Family and community members hold signs Saturday during a demonstration in Youngstown, expressing concern for a lack of Spanish-speaking Masses in Campbell.

YOUNGSTOWN — Holding rosaries and signs in both English and Spanish, more than 35 people stood outside St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown on Saturday afternoon to peacefully protest another church move in Campbell.

Organized by Campbell resident Aida Pacheco, the group, mostly of Hispanic background, assembled in hopes of conveying the message to clergy as well as the Youngstown Diocese to continue their Spanish-speaking Mass at their home church, Pacheco said.

She said there are no other Hispanic Masses in the tri-county area.

For years, Spanish-speaking Catholic parishioners attended Sta. Rosa de Lima in Campbell. In 2007, the parishioners moved to St. Lucy, Pacheco explained, where they called the church home until moving to St. Joseph the Provider on the other side of Campbell.

There was a rotation including other churches, Pacheco said. “We have been shuffled back and forth,” she said.

The last rotation included St. John, where the Spanish-speaking members were told they could stay at St. Lucy to continue with the Mass kept in Spanish.

Members attending Masses in English raised the question of why the Hispanic population didn’t have to move.

“Ours is separate because it’s in Spanish, so they just left us there” while the English Masses were held at St. John’s, Pacheco said.

In May, the English Masses resumed at St. Lucy.

With the pandemic, Pacheco said Masses have been held at the Palermo Banquet Center in Campbell.

This month, the Spanish Masses were scheduled for Sept. 6 and today, but Pacheco said that keeping the worship at the banquet center made sense because of space.

Pacheco said a main reason that a Spanish-speaking Mass isn’t offered in Campbell is because there aren’t enough priests, although she added that each Mass has a Spanish-speaking priest.

“All this time, we’ve been having a Spanish Mass,” she said.

On Friday, a news release from the Youngstown Diocese stated that last year, Bishop George Murry, who has since died, “announced the approved plan for pastoral regions for the Diocese of Youngstown.”

The release states that Murry had previously explained: “given the realities of population, Catholic affiliation and participation, and the aging demographic of our priests, each parish was placed into a pastoral region. Based on the feedback from priests, parish leaders, parish pastoral and finance councils the goal of the plan allows us to think and act upon creative solutions that fit local needs.”

That plan includes moving the two Hispanic masses from St. Brendan Parish in Youngstown and Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in Campbell (which encompasses St. Lucy), to St. Dominic Parish in Youngstown.

The Mass will be at 1 p.m. each Sunday beginning Sept. 20, the release states.

That Mass will be the first bilingual one, Pacheco said.

“Some prayers are in English, some are in Spanish. Nobody likes that,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco said that before his death, Murry told the Hispanic parishioners “this would be your last move” when they arrived at St. Lucy.

Pacheco has sent letters to the local diocese, as well as to The Vatican in Rome, describing the concern and “need, not want” for a Spanish-speaking Mass, Pacheco said.

There was no reply locally, Pacheco said, to a letter sent as recently as this summer.

While most of the group was of Catholic faith, John and Francine Vazquez, and their son John II, of the Vazquez Family Ministry, attended to show support.

“We’re supporting them because, number one, there’s only one (Mass) in the tri-county (area), Spanish-speaking Catholic Church,” Francine said.

The parishioners should not be “shut down” because they want to worship in a different language, she added.

Usually, precedence and change happen when there is support to members involved of a movement.

“Sometimes, the powers at hand or the authorities won’t listen until people start marching and start talking about what’s going on,” Francine explained.

Keeping in tune with the peaceful approach to their protest, Francine said an end result will be accomplished by communication.

“Let’s sit down and work this out,” she said.