Historiografia Breve de la Misa en Espanol en la Iglesia de Sta. Rosa
Escrita por: Timothy T. Alstrum
Traducida por: Ana María Hernández Alstrum
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A Brief Historiography of The Spanish Mass in St. Rose

Written by: Timothy T. Alstrum
Spanish translation by: Ana María Hernández Alstrum
- The Pastoral Council of Saint Rose of Lima recognized the growing Latino population in East Hartford and the need for a Spanish Mass East of the Connecticut River. The Pastor, the late Fr. Ronald Osborne, informed the Archdiocese of this need. There were no Spanish-speaking priests at St Rose and the pastor of Sacred Heart Church, in Hartford, came to the rescue.
- The First Spanish Mass was celebrated on Saturday, March 1st, 1997 at 5:30 PM and less than 10 people attended.
- Father Alberto Zanatta, an Italian Somascan priest was the celebrant. Fr. Zanatta served as the Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Hartford and also served the Latino Community of St. Michael’s Church.
- June through August 1997 Padre Franco celebrated the Spanish Masses but he returned to Italy in September. Very few people attended the Spanish Mass because it had not been advertised outside of St. Rose.
- September 1997 Padre Giulio Veronesi, came on Saturdays from the Sacred Heart Church to celebrate the Spanish Mass at St. Rose. More Latinos became informed about the mass through the efforts of a small community of faithful Latinos who loved to attend mass in their first language. Slowly but surely the “Good News” was spread by word of mouth and through handouts and flyers that were prepared and displayed at local supermarkets and businesses. More people started to attend the Spanish Mass.
- February 1999 Fr. Thomas Mitchell became Administrator of St. Rose Church and in the fall he became the first bilingual Pastor of the parish.
- March 1999 “Padre Tomás” began celebranting la misa en español. He also decided to erect a sign at the corner of Burnside Ave. and Church Street to advertise the Spanish Mass and Latino commuters from Manchester started attending la misa after seeing the sign on their commute between Hartford and Manchester by bus or by car.
- In late December of 1999 Deacon Rafael López was assigned to St. Rose for approximately two years.
- June 2004 Fr. Mitchell became Pastor of St. Augustine Church in Hartford. Padre Zacarías Pushpanathan came to celebrate the Spanish Mass. A few months later the newly ordained Deacon, Julio C. Maturana from Colombia was assigned to Santa Rosa de Lima. • • February 2005 Padre Carlos Zapata from Colombia began celebrating the Spanish Mass. The Spanish Mass was moved from 5:30 pm on Saturdays to 12:30 pm on Sundays. It is now advertised through print and electronic media and the number of Latinos attending the Spanish mass continued to increase.
- Today Latino parishioners continue to serve in many ministries for the North American Martyrs Parish. Colombians, Peruvians, Puerto Ricans, Ecuadorians, Salvadorians, Guatemalans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Mexicans, and other nationalities are among the Latino parishioners. The multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual community of our parish is blessed by sharing God’s Word through la misa en español! This blessing extends beyond the three churches to help others in the world community!