C1: The election of Pope Francis has special meaning to a growing segment of Catholics in the United States. In this "American Journey" report, Tom Foreman looks at the rise of the church's Latino members.</s>TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The appearance of the Spanish- speaking pope from across the Atlantic electrified the crowd in Italy and lit up U.S. shores, too.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it feel?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Full of joy. And happy, very happy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we say in Latin America, Vivo il Papa.</s>FOREMAN: Over the past few decades, American Catholic churches like this one in D.C. have undergone a profound transformation. The number of Hispanic members has been soaring, pushed so fast by immigration and births that they now account for one out of every three Catholics here.</s>GREG SMITH, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: And it's a number that's likely to continue to rise because Latino Catholics tend to be younger than Catholics as a whole. Fully one half of all Catholics under the age of 40 today are Hispanics.</s>FOREMAN: Reporter: While many white Catholics have been slipping away from the church amid sexual abuse scandals, debates over abortion rights and the role of women Hispanic arrivals have more than made up for the losses. So much so that Catholics still comprise about a quarter of the country, just as they have for decades. Mind you, that shift in demographics has dramatically changed the religious map once a largely northeastern and Midwestern faith, Catholicism is now growing fast in the south and the west. The new pope has a ready audience coast to coast in this country.</s>ANJALAI SHAHANI, CATHOLIC: So the fact that he can speak our language is very significant. I think he can get the message to us more effectively.</s>FOREMAN: And what they share maybe more than Spanish is the language of change. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
Latinos Drive U.S. Catholic Growth