Chicago Católico: Making Catholic Parishes Mexican (University of Illinois Press, 2020).

Description/link: Awards: Hamlin Garland Prize in Popular History, Midwestern History Association; Best of Illinois History Award of Superior Achievement, Illinois State Historical Society

Hijos del Pueblo: Gender, Family, and Community in Rural Mexico (University of Texas Press, 2009).

“Mexican Priests and Migrant Ministry in the Midwest, 1953-1961,” U.S. Catholic Historian, vol. 39 (2021).

Description/link: Mexico’s Catholic hierarchy partnered with U.S. bishops in sending Mexican priests to minister to braceros (short-term Mexican contract workers) who relocated during summers to the Midwest, especially Ohio and Michigan, to work in agriculture. Based on recently-uncovered letters, this essay concentrates on the experience of these bracero-misioneros. In ministering to Spanish-speaking migrants from both Mexico and the U.S., the priests usually approved of those from Mexico while questioning the religiosity of U.S.-based Mexican migrants. The priests’ seasonal visits over nine summers (1953–1961) strengthened migrant ministry and Spanish-speaking apostolates as diocesan clergy and laypeople grew familiar with the migrants’ needs.