This past Sunday, September 27 was designated “World Day of Migrants and Refugees” by Pope Leo XIV. The specific focus was to show love and support for migrant and refugee children.
This occasion stirred up memories of my powerful experience with migrants in 2019 when, for eight weeks I walked with the asylum seekers on the Texas/Mexican border in 2019. I assisted Benedictine Sister Ursula Herrera with her longterm ministry of hospitality at Casa Caridad de Corazon (Charity of the Heart Home). At that time Eagle Pass/ Piedras Negras was one of very few legal border crossings. It was a high secured bridge over the Rio Grande. Those without papers waded through the dangerous waters of the Rio Grande. If they got caught most applied for asylum then. No one crossed without a good reason.
I remember the children. Almost every family came to Caridad came with one or two, sometimes three. They were unbelievably quiet, probably from weeks and months of surviving the trek, mostly on foot and accepting rides when offered, from Honduras, Guatemala or other southern regions. Caridad was able to shelter people who had begun their asylum application with ICE. We offered meals, (dinner and breakfast), a shower, change of clothes, sometimes shoes, toiletries, overnight sleeping. Actually, the single bedrooms at the house were great for a family with small children. The former master bedroom was a dorm for ten. Sr. Ursula put cots in many nooks and crannies to accommodate what was needed.
The families were grateful to be at a safe haven. They had passed through dangers from bandits, the terrain and the probabilities of getting caught by Mexican authorities if they did not already have documents before they reached the border. Children had witnessed the atrocities of rape, mutilation and kidnapping, of suffering through illness without medical care, of drowning and broken limbs. One mother with two small children arrived at Caridad in a state of immense grief – in crossing the Rio Grande just 2 days before her husband lost his footing and drowned; one of his children held onto his floating body and made it across with her and the other child.
Another family came to us after several months of running from the mob that had assassinated the father’s business associates back in their home country. They miraculously got away for the time being, but “word was out” and gangs have transnational connections. The father was detained and the mother and two sons came to Caridad to work through a plan to reunite. This wound up taking months. The mother and sons continued to live with Sr. Ursula at least a year after I left. Mom helped with the housework and the boys started school. We exchange greetings at Christmas. I am glad they are doing well but their father is still incarcerated (the last I heard) and their mom is working three jobs, living in a major city where they feel safe.
“Let us entrust migrant and refugee children to the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, together with Saint Joseph and the child Jesus experienced the cruelty of Herod’s violence and the tragedy of exile in Egypt. May she accompany their steps and help our communities to become living and credible signs of the Gospel.”
From the Vatican, 11 August 2026, Memorial of Saint Care of Assisi, LEO PP. XIV