More than 100 U.S. diocesan pastoral leaders are expected to participate in the hybrid Spanish language presentations.
Chicago (July 27, 2022) – The Archdiocese of Chicago announced today that the National Pastoral Migratoria Institute will host representatives from more than 20 U.S. Catholic dioceses on Friday, July 29, and Saturday, July 30, at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU), 5416 S. Cornell Ave. The Institute, will offer hybrid workshops for the development and implementation of the immigrant-led Pastoral Migratoria ministries in parish communities.
Friday’s one-hour session, “Introduction of the Basic Elements of the Pastoral Migratoria for Interested Dioceses: Developing Leaders of Hope and Action” will begin at 2 p.m. CST. Elena Segura, senior national coordinator for immigration at the Archdiocese of Chicago and Raymundo Valdez, national community building coordinator for Pastoral Migratoria at the Archdiocese of Chicago, will be the presenters. This session is aimed at diocesan staff, priests and people from dioceses engaged in Pastoral Migratoria-focused social justice. Rev. Nicholas Desmond, of the Archdiocese of Chicago, will give testimony of his experience as a pastor of a parish with Pastoral Migratoria. The Friday event will take place online via Zoom. Please visit https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsf-6prj8vGd1DZtEZ8_KAtsV7kyxI8RWI to register.
The Saturday workshop will be a hybrid event that goes live from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST and is entitled “Pastoral Migratoria: Being Signs and Giving Reasons for Hope.” The Saturday sessions will bring together diocesan staff and parish leaders as a national community to seek ways to serve our immigrant sisters and brothers through grassroots leadership. Participants will be from dioceses that currently have a Pastoral Migratoria ministry, including Baltimore, Chicago, Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Mo., New York and Stockton, Calif. The dioceses of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, Calif., which plan to start exploring Pastoral Migratoria, will also participate.
The Saturday event will begin with an opening prayer and reflection by Rev. Eric Cruz, Archdiocese of New York, and include video messages from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, and Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville, Archdiocese of Washington D.C. and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration. Cardinal Cupich will express his gratitude to Pastoral Migratoria leaders for their faithful ministry during the pandemic. He will encourage them to embrace Pope Francis’ challenge to all Catholic faithful to work and dream together as a truly missionary Church that reaches out to those in need towards the ever wider ‘we’ that sees no distinction between native and foreigner, or resident and guest.
Saturday session topics and presenters will include:
- “Organizing self-help groups for the emotional health of immigrant women” by Cary Rositas, Ph.D., Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Maria Vidal de Haymes, Loyola University of Chicago.
- “Hope is always present in the heart” by Carmen Aguinaco, who previously worked at the Office of Cultural Diversity of the USCCB.
- “Adapting services to the immigrant community during the pandemic” by the General Consulate of Mexico in Chicago.
- “Intercultural and evangelization approaches/best practices” by Pastoral Migratoria’s local and national program staff.
A dinner celebration at 6 p.m. CST on Saturday will feature keynote speaker Rev. Conrado Zepeda, S.J., executive director of Jesuit Refugee Service/Mexico, on “Being Signs and Giving Reasons for Hope.” As part of Saturday’s evening program, dioceses with Pastoral Migratoria will share their hopes for the future. The celebration will conclude with a final blessing by retired Chicago Auxiliary Bishop John Manz.
Saturday’s event at Catholic Theological Union will be open to the media. To participate online, please visit https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=o-0BRmklpkqOCzBfwpVBLoWZayi_qNRLjPJugNmkm9lUOVVNQUVLSFg4Rlc1VVlXTVVESE5IWjRGRi4u to register.
The Institute will conclude with a commissioning ceremony at the 8 a.m. CST Mass on Sunday at St. Michael the Archangel Church, 4821 S. Damen Ave., in Chicago.
