Brief Profile

Mestizos are people from the countries of the Americas who are of combined European and Native American ancestry. During the colonial period in Latin America, Spanish settlers had relations with native indigenous groups, and Mestizos quickly became the majority group. When colonies started achieving independence from Spain, Mestizos often became not only the dominant population, but also the overriding political force. In some Latin American countries, such as Mexico, the concept of the "mestizo" became central to the formation of an entirely new independent identity that was neither wholly Spanish nor wholly indigenous, and the word mestizo acquired its current double meaning of mixed cultural heritage and descent.

Large numbers of Mestizos have immigrated to the United States from a wide variety of Latin American countries. As such, they tend to be Spanish or Portuguese speaking. Like many Latin Americans, Mestizos tend to self-identify as Roman Catholic, although the Catholicism tends to be strongly culturally based and may be mixed with native religious forms that harken back to their animistic indigenous roots.

Prayer Points

• Pray for Mestizo believers to boldly proclaim the gospel to their people.
• Pray for Mestizo believers to catch a vision for reaching out to the less reached indigenous peoples among them.
• Pray that the barriers of traditional Cultural Catholicism to be broken down.
• Pray for more workers for the harvest, both for the Mestizo in the United States, as well as in their home countries.