By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
A stack of index cards, neatly tied together with a bright red ribbon, made its way from Texas to Italy this October. There, the cards were brushed against Holy Doors and carried into sacred spaces; they were scattered across intercession boxes in the Eternal City and left with the Poor Clares in Assisi. Carried by Debbie Gonzales, those small paper slips contained something precious: the handwritten prayers and stories of Diocese of Dallas migrants seeking to bring their earnest petitions to God during the Vatican’s Jubilee of Migrants, Oct. 4-5.
Gonzales, who is the associate director of leadership and mission at St. Ann Catholic Parish in Coppell, was one of the nearly 100 Latino Catholic pastoral leaders from cities across the United States to travel to the Vatican’s Jubilee of Migrants during an Oct. 1-8 pilgrimage organized by the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry. She was motivated by the stories of migrants from her community — many of whom live in terror of family separation, loss of wages, and helplessness, she said — to “represent the immigrant experience in the United States” at the Jubilee of Migrants.
The NCCHM delegation to the Jubilee included clergy, religious sisters, and lay leaders who minister to Hispanic populations across the U.S. Like Gonzales, many pilgrims carried with them the intercessions, photos, and stories of migrant families back home.
“It was very personal for me to be able to take those prayer intentions everywhere,” Gonzales said. “We wanted to have a solid voice to represent migrants in the United States, specifically Hispanics.”
Pilgrims of Hope
During the Jubilee of Migrants pilgrimage, members of the NCCHM delegation steeped themselves in the stories and hard-won wisdom of members of the migrant community. Each day, clergy led liturgies and shared reflections on ministering to migrants; while speakers, including Msgr. Lucio A. Ruiz, secretary of the Dicastery for Communication, and Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, encouraged the pilgrims on their way.
“Personal migration stories shared by many, including migrants themselves, reminded us of the human face behind these struggles,” said Peter Ductrám, senior director of Ministries for the Diocese of Dallas, who along with Diocese of Dallas associate director of the office of Worship Esther Garcia was a participant in the pilgrimage. “This pilgrimage underscored a beautiful truth: as the Church in the United States grows more diverse in culture and language, it also deepens in vitality and leadership.”
In addition to being a pilgrim, Garcia also coordinated travel and accommodations for those with disabilities who participated in the NCCHM pilgrimage.
As part of the pilgrimage, the delegation took part in the Vatican’s Jubilee of Migrants events, including a visit to the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica and both a Mass and general audience with Pope Leo XIV. Ductrám described the atmosphere.
“Moments of singing spontaneously blossomed across the group, Marian hymns and liturgical songs filling the air with a kind of unspoken sense of unity and devotion,” he said. “A prayerful energy radiated throughout the assembly, fueled by the collective hope for migrants worldwide and a shared concern for human dignity.”
Private audience
The pilgrims’ journey culminated in a memorable encounter with Pope Leo XIV, who surprised the delegation with a private audience in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 7. The pontiff greeted every participant personally, shaking the hand of each, Gonzales said.
“I think we were all incredulous. ‘He wants to see us?’” Gonzales laughed, recalling the surprise. “He joyfully greeted us and said that he wanted to encourage the important work that we have in our hands, which is to accompany migrants… It was a complete gift from God.”
The pope spoke in Spanish to the pilgrims, thanking them for their ministry to migrant communities.
“You have in your hands a very great task,” Pope Leo said to the group, “which is to accompany the people who truly and profoundly need a sign that God never abandons anyone: not the smallest, not the poorest, not the foreigner, not anyone.”
Describing the moment as “moving,” Ductrám said the pope assured the delegation of his prayers for them.
“His words of encouragement — urging us not to despair and reminding us of our calling to support the suffering and marginalized — resonated deeply,” the senior director said.
Gonzales, who noted that the beauty of both humanity and the Catholic Church is revealed in the diversity of cultures and expressions that can be found within each, reminisced on the pope’s words to the U.S. pilgrims.
“He just addressed us and encouraged us to be missionaries who stay,” Gonzales shared. “A lot of the times, we talk about being missional and going out, but if we are actually working with migrants, then the mission is at home.”
“Just as Pope Leo has said to us, God does see and cares for even the person who is shunned by society, the person we might see as the smallest, the most insignificant,” she continued. “They have deep value as part of God’s family.“
Cutline for featured image: Pictured in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 7 are members of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry delegation that traveled to the Vatican for the Jubilee of Migrants, Oct. 4-5. Nearly 100 Latino Catholic pastoral leaders from cities across the United States traveled to the Vatican’s Jubilee of Migrants during an Oct. 1-8 pilgrimage organized by NCCHM. (National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry photo)
