US State with the Best Catholic History?

[do_justly_love_mercy]

I appreciate that your question is worded to include only entire states, but it seems worth mentioning that New York City has an extraordinary Catholic heritage. It is certainly one of the most Catholic cities in United States. This is of course mostly because of the high level of immigration to NYC from Ireland and Italy.

As already mentioned, Maryland and states with French and Spanish influence.

 

[alcuin18]

I do find Maryland very interesting, though it does seem to have high levels of crime. Are the Catholics in Maryland generally observant/traditional, or more cafeteria, does anyone know? I’m also curious what it’s like in Pennsylvania, it seems to be a bit more conservative (outside the cities) than some states.

 

[Nepperhan]

St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC is the capital of Catholicism in the USA. In my opinion.

 

[Jbrady]

I’m also curious what it’s like in Pennsylvania, it seems to be a bit more conservative (outside the cities) than some states.

Gray. Very, very gray. When I go home to visit my folks near Scranton, I am one of the younger people at Mass, and I’m 59. If you find a vibrant and growing parish, it is almost always Hispanic.

This is basically true for most places in the Northeast and the upper Midwest. Younger Catholics have either migrated out west or down south, or have left the Church entirely.

 

[VonDerTann]

It is IMHO extraordinarily risky, if not just plain foolish, to just up and move to a different state based on some view of Catholic history or “vibrancy.” “Vibrancy” is whatever you make of it.

Further, just because a state has some history of Catholicism is no assurance they’re “doing it right,” (whatever “it” is); they will welcome you with open arms, or anything else.

I have experience with churches in parts of NY. One area was split in influence between Irish Catholics moving north from NY city, and French Canadian Catholics moving south from Montreal. In a tiny town of 4000, they supported 2 Catholic Churches (the “french church” and the “Irish church”) and these churches insisted on having Sunday masses at the exact same times. You were basically forced to be one or the other - no in between.

if you really want to move, there is no substitute for traveling to an area that interests you and exploring it before deciding on any sort of move.

Edit - sorry to respond to the prior post. Meant it for the OP.

 

[Jbrady]

It is IMHO extraordinarily risky, if not just plain foolish, to just up and move to a different state based on some view of Catholic history or “vibrancy.” “Vibrancy” is whatever you make of it.

Further, just because a state has some history of Catholicism is no assurance they’re “doing it right,” (whatever “it” is); they will welcome you with open arms, or anything else.

I’m going to have to agree with this. The OP seems to be looking for some sort of Traditionalist Catholic “enclave” in the US, and none exist, at least any in communion with Rome.

@alcuin18
Wherever you go in the US, Traditionalists are going to be a tiny minority both of the general population and of the Catholic population. The only exceptions are a handful of tiny communities dominated by the SSPX or schismatic sedevacantist sects or cults.

You seem to be looking for some El Dorado or Shangri La that just doesn’t exist in the real world.

The best you can do is find a good job in an area where a diocesan approved TLM is within reach.

 

[Nepperhan]

In a tiny town of 4000, they supported 2 Catholic Churches (the “french church” and the “Irish church”) and these churches insisted on having Sunday masses at the exact same times. You were basically forced to be one or the other - no in between.

Now you see why some parishes closed. In my hometown, there was a Slovak parish, a Polish one, two Irish, a Portuguese one and two Italian ones. It made for a low number of parishioners per parish. Now, the city has seen many closures and consolidations. My grammar school was new the date I entered and now it is closed.