The Franco-American Parishes of New England : Past, Present, and Future

The Franco-American Parishes of New England : Past, Present, and Future

Essay on the birth of French Canadian Roman Catholic national parishes (churches, schools, communities) in New England - their subsequent growth, decline, and transformation as Franco American communities from the early nineteenth century to the twenty-first. A brief chronological survey. Includes remarks on turbulent relations between some American Church leaders favoring immigrant assimilation and some French Canadian immigrants resisting the Anglicization of their institutions. Gauges the accuracy of the truism among Franco Americans that there exists a connection between preserving the French language and maintaining one's Catholic faith. Acknowledges the transformations that take place in Franco American communities alongside specific legislative, academic, or ecclesiastical attitudes toward language use. Follows, through measures of Church activity, the phenomena of tightly knit Franco American communities beginning to disperse and dissolve in the twentieth century. As the title adds, also contains thoughts on the future of Franco American culture in New England as related to the decline of the French language, the decline in the number of Catholic priests, and the modern notion of American "individuality" that the author positions at the base of ethnic community dissolution.

Potvin, Raymond H.

2003-06 (summer)

en

Journal Article

1800-2003; New England

2

English

55-67

American Catholic Studies

114