4th & 5th October; Jubilee of Migrants
- Pauline Books & Media
- Oct 4
- 5 min read
MIGRANTS, MISSIONARIES OF HOPE
Since 1914, the Church has celebrated the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR). This year it will be celebrated during the Jubilee of Migrants.
I have chosen “Migrants: Missionaries of Hope” as the theme for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Many migrants and refugees bear witness to hope through their trust in God.
Pope Francis,
3 March 2025
In light of the Jubilee, the theme highlights the courage and tenacity of migrants and refugees, who daily testify to hope for the future despite the difficulties. It is the hope of achieving happiness even beyond borders, the hope that leads them to totally rely on God. Migrants and refugees become "missionaries of hope" in the communities where they are welcomed, often contributing to revitalizing faith and promoting interreligious dialogue based on common values. They remind the Church of the ultimate purpose of earthly pilgrimage, namely the attainment of the future Homeland
Pope Francis, 3 March 2025
Become the Hope they all seek
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”.
Hebrews 13:2
To commemorate the 105th World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis unveiled the sculpture 'Angels Unawares' by Canadian artist, Timothy Schmalz on Sunday 29th September 2019.
The magnificent statue is composed of clay and bronze. It displays 140 life-size statues of emigrants in the same boat, each featuring the face of a past or current emigrant. It includes the Holy Family to victims of modern day slavery, Syrian and African refugees fleeing war, Poles fleeing Communism and Irish people who fled the Potato Famine. It also features a Mexican who wants to enter the United States and a Jew who managed to escape the Nazis. A pair of angel wings emerge from the center, signifying the presence of the sacred.
The Good Samaritan
"But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which one of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, " You go, and do likewise."
Luke 10: 29-37
Pope Francis, siting the parable of the Good Samaritan asked of us all "make ourselves neighbor to all the wayfarers of our time, to save their lives, to heal their wounds, and to soothe their pain".
"Migratory journeys and routes have to cross deserts, forests, rivers and seas."
"We must strive to make the road safer, so that today's travelers do not fall victim to bandits. It is necessary to multiply efforts to combat criminal networks, which speculate on the dreams of migrants. But it is equally necessary to point out safer roads. To this end, efforts must be made to expand the regular channels of migration."
Pope Francis
Pope Leo XIV, 16 May 2025
My own story is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate. All of us, in the course of our lives, can find ourselves healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country, yet our dignity always remains unchanged: it is the dignity of a creature willed and loved by God.
Pope Francis on migrants and refugees - AN ABSENCE OF HUMAN DIGNITY ON THE BORDERS
Many migrants have fled from war, persecution and natural catastrophes. Others, rightly, “are seeking opportunities for themselves and their families. They dream of a better future and they want to create the conditions for achieving it”.
Sadly, some “are attracted by Western culture, sometimes with unrealistic expectations that expose them to grave disappointments. Unscrupulous traffickers, frequently linked to drug cartels or arms cartels, exploit the weakness of migrants, who too often experience violence, trafficking, psychological and physical abuse and untold sufferings on their journey”. Those who emigrate “experience separation from their place of origin, and often a cultural and religious uprooting as well. Fragmentation is also felt by the communities they leave behind, which lose their most vigorous and enterprising elements, and by families, especially when one or both of the parents migrates, leaving the children in the country of origin”. For this reason, “there is also a need to reaffirm the right not to emigrate, that is, to remain in one’s homeland”.
Then too, “in some host countries, migration causes fear and alarm, often fomented and exploited for political purposes. This can lead to a xenophobic mentality, as people close in on themselves, and it needs to be addressed decisively”. Migrants are not seen as entitled like others to participate in the life of society, and it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any person. Hence they ought to be “agents in their own redemption”. No one will ever openly deny that they are human beings, yet in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable, since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love.
“Migrations, more than ever before, will play a pivotal role in the future of our world”. At present, however, migration is affected by the “loss of that sense of responsibility for our brothers and sisters on which every civil society is based”. Europe, for example, seriously risks taking this path. Nonetheless, “aided by its great cultural and religious heritage, it has the means to defend the centrality of the human person and to find the right balance between its twofold moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to assure assistance and acceptance to migrants”.
I realize that some people are hesitant and fearful with regard to migrants. I consider this part of our natural instinct of self-defence. Yet it is also true that an individual and a people are only fruitful and productive if they are able to develop a creative openness to others. I ask everyone to move beyond those primal reactions because “there is a problem when doubts and fears condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even – without realizing it – racist. In this way, fear deprives us of the desire and the ability to encounter the other”.
FRATELLI TUTTI, Pope Francis, 3rd October 2020
Given in Assisi, at the tomb of Saint Francis
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