Bishops call for solidarity with immigrants in binational pilgrimage and Mass

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (OSV News) — As the sun set over the international border a small cadre of Catholic bishops processed toward Mexico. Flanked by priests, religious brothers and sisters, laity and immigration advocates, the U.S. prelates walked along Main Street in San Luis Oct. 12.

The rare sight slowed traffic going in and out of the busy port of entry. Onlookers pulled out their cellphones to take pictures on this second Sunday in October.

Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Tucson, led the group in its empathetic and merciful mission to stand in solidarity with migrants.

“We join together with our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV as we remember that the Lord has called us to remember the littlest and weakest among us,” he said.

International estimates in the border region of Arizona and Mexico’s Sonora state have documented more than 3,400 migrant deaths in a 30-year span.

San Luis, on the western edge of the Diocese of Tucson, stood as the backdrop for the gathering as it sits adjacent to Sonora and one other Mexican border state, Baja California. Just west the Colorado River flows and slightly north resides the Quechan Tribe. South of the border the Diocese of Mexicali is home to more than 1 million Catholics.

Priests in the Diocese of Tucson minister to an area of more than 45,000 square miles. By way of land mass, it’s one of the largest in the continental United States.

Bishop Kicanas, who led the Diocese of Tucson for nearly 15 years before retiring in 2017, recounted his experiences of blessing migrants. “I could see that they were worried, anxious, but they believed in the Lord, and they understood that each of them was a person of infinite value,” he said.

His brother bishops shared similar sentiments, among them were Bishop Josè Luis Cerra of the Diocese of Nogales in Mexico; Bishop John P. Dolan of Phoenix; Auxiliary Bishop Gregory W. Gordon of Las Vegas; Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino, California; and Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido of San Diego.

Four other dioceses sent representatives in a show of solidarity. Though their dioceses are not directly located on the southern border, the Catholic leaders say they often minister to families who have been fractured by deportations and other complexities with immigration.

The binational pilgrimage was inspired by the Kino Border Initiative, a Catholic organization rooted in the Jesuit order that exists in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora. Its longtime leader Joanna Williams, executive director, said, “I feel a deep gratitude for the reality of the unity of our church. This day is symbolic. It gives me great hope, and I want to transmit that hope to the migrants that we serve in Nogales, Mexico.”

Bishop Kicanas picked up a large wooden cross to begin the walk into Mexico. At 84, he was the oldest of the bishops at the Sunday demonstration. In March 2024 the Vatican asked him to temporarily fill the vacancy left by now-Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, who was named to head the Archdiocese of Detroit.

“We walk together with our brothers and sisters who are struggling that they might know our love and concern and respect for each one of them,” said Bishop Kicanas, a priest for nearly 60 years, who has remained active in his ministry as a bishop emeritus.

Along the route the bishops took turns carrying the cross, stopping at makeshift stations commemorating symbols of the migrant journey. Several hundred joined in the procession.

It seemed almost providential when the caravan formally entered Mexico as the sun disappeared beyond the Gila Mountains. Federal officers stood inside the Mexican port, some of them capturing video on their cellphones. In the city streets of San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexican police cordoned off the intersection, a major thoroughfare in the city of about 200,000.

As the group filed into Mexico, they were met with applause from Mexican bishops, priests and laity. The Mexican prelates were Bishop Cerra Luna of Nogales, Bishop Enrique Sánchez Martinez of Mexicali and Bishop Eugenio Lira Rugaricía of Matamoros-Reynosa.

Moments later the binational pilgrimage continued south toward Parroquia de la Immaculada Concepción, a church that has stood in the city’s plaza since 1946. There all the bishops and representatives from the dioceses of Sante Fe, New Mexico, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Cheyene, Wyoming, and the Archdiocese of Denver took turns signing an agreement to continue supporting migrants.

The binational accord underscored the commitment to solidarity and encouraged the lay faithful to do what they can with five invitations for action:

— Encounter and accompany migrants.

— Build community with people who have migrated and people who are distant from those realities.

— Fervent prayer and advocacy.

— Continued prayer for policymakers.

— Peaceful and prayerful public witness.

Williams said the Kino Border Initiative hoped the 24 dioceses represented in the binational pilgrimage would seek opportunities to evangelize on Oct. 22 and Nov. 15 as a moment of unity.

“We see the manifestation of this celebration, not only the procession but the beauty that in the process of coordinating this event we also drew closer together,” she said, “All of us are more brothers and sisters because of this and it gives us a base to continue this work in solidarity.”

After signing the agreement, the bishops processed into the church. More than 300 people sat in the pews while outside at least 200 others watched on a projector. The Diocese of Mexicali livestreamed the bilingual Mass that was concelebrated by at least 30 priests from Mexico and the United States.

For Williams, the diversity was especially meaningful for the message she’ll carry to the migrants she supports, “My words can’t change their situation because they are deported, they are separated from their children but now I can say your bishop cares about you and is worried about you. He went to Mexico to stand in solidarity with you.”

After Mass the bishops greeted people thanking them for coming from near and far to celebrate in the Jubilee of Hope echoing the late Pope Francis’ message that “people on the move are pilgrims of hope.”

The pilgrimage and Mass Bishop Kicanas said was an integral part of the church’s mission to serve others.

“Together at the altar of the Lord we will ask the Lord bless those that are suffering,” he said. “The bishops who are here are here because they believe we are to be and to act as sisters and brothers in Christ.”

New Outlook, which produced this story, is the online news outlet of the Diocese of Tucson. This story was originally published by New Outlook and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.

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