of Washington. For the full video and to learn more about best practices in inclusive, bilingual communications, watch here.
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