Pope Francis urged the faithful to recognize and value what each migrant and refugee can contribute to the future of society and ecclesial life.
The Holy Father wrote in his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2022. The day will be celebrated on Sunday, September 25, with the theme: “Building the future with migrants and refugees.”
In the papal message released this May 12 by the Vatican, it is highlighted that “the arrival of Catholic migrants and refugees offers new energy to the ecclesial life of the communities that welcome them” because “they are often bearers of revitalizing dynamics and animators of vibrant celebrations.
Along these lines, the Pope pointed out that “sharing different expressions of faith and devotions represents a privileged opportunity to live more fully the catholicity of the people of God”.
In addition, the Holy Father invited us to see the migratory phenomenon “in a prophetic vision of Isaiah, in which foreigners do not appear as invaders and destroyers, but as willing workers who rebuild the walls of the New Jerusalem, the Jerusalem open to all the villages”.
In this way, the Pope stressed that “building the future with migrants and refugees also means recognizing and valuing what each one of them can contribute to the building process”.