ROME — A Chicago parish is featured in a video campaign that Pope Francis launched this summer to highlight the spiritual and cultural contributions that migrants bring to people’s lives.
A number of members of the St. Mary of the Lake & Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Chicago were part of a video released Aug. 24 by the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. They detailed how their parish and faith have been enriched by the presence of the newcomers.
The video, titled, “Growing Together as a Church,” is the latest in an ongoing communications campaign that highlights the theme of the Sept. 25 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, whose theme is “Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees.”
The theme underlines the commitment that everyone is called to help build a future “that embraces God’s plan, leaving no one behind,” the Migrants and Refugees Section said in an earlier statement.
“Many Catholic migrants and refugees are revitalizing the ecclesial communities that welcome them,” Pope Francis said in the Aug. 24 video. “Diverse expressions of faith and devotions are an opportunity to grow in our catholicity.”
The pope poses a different question in each video of the campaign, asking Catholics around the world to contribute their thoughts and experiences. “How do you think we can better involve migrants and refugees in our communities?” he asked in the new video.
“We are all invited to respond to Pope Francis’ question! Send us your own contribution by emailing a short video or photo to media@migrants-refugees.va,” the Vatican office said in its news release.
A number of individual responses were featured in the new video, followed by a more in-depth, on-the-ground look at the experiences of the Chicago parish, not far from the shore of Lake Michigan.
“In the video, you’ll discover the witness of St. Mary of the Lake and & Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Chicago, which even celebrates multicultural diversity in the sacraments,” the Vatican news release said.
