But after outdoor confessionals and a Mass, Maria Gray Cruz, director of Hispanic ministry for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, gave them something unexpected. Cradling a large plastic bag, she announced she'd be distributing crosses blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.

Jaws dropped. The youth leaders exchanged smiles and excited glances. Janette Yedra, who helps coordinate youth activities for Midvale's St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, clasped her hand over her mouth as the tears began to flow.

"You can feel Jesus enter your heart," Yedra said later with the help of a translator, her eyes welling again. "I can see Jesus in all the youth."

As the Latino population continues to grow, there is little doubt these youths will shape the future of Catholicism nationwide and in Utah. Already, anywhere from 66 percent to 78 percent of the state's registered 200,000 Catholics are Latino. Many Latinos, especially migrant workers or undocumented residents, don't register with parishes -- not just to protect themselves, but because registering with a parish isn't required where they come from.

While the church for Latinos is, at face value, the same one revered by Anglo Catholics, make no mistake about it, Latino spirituality is different.

Religion and culture go hand-in-hand for Latino Catholics. That means the guarding of the Spanish language, the profound importance placed on icons, the financial and spiritual involvement of godparents, the celebration of certain holidays -- such as quinceañeras for 15-year-old girls and the Feast of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 -- and more. In fact, Latino identity is so wrapped up in religious tradition, which varies from country to country, that there are tales of Mexican converts to the LDS Church who still keep icons of the Virgin of Guadalupe in their homes and still cross themselves when they go by a Catholic Church, said Armando Solórzano, a University of Utah associate professor in family and consumer studies, as well as ethnic studies. These things are "embedded in them," he explained.

The Latino influx and the blending of languages, cultures and socioeconomic groups come with challenges. Take religious education, for one. The Rev. Robert Moriarty of Kearns' St. Francis Xavier Parish said about 60 percent of his parish, or 2,500 families, are Latino. In an effort to accommodate all 800 K-8 students, the parish was offering an equal number of Spanish and English classes.

"Then we come to find out that a lot the [Latino] kids could neither read nor write in Spanish," said Moriarty said. "So this year we've cut back and focused more on English instruction" with bilingual textbooks, which "created a rift in the community. . . . There's no way we can address all the needs."

According to the Catholic Diocese, of the 69 Catholic priests in Utah, only 14 are Latino, three of whom were ordained in May. Considering the numbers, this seems disproportionate, but diocese spokeswoman Monica Howa-Johnson said many priests who aren't native Spanish speakers are being taught the language in seminary. This raises a question: If culture and religion are interwined for Latinos, is simply speaking the language enough?

The Rev. Hernán Juarez, a priest at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Midvale, moved to Utah 11 months ago from El Salvador. Of the 1,800 people who attend his church, 83 percent are Latino, the bulk of whom are new to America. Because he's a recent immigrant himself, Juarez said parishoners can identify with him, open up, share their problems. And even though these congregants come from a variety of places -- including Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, Chile -- he said the parish sees itself as "one family."

Its family members take care of one another. Holy Cross Ministries, housed in a modest home-turned-office next to the church, employs a social worker who helps congregants navigate bureaucracy and tackle glitches in their new lives. A large proportion of St. Therese is made up of single men from Mexico who are living together, looking out for each other, as they work in landscaping or construction and send money home to their families.

Latino immigrants don't traditionally register with parishes, nor do they tithe. But this does not mean they aren't committed or supportive, said Karla Molina, St. Therese's administrator.

"We give what we have," she said. "That's why we're so poor!"

In tracking how Latino immigrants have fared in Utah as a whole, Solórzano said LDS Church members generally integrate more quickly and are better off, because they've joined the establishment -- a church that is organized to bring different people into the fold. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, is still trying to create a system that works, he said. And as Latino LDS members deal with, say, political or social concerns in the accepted LDS way by going to their bishop, Catholic Latino leaders take to the street in marches that aren't as well-received, Solórzano continued.

How the growing Latino Catholic population will acclimate in and influence Utah, ultimately, remains to be seen. But in the meantime, Latinos are finding strength and community in numbers, and in places, that might not be expected. Late last month, Riverton's St. Andrew Parish met for the first time, hosting a Spanish-speaking Mass for more than 100 Latinos in Larry H. Miller Megaplex 20 in South Jordan.

Leaving Ogden's St. Joseph's Church last Sunday, Adolfo and Irma Longoria were uplifted and reassured by what they saw.

Hundreds of Catholic churchgoers poured out of the Spanish Mass. Outside they were greeted by what Adolfo called "Little Mexico" -- ice-cream trucks and carts selling traditional treats such as steaming corn on the cob, a makeshift bakery, a pickup truck full of watermelons.

The Tremonton couple marveled at the life -- the Latino vitality -- swarming around them. Alfredo, originally from Mexico, smiled widely and said, "Our traditions are our traditions."

Irma, born in Texas, added, "No matter where you come from, it's good to hear our language and see our culture."

Contact Jessica Ravitz at jravitz@sltrib.com or 801-257-8776. Send comments to religioneditor@sltrib.com.

For a full listing of Spanish-speaking Catholic Masses, visit http://www.dioslc.org/directory/documents/SpanishMassTimesbyParish6-06.pdf