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Call for Solidarity at ‘Encuentro’ for Migrants

April 7, 2025

From the Office for Social Ministry

“Migrations, more than ever before, will play a pivotal role in the future of our world. At present, however, migration is affected by the loss of that sense of responsibility for our brothers and sisters on which every civil society is based.”—Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti

In a time when migration continues to be too often misunderstood, the Catholic Church remains steadfast in her commitment to the dignity of every human being. This sense of solidarity was made visible at the end of March, when Catholic bishops and pastoral workers from Mexico, the United States and Canada gathered in El Paso at the Mexico-U.S. border for a moving “encuentro” meant to strengthen regional collaboration and pastoral care with vulnerable people on the move.

The “encuentro” opened with a Eucharist celebrated at Annunciation House (a trusted refuge for migrants) on the feast of Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran martyr who sacrificed his life in defense of the poor. Among those gathered was an inspiring young migrant from and survivor of the deadly Juarez immigration center fire in March 2023 which killed 40 young men. Wilson was among the few who made it out alive and now copes with debilitating injuries. Yet despite his past pain, he continues to pray for healing, hope and justice for all. During the offertory procession, he made his way forward in his wheelchair and walker with the special gifts of a couple worn-out sneakers found abandoned in the desert and a blanket used by migrants sleeping on the border streets. His humble offering left many in tears. That evening, he joined a candlelight vigil just steps from the border and was gifted a rosary blessed by Pope Francis. All present were deeply moved by this moment of solidarity with the vulnerable.

The following day, on the Feast of the Annunciation, the “encuentro” participants hiked together into the desert to commemorate the thousands who have died trying to cross that same rugged terrain in search of safety and a better future for their families. During the conference at the Diocesan Center, which recently served as a migrant shelter, Cardinal Fabio Baggio from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, offered an inspiring presentation reminding all that migration is not new—it has shaped every era and invites the encounter that builds civilizations. At its heart, he said, “to migrate is to seek the happiness proper to every human being.” Quoting Fratelli tutti, he underscored Pope Francis’ vision of “the art of encounter”—a deliberate choice to open ourselves to others, especially those on the margins. To attain fulfilment in life we need others. Human beings cannot fully know themselves apart from an encounter with other persons. All encounters with others are potentially enriching, and this potential is directly proportional to the otherness of the person encountered. The more different or “other” they are, the more that person helps those who meet her to grow in knowledge and humanity. All encounters with others are potentially enriching. Opening ourselves does not lead to impoverishment, but to becoming more human.”

Cardinal Baggio repeated that Pope Francis’s invites all to favor encounters with those on the peripheries of life, because “they have another way of looking at things; they see aspects of reality that are invisible to the centers of power where weighty decisions are made.”  He said the encounter to which the Holy Father refers is not a chance or improvised encounter, but a deliberate way of life that becomes a passion, a constant commitment to seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone. This encounter helps all parties involved to grow in humanity. “The encounter with one’s neighbor—especially when the other is not part of our group—is possibly the only way to ensure a humanity that transforms borders into bridges, and fear into empathy and love.” The Cardinal closed with a vision rooted in Gospel hope saying: ““We are called to dream together, fearlessly, as a single human family, as companions on the same journey, as sons and daughters of the same earth that is our common home, sisters and brothers all.” 

To learn more about the recent encuentro and the social ministry of solidarity being lived on the U.S.-Mexico border, please visit the HOPE Border Institute at www.hopeborderinstitute.org. To support migrants and learn about stories of hope from around the world, including how to help the recent disaster victims in Myanmar and beyond, please visit Catholic Relief Services-CRS website at www.crs.org where all the CRS Lenten Rice Bowl materials can be found and shared as we continue on our Jubilee year journey together as Pilgrims of hope. Mahalo.