The Archdiocese of Chicago hosted a Mass celebrating the city’s diverse Catholic and immigrant communities, marking an end to its National Migration Week activities.
A procession of more than 50 immigrants representing more than 25 countries, including Spain, Uganda and Mexico, walked through Holy Name Cathedral dressed in traditional attire to kick off the Sunday ceremony.
Prayers were read in different languages, including Swahili, Italian and Vietnamese, among others.
“Welcoming a stranger, including the immigrant, is a fundamental moral imperative of Christianity,” Cardinal Blase Cupich told parishioners in a recorded message. “They too are children of God, all of us members of the same family, the human family. After all, Jesus himself was a refugee as Mary and Joseph were forced to flee their homeland because it had become too dangerous.”
In recent weeks, more than 900 immigrants have been sent to Chicago from Texas as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to send people arriving at the southern U.S. border to cities led by Democrats, including New York and Washington.
In his message, Cupich acknowledged that states along the border have historically had to deal with immigration issues, but he called on officials to work together to help the migrants.
“While the burden of supporting migrants has undeniably fallen disproportionately on border states, we need a national strategy of cooperation,” Cupich said. “To all immigrants and refugees, all asylum seekers, those who have recently arrived as well as those who have made lives for themselves here, enriching their communities and indeed their whole nation, we welcome you.”
The majority of immigrants who arrived recently in Chicago from Texas hail from Venezuela, which has been experiencing dire economic conditions in recent years.
Alvaro S., who came to Chicago two years ago from Venezuela with his wife, spoke to parishioners at Holy Name about his journey to the city.
“We escaped looking for freedom and quality of life,” Alvaro said. “Once in Chicago, we received a lot of help from the Catholic Church.”
“Now more than ever, we feel [determined to help] others to obtain the liberty that we obtained when we got here. We are also [determined] to help our people in that country who are suffering starvation, hunger and death.
“God bless America and the Catholic Church forever.”
