"We must never forget, however, that migrants, rather than simply being a statistic, are first of all persons who have faces, names and individual stories."
- Pope Francis
National Migration Week will be observed in dioceses around the country January 7-13, 2018. Themed "Many Journeys, One Family," this year's National Migration Week coincides with Caritas Internationalis' migration campaign "Share the Journey."
Read:
Messages from Pope Francis:
For World Day of Peace: Migrants and Refugees: Men and Women in Search of Peace (English | Español)
Resources
National Migration Week Toolkit (Share the Journey website)
Watch Live, Jan. 11, 3 p.m. EST: Catholic University, U.S. Bishops panel discussion - “On The Margins: At The Intersection Of Catholic Thought And Migration”
This year’s theme, “Many Journeys, One Family,” invites us to remember that each of our families has a migration story—some recent and others in the distant past. Regardless of where we are and where we came from, we remain part of the human family and are called to live in solidarity with one another. We celebrate this theme during the Share the Journey campaign, a global effort by the Church to show love to our migrant and refugee neighbors.
In our contemporary culture, we often fail to encounter migrants as people, instead seeing them as unknown others, if we even notice them at all. We do not take the time to engage migrants in a meaningful way, as fellow children of God, but remain aloof, suspicious or fearful. During National Migration Week, let us all take the opportunity to engage migrants as community members, neighbors and friends. (from the
Share the Journey website)
During this week, Catholics are called to participate through prayer and action to try and ease the struggles of immigrants, migrants and vulnerable populations and to reflect on the Church’s obligation to create a culture of encounter, engagement and accompaniment.
Take action during this week of prayer, awareness and advocacy: