Many people, if asked when Hispanics began to reshape the Catholic Church in New York City, would probably put the date around 1950, when Puerto Rican migrants began arriving in Manhattan in large numbers. But in fact, Hispanics had exerted a powerful influence on religion and society in New York more than a century earlier, an important insight that emerged from a panel discussion on Tuesday night at the Museum of the City of New York.
The panel discussion -- part of an exhibition, "Catholics in New York, 1808-1946," that is on view through Dec. 31 -- was billed as a talk on Latinos and the future of Catholic New York. The most informative parts of the 90-minute discussion focused on little-known aspects of social, religious and urban history. Rafael Pi Roman, the host of WNET's "New York Voices," moderated the discussion.