ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 16, 2025 / 17:13 pm

Bishops and priests from several dioceses in the United States and Mexico have invited people to organize a Catholic vigil for migrants on Oct. 22 or another possible date as a way to express solidarity and call for adequate immigration policies.

San Bernardino, California, Bishop Alberto Rojas joined Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, and other bishops Oct. 12 at the Arizona-Sonora border for a binational pilgrimage and Mass.

The appeal for a vigil was made in the final message of the “Binational Encounter: Migrants, Pilgrims of Hope in Christ,” held in San Luis Río Colorado in the Mexican state of Sonora. The encounter included a pilgrimage and a Mass in the Mexican city.

In addition to San Bernardino and Tuscon, participants included representatives from the dioceses of Las Vegas, Mexicali, Matamoros-Reynosa, and Nogales, among others.

In their final declaration, the signatories recalled that “in the Church, no one is a stranger, and the Church is not foreign to anyone, anywhere.”

In this regard, they expressed their closeness to those “who are living in fear, faced with dehumanizing rhetoric, policies designed to intimidate, and impossible choices.”

“The broken immigration systems of both countries deny us the chance to welcome them as new members of our community since there are few legal pathways for migration,” they stated.

Given this situation, they said: “This is not a moment for complacency or conformity, it is a moment to be all the more proactive in our pastoral and prophetic work of encounter and welcome with those forced to live in the shadows.”

Recognition of right to regulate immigration

The signatories recognized the right of nations to regulate immigration “consistent with the common good and respect for the dignity of all” as well as the right of people to migrate when conditions in their places of origin are not conducive to a decent life, while respecting the communities that host them.

The declaration recognizes “the inherent and inviolable dignity” of migrants “that no earthly authority can deny.”

In this regard, the signatories called for “resisting the temptation of apathy and instead, with courage and hope, acting to truly live out Christ’s love that transcends borders.”

Call for vigils

To this end, they called for “a Catholic vigil for migrants.” The declaration proposes “Oct. 22 [as] a Catholic day of action, or in the following weeks and months on a symbolic date.”

They also encouraged meetings between people with experience in migration and those “who are more distant from these realities,” reaching out to migrants and praying for authorities, asking them for “laws and policies that promote safety for people fleeing violence, respect the dignity of migrants and refugees, and uphold the sacredness of family unity.”

The text points out that “whatever our country of birth, we endeavor toward the same horizon, yearning for our true homeland.”

“At times, the obstacles before us may seem too great to overcome. But our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, points to a source of inspiration living within our midst: ‘Even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope,’” the statement affirms.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.