In celebration of the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the Archdiocese of Denver will join Pope Francis and our brothers and sisters from around the world in this international celebration, hosting a special holy mass. The intent of this mass is to express concern, increase awareness, and pray for the many different vulnerable people on the move, making sure no one remains excluded from society.
The celebration will take place Sept. 29 at the Queen of Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Parish at 3 p.m. with a Holy Mass celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodriguez. The bilingual Mass will incorporate elements from various Catholic Cultures around the world. Mass will be followed by a festival with cultural dances, music, and food. Click here to view the official Facebook event page.
The Catholic Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees since 1914, the first being held shortly before the outbreak of WWI. This year, with the theme “It is not just about migrants,” the Pope tells us that this celebration is not limited to migrants and refugees, it is about all of us, humanity, and our common desire to build a better world.
“It’s an opportunity to pray for our brothers and sisters that are going through this situation, migrants and refugees, and to raise awareness of the problem, said Bishop Jorge Rodriguez, who will be celebrating the Mass “We are a migrant community, Hispanics, Africans, Asians, and we want to pray for this reality, we want to ask the Lord for his blessing in this situation we’re living and pray for the United States that is our host country. We all want to join the holy father on September 29.”
Bishop Rodriguez also took the opportunity to invite everyone to this Eucharistic celebration, emphasizing the importance of praying together as one community.
“The invitation is for everyone. We will have the participation of the Hispanic, African, Vietnamese, the Pakistan-Catholic, Burmese communities, etc. and also the American community that must and will be present,” he said.
As far as the political side of the migrants and refugee issue, Bishop Rodriguez made it clear that this celebration is about the human side of the problem and coming together as one.
“For us Catholics, when we talk about migration, migrants, or refugees, we are not talking about the sociological phenomenal of politics. For us, and this is the theme for this year’s celebration, ‘it’s not only about migrants’ it’s about our fears, not only about migrants it’s also about humanity and charity,” the bishop explained. “I know there is a political side of the issue, but our perspective is the Christian and the human side. People migrate because of different circumstances looking for a better future for them and their children, or they’re fleeing war, we see it all over the world, not just in the United States, and we want to be aware of it, pray for it, and approach it as humans, as Christians.”
Migrants and Refugees Mass
Sunday, Sept. 29, 3 p.m.
Queen of Vietnamese Martyrs,
4695 N. Harlan St., Wheat Ridge, CO
