Pivotal Moment At Our 2 Year Anniversary - The Migrant Ministry recently marked its 2nd Anniversary. The closed rectory of St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy was opened on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, for the migrants sleeping at the nearby Austin police station to take showers. Fr. Carl was assured that it would only be for a couple of weeks until the City of Chicago could move the migrants to a shelter and the Ministry would end.

Well, that didn’t happen! Instead, the Migrant Ministry grew to an incredible interfaith effort that to date has resettled 23 families and recorded over 22,000 migrant visits seeking clothes, shoes, coats, bedding, toiletries, immigration support, ESL, and social services. Now located at the former St Edmund School, the Ministry was built by an amazing team of mostly retired volunteers. See photo of migrants awaiting entry to St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy in fall 2023.

Now we are facing a pivotal moment. The political situation has vastly altered the environment which gave rise to the Ministry. We continue to address the same short-term needs, but now are stressing immigration services, including court accompaniment and Know Your Rights education. Rincon Family Services is launching group therapy sessions for the migrants, and we have developed a Family Action Packet to prepare families in case of deportation.

Our work would not be possible without the volunteers and your generous donations. We have moved from Amazon to DreamList.

Please continue to pray for our beloved migrant brothers and sisters.