My interest in learning other languages can be traced back to learning Latin while attending Catholic school. Even as a young child, I was fascinated that there was another way to communicate, and I was always anxious to learn what the prayers and hymns in Latin meant. I attribute these early learning experiences to fostering my interest in mastering Spanish, a language derived from Latin, once I got to high school.

Recently I have become very interested in the role that religion plays in the learning of languages.Being raised Catholic, I was well aware that Latin was the official language of the Church. Many documents and laws are still maintained in Latin and the language is used as the “lingua franca” within the Vatican. Although not very common, it is still possible to attend mass in Latin as well.

No matter their country, culture or native language, Muslims use Arabic in daily prayers, when reading the Qur’an, and even in short linguistic exchanges with each other. To better understand their prayers and the words of their God, most Muslims study Arabic to, at the very least, learn the basics.

For Jews residing outside of Israel, it is common to study Hebrew as part of their religious education. Many Jewish children attend Hebrew school at least until they have their Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah. Religion and language are very connected in Judaism.

Even in my own family, the role of religion has played a crucial role in the learning Spanish. I am from a large Catholic family, but very few of my relatives speak other languages. The exceptions are those who are part of a religious order. My cousin who is a priest speaks Spanish and French. He can teach the languages, converse with his multilingual congregation and say mass in both languages. My aunt who is a nun also speaks Spanish. She spent some years working in Guatemala and Mexico, but now uses her linguistic skills by working at a church and school with a significant Spanish speaking population. Both were motivated to learn other languages as a result of the role language played in their faith communities.

I had always planned to raise my kids Catholic, and I am finding that once again religion will play a role in language learning.  We belong to a church that has mass in Spanish. When the boys are older, they will be able to attend their catechism classes in Spanish as well. Attending a church where Spanish is used not only gives my boys more input and opportunities to use the language, but it also provides us with a bilingual community where we will grow our friendships and faith, all in Spanish.

{Photo by  Silence}

(Photography by Julio S. Sandoval)

Last week, we baptized my gorgeous boy, Santiago. Ana, who is my son’s godmother, and her beautiful family came to Denver from LA for the celebration. It was a lovely ceremony and the party afterward was fun and totally relaxed. I cooked arroz con pollo!

Santiago wore a beautiful white guayabera his godfather brought from Mexicali. I was worried he’d cry or at least soltar un chillido when the water was poured on him. Instead, he smiled angelically. It was beautiful.

The baptism took place in the same church his sister Vanessa was baptized in about 4 1/2 years ago. The ceremony was held in Spanish. (I think I might have mentioned that I only pray in Spanish). I love the church because, unlike more modern buildings, it reminds me of churches in my country.

I was feeling kind of bad that we waited this long to baptize Santiago. For the majority of Catholics, baptism is a sacrament that occurs right after a child is born. Santiago turned 19 months a couple of days before his baptism. But the truth is that it took us a while to decide on a godfather. I don’t know if this is only true of the Latino culture, but for us, baptizing a child is more than a religious ceremony. It also has to do with a bit of tradition and customs. Godparents become our compadres and comadres and, in our family’s case, we choose them because we see them as the people we’d trust with our niño’s life con los ojos cerrados.

Both the padrino and the madrina we chose as Santiago’s godparents are those kind of people. After I realized I was pregnant for the second time, I knew right away that I wanted Ana to be my child’s godmother. We’ve know each other since college, more than 17 years and counting. And, while we haven’t really lived in the same city for a very, very long time, our friendship has never wavered.

Our labor of love, SpanglishBaby, has only continued to solidify our friendship. I’m honored that she accepted to be my son’s madrina.

¡Gracias, comadre!