Irish Catholic, German Catholic, Italian Catholic

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rawb
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rawb

Guest
I know they’re all Roman Catholic, but are there cultural differences? I know some people who pride themselves on being ‘Irish Catholic’ and I’ve heard of a woman who said she preferred going to an ‘Italian Catholic Parish’ even though the mass was in English.

Someone once sort of started explaining it, saying “Mexican Catholics are more likely to pray with Our Lady of Guadalupe rather than just Mary, they have a big devotion to her specifically, same with Portugeese and Our Lady of Fatima. German Catholics generally have a large loyalty to their parish and priest and pray the rosary a lot in a very solemn way. Irish Catholics will have St. Patrick statues right next to Mary and are more likely to get into a physical fight over doctrines such as The Immaculate Conception, because they see it as a huge blast against their mother if it’s said otherwise”. Etc. Etc.

Is that all true? Are there more cultural celebrations about saints or foods or traditions? Do any of you call yourself ________ Catholic? What does that mean to you?

Sorry if I said something offensive! 😦
 
It could be as simple as certain ethnic communities that have unique personalities–if you will–that infuse their practice of the faith. We were in a heavily Irish Catholic parish previously, and though I’m only IBM (Irish by Marriage) I adored the energy, warmth, sociability and fervor for the faith I witnessed in that community–and miss it sorely now that we have moved to a much more staid, buttoned-down parish.
 
Hmmm well, I say it more in a joking tone…

I’m not sure how it actually is in Ireland… and we live in a very “mixed” cultural area (Irish, Polish, Italian, Hispanic, etc)…

But when telling jokes about drinking too much beer and being run over with too many children the term “Irish Catholic” tends to roll off my tounge… 😃
 
Hehe well I guess technically I’m more English Catholic than Irish Catholic. But I feel very at-home with the Irish Catholics. And while the Hispanic and Italian Catholics were very nice to me, I can’t say I’ve felt very comfortable when I’ve gone to their Masses. I guess it really has a lot to do with how we relate to specific cultures.
 
My grandfather (a good German Catholic) always had this to say,

The Irish are lax in the Liturgy,
the Italians are too currupt,
the French are only Catholic in name,
the English have too much protestant influence,
and everyone else only comes close to the great devotion of the German people!

Of course, what else would you expect from an 80 year old German-born man with a passion for both the Church and the Fatherland 😉

But let us, the younger generations try to realise that it is the individual, not the race that matters 👍
 
Rawb said:
I know they’re all Roman Catholic, but are there cultural differences? I
Click to expand...
well it makes a difference in our family. MIL was Irish Catholic, married German Catholic, both families acted the way you might if your daughter got engaged to a Martian. Her mother was French Canadian, married Boston Irish, both Catholics, both regarded each other’s ethnic groups as, well, my grandmaw wouldn’t want me to use that word.

Foster daughter brought home her Italian BF, now DH, and we heard a lot of swearing in Slovenian from her grandmother. DD’s inlaws are Polish, Italian and some other groups, and there are tensions there, also.

My German Catholic great-grandmother cut a swath through the English Catholic family she married into that still reverberates to this day.

There is a lot of truth to the generality that many Catholics identify themselves that way more for cultural, family and ethnic reasons than religious or doctrinal ones. We can probably all give instances where preferences in liturgy and practice are based on our experience with “ethnic Catholicism” and traditions than upon actual Church teaching.
 
“The Italians are too corrupt”? Your grandfather obviously didn’t know any Alpine Italians. But he can be forgiven for what he didn’t know.
 
I come from the perspective of the Filipino-Catholic. Great devotion to Mary, esp. Our Lady of Fatima and their patron saint is the Santo Nino. From what my mother describes of the homeland, Catholicism is a great part of the culture and of their system of government. I do believe abortion and divorce is illegal there.

As for cultural things, we’ve started bringing over some of the practices/novenas that are popular there. This Advent, we’ll be doing our 2nd year of Simbang Gabi, a 9-day novena of early-morning Masses to commemorate the coming of our Lord. They then have a gathering for breakfast in the parish hall. In the month of May, the Fil-Am community celebrates Our Blessed Mother by holding “block-rosaries” every night for the entire month - going from house to house to recite the rosary.

My co-worker is Portugese…and their big feast-day here is the feast of the Holy Spirit - complete with procession and a huge Portugese gathering!
 
Sheesh! I will take any ethnic Catholic procession, novena etc… as long as it is keeping with The Churchs Teachings! We are starving for this Ethnic food!!
 
Tonks:

They don’t come any better than Filipino-Americans. In all this immigration talk, Filipinos should get green cards for the asking. Any chance of moving the islands next to the California coast?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top