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Catholics welcome immigrants at Mass
By J.D. Long-García, jdlgarcia@catholisun.org
July 18, 2008
The local Church is called to bring hope to the immigrant, said Fr. David Sanfilippo, vicar general and pastor of St. Catherine of Siena, during a July 2 Mass.
“Immigrants are a people of hope. It’s up to the Church to help them remember why,” he said, referring to statements Pope Benedict XVI made during his U.S. visit in April.
Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted’s Justice for Immigrants Task Force suggested a Mass be celebrated regularly as a way of welcoming newcomers, Fr. Sanfilippo said.
He estimated that more than 1,000 Catholics from different parishes gathered at St. Catherine of Siena for the Mass to welcome immigrants. Holy Cross Father John Herman celebrated the first such Mass in April at St. John Vianney Parish in Goodyear.
“Hospitality isn’t just offered to family. You have to offer hospitality to the stranger, to immigrants, to foreigners,” Fr. Sanfilippo said.
“In a time when it seems fewer people are welcoming immigrants, it’s important that we remember that Jesus asks us to be welcoming,” he said, noting that many saints have equated welcoming the stranger as welcoming God Himself.
Fr. Sanfilippo concelebrated the Mass with Fr. Mike Straley, pastor of St. Paul Parish.
“In light of the current climate, it’s important for us to stand as men and women of faith,” he said.
“Immigration is a eucharistic issue. If I receive the body and blood of Christ with my neighbor, we are one,” Fr. Straley said. “That oneness must take priority over any division.”
Dominican Sister Gladys Echenique agreed.
“The Eucharist is the center of our faith,” she said. “Having all these faces in the house of God, it’s the place where we feel most welcomed.”
Immigrants also feel welcomed at St. Catherine of Siena, parishioner Juan Jauregui said.
“We as a community should be more hospitable to immigrants so that they know that someone loves them, so that they aren’t afraid,” he said.
“We are the door through which they arrive at the Church,” Jauregui said, noting that many immigrants leave the Church for non-Catholic faith communities.
“Many of us reject immigrants,” he said. “We need to be more conscious of them.”
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