From September 15 to October 15, the Diocese of Newark joins in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the histories, cultures, and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
This month is a time to give thanks for the richness and diversity that Hispanic/Latino communities bring to our shared life – from music and food to faith and leadership. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and in The VOICE Online as we share stories exploring the intersection of Episcopal and Hispanic/Latino traditions.
As we celebrate, we also commit to learning more about the struggles and stories that continue to shape our nation.
About Hispanic Heritage Month: Established as Hispanic Heritage Week by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and expanded to a full month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, this national observance begins mid-September to coincide with the independence days of several Latin American countries.
Posted Sept. 15, 2025
Óscar Romero
Archbishop and Martyr – El Salvador
Born in 1917, Óscar Romero rose from humble beginnings in El Salvador to become Archbishop of San Salvador. After the 1977 assassination of his friend, Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande, Romero became a bold voice for justice, speaking out against poverty, violence, and government oppression, and urging soldiers to obey God’s law rather than unjust orders. On March 24, 1980, he was martyred while celebrating Mass.
The Episcopal Church commemorates Romero on March 24, the anniversary of his martyrdom, together with the Martyrs of El Salvador. We honor Romero as a spiritual model for his advocacy of social justice and human rights. The Anglican Communion also recognizes him among the ten 20th-century martyrs whose statues stand above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.
Learn more: westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/st-oscar-romero
Almighty God, you called your servant Óscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor, and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that we, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.
Posted Sept. 16, 2025
Día de los Muertos
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a traditional Mexican and Latin American celebration that coincides with All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2). It’s not a somber occasion, but a joyful remembrance of loved ones who have died. Tradition holds that on these days the souls of the departed return to visit. Día de los Muertos is a celebration honoring them with offerings, food, music, and prayer.
Ofrendas (altars) are decorated with candles; photos and favorite items of the departed; food, including sugar skulls and pan de muerto (the soft, sweet “bread of the dead”); and flowers – especially marigolds, whose scent and bright colors are thought to guide spirits. Skulls and skeletons are depicted in whimsical or playful poses, symbolizing that death is part of life. Communities hold parades with music and dancing, and families clean and decorate graves.
Día de los Muertos blends indigenous traditions with the Christian hope of resurrection, affirming that death is not an end but part of the journey into eternal life.
For guidance on observing Día de los Muertos in an Episcopal context, see page 144 of The Book of Occasional Services 2022 [PDF].
And if you’d like to try your hand at making pan de muerto: here’s a classic recipe.
Posted Sept. 18, 2025
Juana Inés de la Cruz
Monastic and Theologian – Mexico
Born in 1648 near Mexico City, the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish captain and a creole woman, Juana Inés was a brilliant scholar, poet, and nun who defied the limits placed on women in her time. By age three she could read and write, by five she mastered accounting, and as a teenager she was teaching Latin and defending her knowledge before scholars and clergy.
Denied a university education because she was a woman, Juana Inés entered the convent of the Order of St. Jerome in 1669, where she took the name Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. There her literary career flourished, as she wrote poetry, philosophy, and even scientific essays. Admirers praised her genius, while critics insisted a nun should not engage in secular study.
Despite censorship later in life, Sor Juana Inés’s voice endured. Today she is remembered as “the Tenth Muse” and “the Phoenix of Mexico,” a trailblazer for women’s education and a major figure in Mexican literature. She died in 1695 while caring for her community during a plague.
The Episcopal Church commemorates Juana Inés de la Cruz on April 18. We honor her as a courageous advocate for women’s education who challenged societal limitations, and as a reminder that faith and intellect can flourish together.
Learn more: https://projectvox.org/sor-juana-1648-1695/
Almighty God, Source of all knowledge, we give you thanks for the witness of your servant Juana Inés de la Cruz in her fierce passion for learning and creativity. Teach us to be faithful stewards of our minds and hearts, so that, following her example, we might forever proclaim the riches of your unending love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Jesus Christ who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Posted Sept. 22, 2025
Nada te turbe
The Taizé Community, an ecumenical monastic community in France, is known for its meditative prayer services featuring sung chants in multiple languages. One of its well-known chants is Nada te turbe, based on a poem by the Spanish mystic Teresa of Ávila. Nada te turbe is a popular selection for Episcopal services held in the style of Taizé.
Its lyrics:
Nada te turbe, nada te espante.
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta.
Nada te turbe, nada te espante.
Solo Dios basta.
Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.
Those who seek God shall never go wanting.
Nothing can trouble, nothing can frighten.
God alone fills us.
Listen to a recording of it sung at Taizé: youtube.com/watch?v=go1-BoDD7CI
Download a PDF of the sheet music: hymnary.org/files/previews/221247/G5580.pdf
Posted Sept. 24, 2025
Martin de Porres and Rosa de Lima
Witnesses to the Faith in South America – Peru
Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru in 1579, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a young black former slave. Because Martin inherited the dark skin of his mother, his father abandoned the family. Martin apprenticed to a barber-surgeon and, after learning the trade, he applied to the Dominicans to be a “lay helper.” Placed in charge of the infirmary, his tender care of the sick and his reputation as a healer led the community to request his religious profession, despite a long-standing policy that “no black person may be received to the holy habit or profession of our Order.” That policy was rescinded and Martin took vows as a Dominican brother in 1603. He died in 1639 and was canonized in the Roman Catholic Church in 1962, the first black saint from the Americas.
Rosa de Lima, born in 1586 and a friend of Martin, shared his passion for the sick and the poor. Rosa was exceedingly beautiful, but because of her family’s fading fortunes, she feared being married off to a wealthy man, her looks a compensation for the lack of suitable dowry. To sabotage this possibility, Rosa disfigured her face and, to contribute to her family’s upkeep, took in sewing and worked as a gardener. An abiding passion for the poor eventually led her to the Third Order of St. Dominic and a reclusive life of prayer that sustained her works of mercy for the poorest of the poor, particularly for indigenous peoples, slaves, and others on the margins of society, until her death in 1617. She was canonized in the Roman Catholic Church in 1671, the first saint born in the Americas.
Bound in baptism, community, and friendship, Martin and Rosa testify to the power of baptismal relationship and communion. The Episcopal Church commemorates them together on August 23.
Merciful God, you sent your Gospel to the people of Peru through Martin de Porres, who brought its comfort even to slaves; and through Rosa de Lima, who worked among the poorest of the poor: Help us to follow their example in bringing fearlessly the comfort of your grace to all downtrodden and outcast people, that your Church may be renewed with songs of salvation and praise; through Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Posted Sept. 29, 2025
La Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe)
On pages 28-34 of The Book of Occasional Services is an Episcopal liturgy for the Feast of La Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe), celebrated across Mexico on December 12.
Tradition holds that an indigenous man, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, saw visions of the Virgin Mary on December 9 and 12, 1531, asking him to tell the archbishop to build a church on Tepeyac Hill, in today’s Mexico City. Skeptical of an uneducated indigenous man, the archbishop demanded proof. Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac and found roses blooming out of season, which he gathered in his tilma (cloak). When he opened the cloak before the archbishop, the roses spilled out to reveal the image of the Virgin Mary as a dark-skinned indigenous woman, head bowed in prayer. Convinced, the archbishop built a church.
While the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most important celebrations in Mexican Catholicism, it is not without controversy. The devotion arose during the Spanish conquest, when Catholicism was imposed on indigenous peoples. Tepeyac Hill, where the church was built, had been the site of the temple of the Aztec goddess Tonantzin, whose worship missionaries sought to suppress. The earliest written account of the visions appeared more than a century later, and there is no contemporary evidence that Juan Diego existed.
Even so, Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a unifying cultural symbol for the Hispanic/Latino community and a rallying point for hopes of liberation and justice revealed in Jesus Christ. An option for her feast day is included among Episcopal liturgies to honor the deep importance of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the faith of the Hispanic/Latino community and as a symbol of God’s presence among the marginalized.
Posted Oct. 6, 2025
