Dissertation Fellow 2001-02
Anne Martinez (American Studies)
University of Minnesota
Sacred Journeys: Mexican Migration
to Chicago and the Export
of Catholicism to Mexico, 1910-1929
Religion plays multifaceted roles on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico
border. Mexican immigrants and U.S. Catholic institutions have both
crossed this border, and in the process have utilized and shaped
religion in contradictory ways. Drawing on archival research, this
study examines the intersections of religion, migration and race
in the two decades following the start of the Mexican Revolution.
I examine the movement of Mexicans to Chicago as part of a mass
exodus of Mexicans to the United States in response to the Revolution,
with particular attention to their religious needs and practices.
The Catholic Church Extension Society, based in Chicago, was also
focused on Mexican Catholicism during this time, providing financial
support to Mexican priests, and lobbying in Washington, Mexico City
and the Vatican on behalf of Mexican Catholics. I examine both of
these phenomena through a bi-national lens, examining the ways U.S.
imperial interests and Catholic colonial interests in Mexico competed
with and supported each other. By looking at the experiences of
Mexican Catholics in Chicago and the work of the Extension Society
in Mexico, I provide insights into the transnational context of
cultural contact and related migrant flows.
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