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Before embarking on his papal visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI sent a recorded message to U.S. Catholics. "I shall come to the United States as pope for the first time to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition," said the pontiff.

To make sure the message reached its intended audience, it was strategically recorded in English and in Spanish, breaking with Vatican protocol. The Holy See is keenly aware that if it were not for Hispanic immigrants, the Catholic Church in the United States would be suffering greater losses. No other faith in the country has lost more followers than the Catholic Church, and if it has been able to remain stable, it is thanks to Latin American immigrants, mostly from Mexico.

Mexico is the second-largest Catholic country in the world, after Brazil. The United States is the third. According to a study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Hispanics account for almost 30 percent of all Catholics in the U.S. and half of all Catholics under the age of 40. That is a significant percentage considering that Latinos are only 14 percent of the population.

Seven out of 10 Hispanics in the U.S. are Catholic. Many of those who arrive here as immigrants gravitate to their local churches in search of support and familiar surroundings. When coming to a new country and facing the difficulties of adapting to a new language and culture, immigrants find in the church the one thing that can be consistent in their lives: practicing their faith. That is why, according to the Pew study, about two-thirds of Latino Catholics choose to attend churches that have Hispanic priests and provide services in Spanish.

The Latino faithful have become a blessing for the Catholic Church in the United States, but they also pose a new set of challenges. Just like other Catholics, many Latinos are abandoning the church in favor of evangelical or charismatic congregations. But one of the more pressing problems the church faces here and elsewhere is a shortage of priests.

According to the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 27 percent of the churches in the U.S. do not have a resident priest, and there are more priests over 90 than under 30. In recent years, the church has had serious problems trying to attract more young people to join the seminaries, and now recruitment is more difficult because speaking Spanish has become a necessity in many archdioceses. To address the shortage, dioceses have been forced to bring in priests from other countries. In Chicago this year, for instance, if it were not for foreign-born seminarians, the archdiocese would not be ordaining a single priest — something that has not happened since the early 1900s.

There are instances in which the Catholic Church has had to confront the authorities, going against new laws intended to crack down on undocumented immigrants. Some archdioceses have declared themselves sanctuaries for immigrant families who are being prosecuted by immigration authorities, and have gone as far as asking parishes to ignore provisions of anti-immigrant laws that make it illegal to provide any type of service to anyone who is not in the country legally.

Cynics would claim that the church does not want to bite the hand that feeds it, and would be, with its defiance, protecting its own survival. The clergy, however, cite the humanitarian nature of the doctrine intended to aid the needy and unprotected. A group of Latinos who claim to have been victims of hate, racism and persecution during recent immigration raids sent a letter to the pontiff through representatives of the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. The immigrants are hoping the Holy Father will intercede on their behalf and prevent their deportation.

It is that message of hope and support that many Hispanic Catholics are anxious to hear from Pope Benedict XVI during his visit here, and they hope to hear it in Spanish.