The sparsely attended Friday morning Mass at St. Bartholomew Parish Catholic Church was in English, and Amparo Lara, more comfortable with Spanish, struggled to understand the homily that urged parishioners to see Jesus with eyes of faith.

As she walked out of the church, in a Northwest Side neighborhood that has become predominantly Latino, Lara, 59, said she hopes the arrival of the first pope from Latin America will spark a more meaningful connection between the Roman Catholic Church and the ethnic group that continues to transform it.

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