Pope Benedict XVI will find a striking diversity on his first visit as pope to the United States. This, perhaps more than any other reality, impacts the Church’s current and future vitality
People from every conceivable culture and race make up the Church’s membership now. The pope will be coming to a faith community that is a microcosm of the universal Church over which he presides. The Church in the United States is changing because of ongoing immigration from Latin America, Asia and Africa. No longer is the Church here made up primarily of people of European ancestry. Today more than half of the 67 million U.S. Catholics trace their heritage to some place other than Europe
