A pioneer in the Hispanic Ministry nationwide, it participates in major events as well as in activities of the different agencies, various dioceses and with the USCCB. HMRC grew out of the desire of the Claretians to provide resources to pastoral agents working with Hispanic communities throughout the country. There was, at the time, a great scarcity of materials, produced in Spanish in the United
States and culturally appropriate for the ever growing population of Catholic Hispanics. About 8,000 parishes in the country had some measure of Hispanic ministry but no resources that would respond to the real needs of their people. From the beginning, the philosophy of the Center has been to look at the real population and its reality and culture in the United States. There was a firm decision from the start to produce new materials rather than translating them from existing materials, or importing them in Spanish from other countries where, while the language is the same, the reality varies. The attempt, then, has been to speak from the languages and the cultures of the Latino community in the United States. In addition, the Hispanic Ministry Resource Center has been very active in the Hispanic ministry national scene, participating in major events as well as in activities of the different agencies of the Archdiocese of Chicago.
