One Homily, Two Languages: Preaching in Bilingual and Multicultural Parishes

In a great many U.S. parishes, Mass is celebrated in more than one language. English and Spanish are the most common pairing, and Hispanic Catholics are a large and growing part of the Church in the United States. But parishes also gather in Vietnamese, Tagalog, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Haitian Creole, and many other languages. Often these communities share a church building, a pastor, and a parish name — and yet rarely meet, worshiping at separate Masses with separate ministries, like two parishes under one roof.

Then come the moments when they gather together: the Easter Triduum, the parish feast day, a Confirmation Mass, a funeral that draws both communities. The homilist faces a real practical question: how do you preach one homily to people who do not share a language? This article offers a practical guide to preaching at a bilingual Mass and in multicultural parishes — and to using the homily to build one parish instead of two.

Two Parishes Under One Roof

It is worth naming the underlying challenge honestly. In many parishes, the language communities coexist rather than belong to each other. The Spanish Mass is sometimes treated as an addition to "the parish" rather than as part of it. Parishioners of one community may not know the names of those in the other. Resources, meeting spaces, and Mass times can become sources of quiet tension.

The homily cannot solve this alone. But it is one of the most visible places where a pastor shows what he believes the parish is. When he preaches to both communities as one people — with equal care, equal seriousness, and equal warmth — he teaches the whole parish something no bulletin announcement could.

Preaching at a Bilingual Mass: Four Approaches

There is no single right way to preach a bilingual homily, but there are better and worse ones. Here are the four most common approaches.

Preaching the entire homily twice. This is the most complete and the least effective. It doubles the length, and in practice each community tunes out while the other language is spoken. By the second half, much of the assembly is waiting for it to end. Avoid this except for the very shortest homilies.

Alternating sentence by sentence. Saying each sentence first in one language, then in the other, preserves fairness but destroys momentum. It is exhausting to listen to and nearly impossible to preach with warmth. It can work for a brief greeting, but not for a full homily.

Preaching mainly in one language with a summary in the other. This is the most common approach, and it can work well — if the summary is substantial. A two-sentence summary after a ten-minute homily tells the other community, however unintentionally, that they matter less. If you use this approach, alternate which language leads from one bilingual celebration to the next.

The braided homily. The most skillful approach weaves the two languages together so that each carries different parts of a single message. A story might be told in Spanish, its meaning drawn out in English, and the central message spoken in both. Because the languages do not simply repeat each other, both communities have to listen throughout, and the homily keeps its momentum. It requires careful preparation, but it produces the most unified experience.

Whatever approach you choose, keep the total length close to that of an ordinary homily. Our article on homily length applies doubly here: a bilingual homily that runs long loses both communities at once.

Say the Central Message in Both Languages

Whatever else you do, the one central message of the homily must be spoken in both languages — clearly, and ideally as the final line. If a listener understands nothing else, they should leave with that one sentence in their own language.

It can also help to print the full homily, or a substantial summary, in both languages in the worship aid, or to project it. Many bilingual parishioners follow along in their stronger language, and people who understand only one language are not left out.

Write It Twice; Don't Just Translate It

A homily translated word for word from one language into another rarely preaches well. Idioms do not carry over. Humor falls flat. A story that resonates deeply in one culture may mean little in another. Rhythms that work for the ear in English can feel stiff in Spanish, and the reverse.

Where possible, write each language's portion for native speakers of that language, drawing on images and references that belong to that community. If you are not fully fluent, ask a trusted native speaker — a deacon, a catechist, a parishioner — to read your text and tell you honestly how it sounds. Our article on writing for the ear applies in every language.

Honor the Devotions Each Community Brings

Every culture brings gifts to the Church, often in the form of devotions that are deeply woven into family and community life. A parish that honors these devotions tells each community that it belongs.

Know the dates that matter to your people. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 is, for many Mexican and Mexican-American Catholics, one of the most important days of the year. Las Posadas in the nine days before Christmas, the Filipino Simbang Gabi dawn Masses in the same season, the memorial of Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc and the Vietnamese Martyrs on November 24, and the feast of Our Lady of Częstochowa on August 26 for Polish communities — each is an opportunity to preach in a way that honors one community's devotion while inviting the whole parish into it.

When you preach on these days, explain the devotion's meaning for those who do not share it. Many parishioners have never been told why Our Lady of Guadalupe matters so deeply, or what Simbang Gabi means. That explanation becomes an invitation to the rest of the parish to share in something beautiful.

Speak to the Immigrant Experience With Care

Many of your parishioners, in every language community, carry immigrant stories — their own, their parents', or their grandparents'. Scripture is full of the experience of migration: Abraham leaving his homeland, Israel in Egypt, Ruth in a foreign land, the Holy Family fleeing into Egypt. The law of Israel commanded: "You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 19:34).

These are rich texts, and they speak powerfully to people who know what it is to leave home. Preach them pastorally, with attention to human dignity and the lived experience of displacement and belonging. At the same time, keep the homily rooted in the Word rather than in partisan argument. The faithful come to Mass from many political perspectives, and a homily that turns into a policy debate divides the very assembly it should be gathering.

Build One Parish, Not Two

The homily is only one part of building unity across language communities. A few other practices help:

• Celebrate the great feasts together. The Easter Triduum and the parish's patronal feast are natural moments for fully bilingual liturgies that bring the whole parish together.
• Share leadership. Make sure parish councils, finance committees, and ministry leadership include members of each community — not as token representatives, but with real voice.
• Invite across the lines. Encourage members of each community to attend the other's celebrations. Food, music, and shared feasts build friendships that liturgy alone cannot.
• Walk with emerging leaders. The Church in the United States, through processes such as the national Encuentro gatherings, has emphasized accompanying Hispanic and Latino Catholics into leadership. Identify and form leaders from every community.

Our article on building real community in your parish offers more ideas that apply across language lines.

If You Are Still Learning the Language

Many priests and deacons serve communities whose language they are still learning. The faithful almost always receive the effort with warmth and gratitude. A homilist who preaches simply and sincerely in an imperfect Spanish will reach more hearts than one who avoids the language entirely.

Keep your sentences short. Practice aloud. Ask a native speaker to review your text. And do not be afraid of mistakes; your people will forgive grammar far more readily than they will forgive distance. Our article on preaching in a second language offers much more practical help.

A Final Word

At Pentecost, the crowd that gathered in Jerusalem was astonished that "each one heard them speaking in his own language" (Acts 2:6). And in the Book of Revelation, Saint John sees the Church at the end of time as "a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue" (Revelation 7:9).

A bilingual or multicultural parish is not a problem to be managed. It is a glimpse of that multitude, gathered around one altar. Preach to every community with equal love, honor what each one brings, and help them discover that they are, in Christ, one people.