WHEN news broke that the Pope had extended a welcome to disillusioned Anglicans to the Catholic Church, I was at the Sacred Heart Church in central Bournemouth, discovering the welcome they give to Latin Americans seeking a spiritual home in the town.

For Brazilian and Portuguese people living here, being able to worship God in their own language is a lifeline that the Sacred Heart has offered for four years. Father Gonzaga has spent seven months in Bournemouth performing mass in Portuguese. Speaking through an interpreter, he told me how important it was to be able to express one’s own beliefs in one’s own language.

“It’s a matter of culture,” Father Gonzaga smiled. “The English are more reserved in expression, whereas the Latin cultures are more extrovert and open.”

He added: “There are many different ways of worshipping God. I have found during my time in Bournemouth a beautiful situation. “I have learnt, and it pleases me, the silence that the English are able to make. I have found great beauty in the more traditional way of worshipping God. “I also see that it is important to open the doors of the Church and reach new generations, and the New Latin cultures are capable of doing such a work.

“The English, of course, can learn lessons from the Latin. The English have good education and are well informed in the Catholic faith. “People here seem to be definitely Catholic, Anglican or Presbyterian. Latin Americans, having experienced more poverty, need to rely on God to sort out life’s problems. Therefore, they attend a church purely on the welcome, rather than the theology. “If a church does not fulfill a spiritual need, they migrate to a different church. Here in Europe, if people are dissatisfied with the Church, they look at atheism!”

Father Gonzaga leaves Bournemouth this weekend and Father José Bezerra will now take his place performing Portuguese Mass every Wednesday (7.30pm) and Saturday (4.30pm). The Sacred Heart will miss the warmth and enthusiasm of this particular Brazilian priest and Father Gonzaga would love to spend more time here.

He concluded: “I guess we Latins are more emotional, but I would like to work with English people more; I have learnt from them a silence that speaks about God and to God.”

l For information on The Sacred Heart and Mass in the Portuguese language visit the website sacredheartchurch-bournemouth.co.uk.