Breaking Language Barriers

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An Interview with José Alberto Sánchez Fierro

José Alberto Sánchez Fierro is a Spanish-speaking catechist in the Diocese of New York and New Jersey. He spoke with us about his initial encounter with Orthodoxy in Mexico and how he came to be a leader in Spanish-speaking Orthodox outreach in the United States.

Tell me about your personal background and your background with Orthodoxy.

My full name is José Alberto Sánchez Fierro, but everybody knows me as Ioannis, my Orthodox baptismal name in honor of St. John the Baptist. In the Spanish community everybody calls me José.

I was born in the city of Atlixco in the state of Puebla, about three hours from Mexico City, where I moved as a young adult. When I was about 17, I started to look around for the true faith. Back then I knew nothing about Orthodoxy, so I was looking in other religions, desperately trying to find the truth. But nothing happened. Eventually I gave up and I just became like a lot of Mexicans, following the directions from the [Catholic] priest. But to be honest I was not happy.

One Sunday almost 15 years ago I was walking past a nearby Greek Orthodox Church—the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom in Mexico City. They were performing a service outside. It was weird to me because Palm Sunday had already happened in the Roman Catholic Church. I approached the people, and it was amazing: They were chanting in Greek, I could smell their incense. I don’t know how I ended up inside the church, but it was so beautiful, like being in heaven. So I realized that was where I belonged, because I had this feeling that the place had been waiting for me.

I asked the priest after the service what they were celebrating, and he explained how their calendar was usually a few weeks behind the Roman Catholic calendar. He gave me some information. Thank God I had internet at home, and when I returned, I started doing my own research. It was becoming clear that this was my faith. I attended that church for almost a year and then was baptized.

How did you get involved in catechesis?

After I was baptized, I was attending a group called Catechisma in Mexico with some priests and friends. People could bring a friend, or anyone interested in the faith, to talk and learn about Orthodoxy. I was one of three selected to be in a small group who studied more about the faith, to be able to teach others.

One day a priest called to ask if I was willing to travel to help other communities with catechesis, and I said yes, not knowing it was in New York. But I said to myself, “Why not?” The job was at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Washington Heights. So I came to New York and we started a program there with a very small community of Hispanics, most of them Dominican. But due to several difficulties, the GOA stopped the program.

I was ready to return to Mexico when an OCA friend I had made here, Kevin, called me. He said, “Why are you going to leave? You’re here; you can contact other churches and see if they need your help.” So I started to knock on doors, but everyone said they weren’t interested, mostly because they didn’t want to deal with all the paperwork required for immigration.

But one day Kevin suggested that I call Fr. Joseph Lickwar at Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Cathedral in Jersey City. So I did, and he spoke with Fr. David Cowan, who was then at Holy Trinity in Yonkers, and after three weeks they called back and said I could work for them in the OCA.

How did Holy Trinity’s connection with the Spanish-speaking community start?

Fr. David lived next to the church in Yonkers. Across the street there is a building complex, where many elderly people live, all Hispanic, all Spanish speakers. Fr. David only speaks English, but somehow, they would communicate. He had a connection with one woman who was particularly active, who liked to get others involved and cook for everyone.

What does one of your meetings look like?

Fr. David would bring a Bible over to the meeting room in their building complex, and he would read the Gospel, and I would translate each word. I would say nothing of my own, just Fr. David’s explanation.

Then we would pray the Trisagion. In the Roman Catholic Church, they don’t have the Trisagion, only Our Father. They learned how to say the Trisagion in Spanish and to sing the hymn of the Holy Theotokos. After that, we would pray for the sick and people in difficulties.

Do they regularly attend Holy Trinity?

Before COVID, they would attend services at the parish. They told me they felt welcome because all the parishioners looked at them with love. You feel it when someone welcomes you to become a part of the community, even if you don’t speak the language. They told me they’d been in other churches with nonLatinos, and they’d felt different, but they said that was not the case in our church.

Has anyone from the group converted to Orthodoxy? Right now, I have only two people that are most likely going to be a part of our Church very soon. From a group of almost ten, two are going to become Orthodox. And the others, likely later. They are thinking about it. One lady was telling me that she wants to become Orthodox, but she wants to bring her whole family, and she doesn’t want to be Orthodox while they’re Roman Catholic.

Has this relationship with the Spanish-speaking community changed anything at the parish?

Yes. Fr. David would do parts of the Liturgy in Spanish. The comments from the group were amazing. They were very happy just to hear the Liturgy in their language.

How has COVID affected your meetings?

I had been in Yonkers more than a year when my visa was about to expire, so I had to leave the country and re-enter. I went back to Mexico, I got my visa approved, and as soon as I came back and we started up again, COVID hit.

While I was in Mexico, I would call them over WhatsApp, but it’s not the same, talking to someone through a screen. Now that I am back, I can meet oneon-one in person, but not with the whole group.

The Hispanic community has been hit very hard by COVID, and they don’t want to take the risk of going inside the church. But you know what I did? All of them have internet access, so I told them where to go to watch the Liturgy online, and they love it. They say, “One more time! One more time!” after they finish. And I also provided them with materials, some hymns and CDs, icons, and books and komboskinis. I showed them how to pray with the komboskini, so they’ve been doing that. They’re amazing.

We all pray for this disease to be banished, and we’re going to go back to our normal life and do our work for the Church.

In the meantime, I’ve started a Facebook page to reach people interested in Orthodoxy throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

What’s your ultimate goal through this ministry?

One of my purposes is to share Orthodoxy with people, especially with the Spanish-speaking community. I call Orthodoxy this very well-kept secret. It is this little treasury that we have, that’s been there for centuries. So my purpose is to let the Hispanic community know that there is a way for them to share the happiness of the true faith.

Mission Ortodoxa Español – OCA – NY & NJ, Mr. Sanchez’s Facebook page for Spanish-speakers interested in Orthodoxy, can be found at facebook.com/ ortodoxiaespanolnynj.

For free materials on Orthodoxy in Spanish, contact Mr. Sanchez directly at joseorthodox33@ gmail.com.

- Interview by Katie Sorensen