September 28, 2025 - "The World Day of Migrants and Refugees'

Cardinal Robert McElroy Archbishop of Washington will be the principal celebrant of the liturgy, which will bring together Catholic communities from across the archdiocese in solidarity and in prayer.

 

The World Day of Migrants and Refugees was instituted by Pope Saint Pius X in 1914 and has been observed annually as a reminder of the Church’s called to accompany migrants and refugees.  This afternoon, the procession and Mass will highlight the archdiocese's multicultural character and its mission of synodal renewal. 

 

Let me conclude this column with the prayer that concludes Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2024:

 

God, Almighty Father,
 we are your pilgrim Church
 journeying towards the Kingdom of heaven.
 We live in our homeland,
 but as if we were foreigners.
 Every foreign place is our home,
 yet every native land is foreign to us.
 Though we live on earth,
 our true citizenship is in heaven.
 Do not let us become possessive
 of the portion of the world
 you have given us as a temporary home.
 Help us to keep walking,
 together with our migrant brothers and sisters,
 toward the eternal dwelling you have prepared for us.
 Open our eyes and our hearts
 so that every encounter with those in need
 becomes an encounter with Jesus, your Son and our Lord.
 Amen.

 

Until next week,

Fr. John