Faithful walk a journey of hope for immigrants and the poor

Intermountain Catholic

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About 100 people walk through downtown Salt Lake City to pray and bring attention to the plight of immigrants and the poor. See video of the event online at www.icatholic.org.

SALT LAKE CITY — More than 100 people walked two miles through Salt Lake City on Sept. 8, praying for immigrants and the poor.

The Journey of Hope for Immigrants and the Poor was organized by the Diocese of Salt Lake City Peace and Justice Commission in response to a request from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice for Immigrants Campaign to have a pilgrimage for immigrants between Aug. 15 and Oct. 15.

The 2.2-mile pilgrimage walk started at the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen with a prayer for those who are unable to meet their basic needs.

"We are here on behalf of all of those who cannot meet their basic needs, to pray for them," said Jean Hill, director of the Peace and Justice Commission, before starting the prayer, which was conducted in both English and Spanish.

The prayers were for both the poor and for immigrants because "unfortunately, both go together," Hill said.

The pilgrimage included several stops, and at each more and more people joined in.

After the soup kitchen, the next stop was the Fourth Street Clinic. There, the pilgrims prayed for those who lack basic health care coverage, as well as those with terminal diseases.

"We are here on behalf of those of us who have treatable illnesses and, if they could have access to regular ongoing medical care, they would live life with a much higher quality," Hill said, adding that without easy access to medical care, people with treatable diseases like diabetes can find their health issues becoming difficult to manage, and the end result can be fatal, said Hill.

Among the pilgrimage participants was a family, parishioners of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, who preferred not to be named because of their legal status.

The husband and father of three children has been deported before, but was able to return to Utah. However, every day of his life he is scared that the immigration system will tear his family apart one more time, he said.

"When ICE came to my house and took me away, my wife was not there. It was just my children (aged 3, 6 and 8 at the time), so the police called DCFS so they could take care of them," the man said. "I could not learn about their wellbeing or anything till some weeks passed, and that was the worst experience that a father can imagine."

He and his family joined the pilgrimage to pray for comprehensive immigration reform.

After the Fourth Street Clinic, the pilgrims’ next stop was the Federal Court House; there people prayed for those facing deportation or whose loved ones have been deported.

For Erick Mille, a parishioner of Saint Catherine of Sienna/Newman Center, the prayers that were being said were very meaningful.

"They bring to mind the suffering that the poor face every day," said Mille. "I lived here when the raid [at the Swift meat-packing plant in Hyrum] happened, and it broke my heart to read about families that were deported. Who was going to take care of their families?"

Also at the Federal Building, a prayer was offered for the elected officials and advocates who are working on immigration reform and poverty issues.

"Immigration reform that includes an earned path to citizenship may soon be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, so we are marching to add our voices to those hoping for a real debate on immigration reform and passage of a measure that will alleviate at least some of the suffering our system is now causing people," Hill said.

The march ended at the Cathedral of the Madeleine with a prayer in celebration of the call to promote peace and justice. Many of those who participated in the march then attended the 6 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral.