Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Families of Immigrants

The USCCB announced that in conjunction with the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe — Monday, December 12th — will also be a national day of prayer for immigrants and their families.

The 2016 feast celebration will be a Day of Prayer and Solidarity With Families of Immigrants, with a focus on the gifts of refugees and migrants, and will take place across the United States.The Day of Prayer will be a time to place before a merciful God the hopes, fears, and needs of all those families who have come to the U.S. seeking a better life. Across the country Masses and prayerservices will be held in many dioceses as the Church continues to accompany migrants and refugees seeking an opportunity to provide for their families.In this environment of uncertainty that multitudes of immigrants and refugees and their families are currently facing, the U.S. Catholic bishops are demonstrating their solidarity with our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters by asking Catholics to pray for the protection and well-being of this vulnerable population.

The Justice for Immigrants Campaign has developed a Scriptural Rosary entitled “Unity in Diversity” that includes prayers for both refugees and migrants. The USCCB is currently developing additional pastoral resources, reflecting the active collaboration of various USCCB Committees whose mandates touch on the concerns of migrants and refugees.  These efforts will continue to follow the basic principles contained in Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. A summarization of the document can be found in both English and in Spanish on the USCCB website.

We urge faith communities to pray for immigrants and their families on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, 2016.  If there are any questions, please feel free to reach email migrationweek@usccb.org or jfi@usccb.org.