By Shirley Ward

Father Juan de la Cruz, from Colombia, celebrated the first Mass in Spanish at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Smyrna. Father de la Cruz, who is on the staff at Christ the King Cathedral, has only been in the United States for three months and speaks very little English.

Accompanying him to St. Thomas were Sister Nohemi of the Cathedral and Sister Terisita of Sacred Heart. They brought with them the missalettes in Spanish, and led the assembled worshippers in the singing of hymns and Christmas carols. Confessions were heard before Mass, and one young Señora was heard to say that confessions to a non-Spanish priest just weren't the same, no matter how good your grasp of English was.

Father de la Cruz chose for his sermon the theme, "What is the Church." He told his audience that the Church belongs to all, that it is not just a building, but is composed of families and people. He emphasized that unity is not uniformity, and that although the words may be different here, the heart of the Mass was the same.

Father de la Cruz says Mass at the Cathedral every Sunday for the Spanish people, but his coming to the parish of St. Thomas was an act of true concern for other Spanish-speaking people around the archdiocese.