Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ciudad Juarez (Agenzia Fides) - Some people were able to meet after months and even after years: the occasion was a Mass for Migrants, which is celebrated annually on the first Saturday of November at the "Rancho Anapra", in the north-west of the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, to commemorate all the migrants who died while they were trying to reach the United States. The Mass is celebrated in fact on the boundary line between the two nations, Mexico and the United States, and the dioceses of Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Casas Grandes (Mexico), El Paso and Las Cruces (United States). In addition to praying for those who lost their lives on this occasion, the Church reaffirms its closeness and its concern regarding the situation of migrants.
According to information sent to Fides Agency, the Mass was celebrated on an altar divided in two by the wire mesh that marks the border. On one side there was the Bishop of El Paso (Texas, USA), His Exc. Mgr. Mark Joseph Seitz, and on the other side the priest Javier Salazar Calvillo, representing the Bishop of Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua, Mexico), His Exc. Mgr. Renato Ascencio Leon. Several hundreds of immigrants and the many families who find themselves separated by the immigration law of the United States were present: we are talking about 11 million people or families. The most touching moment was when, to exchange a sign of peace, all those present approached the net to at least touch fingers with those on the other side of the net.
"I feel very sad and I feel bad, I want to be with them and I cannot because of this 'Berlin Wall' that exists," said a family man with eyes full of tears. Not far away a 7-year-old boy told his grandfather , through the wire net, how many bikes he had seen in that country. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 04/11/2013)
