Archbishop Robert Casey led a prayer service for immigrants at Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio on Friday, Nov. 14. The archbishop was joined by a small group of people from all around the archdiocese, including representatives from Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio. The prayer service included the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary prayed in multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Haitian Creole.

In addition to prayers, Archbishop Casey offered a blessing to those who minister to immigrants and all who have been impacted by current U.S. immigration policies.

“Receive this blessing not only for yourselves but to carry it forward to those that you serve with,” Archbishop Casey said. “We offer this blessing, too, for all those who are detained here. We continue to hold them in prayer, whether we are present here with them or in our homes or in our workplaces—they are never far from our hearts.”

The gathering followed the release of a “Special Message” on Immigration from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) last week, as well as a local letter from the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati (MARCC) released on Nov. 14.

In their address, the U.S. bishops voiced their concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States. According to their website, the message marked the first time in twelve years the USCCB invoked this particularly urgent way of speaking as a body of bishops.

“As pastors, we the bishops of the United States are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ,” began the bishops’ message. “We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.”

The bishops referenced key principles derived from the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church that call for nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants.

The bishops also stated that they “recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good. Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.”

The full text of the bishops’ Special Pastoral Message can be found here.

The letter from the Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati can be found here.