By Paula Day

Sister Pilar Dalmau, A.C.D.J., director of the Office of Hispanic Apostolate since December, 1985, will be leaving that position at the end of June to work in the diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the more than two years at her post, Sister Pilar has seen the Hispanic population in the archdiocese grow in number and develop its communal efforts and internal support. An estimated 60,000 Hispanics now live in the archdiocese. Masses in the Spanish language are celebrated weekly at 12 sites and monthly at five other locations. A well organized archdiocesan Hispanic Pastoral Council acts as a consultative and advisory body to the archbishop.

Sister Pilar says of her leaving Georgia, “At this point our provincial superior thought that I have accomplished my mission in Atlanta. The office is stable. There are people ready to take over. We won’t lose what we’ve gained.”

Sister Pilar is one of five Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who came to the archdiocese in 1985 at the invitation of Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan. The congregation’s provincial house is in Philadelphia; its motherhouse is in Rome.

Born in France, Sister Pilar was raised in Havana, Cuba. As a religious there she taught in a girl’s high school before she and other members of her congregation were expelled by Castro in 1961. She began her work in Georgia in the Cobb County communities of Smyrna and Marietta with an outreach to Hispanics living there.

“My first impression was that all Hispanics are dispersed and distances in this archdiocese are enormous. It seemed overwhelming.” She came from working in a small area in Philadelphia where Hispanics lived within walking distance to one another, Sister Barbara Harrington, G.N.S.H., until recently Hispanic Services director for Catholic Social Services, said of Sister Pilar’s outreach: “She uncovered a number of Hispanics, activated them and found a place for them.”

Those first months Sister Pilar was impressed with the Hispanic people she met, finding them “good workers” and of all nationalities – from the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. “And the quality of leaders – I found magnificent leaders!” she recalls.

In her efforts to build community among Hispanics in Cobb County she facilitated the celebration of weekly liturgies in Spanish at St. Thomas the Apostle with Father Gerry Byron, S.M. as celebrant. She initiated catechetical instructions for children in preparation for reception of the sacraments, a Bible study group for adults, and made home visitations. She continued these efforts until 1987. In September, 1986 the community moved from St. Thomas to Holy Family parish in Marietta where a resident priest could minister to them.

Two words come into play when speaking of Hispanic Americans or any ethnic group, Sister Pilar points out: assimilation and integration. “Assimilation says ‘forget your culture, your values, your identity, your language – in other words you disappear,” she explained.

“The mind of the Church today is integration – acceptance of the multi-cultural reality, the plurality that is the Church. We can live together and enrich each other.”

Most recently Sister Pilar has concentrated her outreach in outlying areas that have a notable Hispanic population – Gainesville, Dalton, Cedartown, Lithia Springs. She has visited these areas, dialogued with Hispanics leaders there, and brought them information about archdiocesan programs and national initiatives. One such initiative is the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry issued in November, 1987, by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The NCCB plan creates a new model of Church for the Hispanic community, emphasizing community, teamwork, unity in diversity and the promotion of justice. Sister Pilar pointed out that for many Hispanics the limiting sacramental model of Church remains: “Go to church on Sunday, be baptized, make your First Communion – that’s all.”

In the words of the National Pastoral Plan, the general objective is: “To live and promote…a model of church that is: communitarian, evangelizing, and missionary…open to the diversity of cultures, a promoter and example of justice…that develops leadership through integral education…that is leaven for the Kingdom of God in society.”

In April, approximately 190 representatives from 15 local parish Hispanic communities gathered for a “diocesan Encounter,’ during which the group studied the National Pastoral Plan and established guidelines for pastoral action in the archdiocese. Sister Pilar and the executive committee for the archdiocese’s Hispanic Pastoral Council planned the meeting.

Sister Pilar has found working with the Hispanic leaders on the Pastoral Council an important ingredient in her ministry. She has sought their advice and assistance and they were “very faithful, any time I called them.” She, in turn, has provided them with background information on agenda topics and convened meetings.

The Office of Hispanic Apostolate has become a communications clearing house, gathering and dispersing information to Hispanic communities throughout the archdiocese. In addition to communication, Sister Pilar coordinates such programs as a marriage preparation course in Spanish. This coordination involves finding priests and other professionals to present the programs, locating materials, setting up schedules and handling other details necessary to maintain diocesan-wide opportunities for Hispanics.

Two side activities have also engaged Sister Pilar as part of her work with Hispanics. For a year-and-a-half she went to Atlanta’s Federal Penitentiary each week to minister to Cubans detained there. With other women from the Hispanic community, she formed prayer groups and gave retreats.

“Our team’s presence was very valuable to these people,” she said. “It gave them a lot of hope. We would pray over Bible passages. There was so much hope the Lord would listen to their needs.” She says she is consoled that many of the Cubans involved in last December’s uprising at the penitentiary are now either released or in the process of being released.

In 1986 the archdiocese approved a plan for ministering to the Mexicans living in the Grant Park area. Sister Pilar helped paint, lay carpet and sew curtains to ready the site where Mass could be celebrated and from which Sister Marta Herrera, R.S.R., could serve the Mexicans.

Sister Pilar is sanguine about the future of the Hispanic apostolate in the archdiocese.

“There are people ready to take over,” she said. “The stability is there. A new era begins right now as they begin to work on carrying out the National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry. And we have a new archbishop who is open to minorities. A great future is there.”