Our Lady of Guadalupe in the New South: Latino Immigrants and the Politics of Integration in the Catholic Church

MARY E. ODEM

ON NEW PEACHTREE ROAD in a former industrial zone located on the northern outskirts of city of Atlanta sits a small, pre-fabricated warehouse located near several low-rent apartment complexes, a convenience store and gas station, an auto repair shop and a small shopping plaza. When you get closer to the warehouse building, several things stand out. A tall slender white cross with the words Misión Católica painted on in black letters stands on the edge of the parking lot in front of the warehouse. A sign bearing the name "Misión Católica de Nuestra Señora de Las Americas" (Catholic Mission of Our Lady of the Americas) hangs from the roof of the building next to a glass-enclosed space with a 3 foot high statue of the brown-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe (La Virgen Morena) surrounded by golden rays, an unusual site in this predominantly Protestant region. On weekends, more than 3000 Mexican, Central American, and South American immigrants gather at this site—the warehouse-turned-Catholic mission—to celebrate mass; pray to patron saints; attend English, job-training and computer classes; and take part in family and youth programs. They come by car, subway, and on foot from the surrounding neighborhood and from nearby towns and suburbs.