Migrant Ministry volunteers have long admired the migrant mothers we serve. They made the very, very difficult trip north through seven countries and the treacherous Darien Gap seeking safety and a better life for their children. Once here, they advocate tirelessly for their children... We honor and celebrate all the migrant mothers, but especially the single mothers – the strongest women we have ever met!... Light-weight clothing, shoes, jackets, and bedding donations are accepted on Monday mornings...

It seems like there are new roadblocks for our migrant families every few weeks. Especially difficult are the new fees that have been added to some applications that were once free... In most cases, the initial application that was once free now costs $560 and that fee can be much higher depending on certain statuses... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School, 815 Elgin in Forest Park...

An operation as large as the Migrant Ministry requires a lot of volunteers. We are blessed with over 250 active volunteers and others who help when they can... But our ministry would not be possible without OUR UNSUNG HEROES! The volunteers who do all the behind-the-scenes work, never actually interacting with migrants but showing up regularly, every week, to do the backend work that powers our ministry... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former St. Bernardine School...

As we continue to accompany families and individuals, the ways that we support the stranger in our midst continues to expand, evolve, pivot… There are many words for this work that your support allows us to do... What are the challenges we see today, this week, next month? Our community of volunteers continues to expand as the needs expand. All with a smile and a hug; such joy!... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former St Bernardine School...

Thank you, Ascension 5th and 8th graders, for your generous donation of Easter baskets for the children served by the Migrant Ministry. Wow! So many beautiful baskets, each one filled with sweet treats and small toys - carefully curated by CHILDREN FOR CHILDREN!... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School... Easter baskets and bags were distributed to families accompanied by the Migrant Ministry and Easter baskets to children...

The Migrant Ministry continues its efforts to meet the short-and long-term needs of our migrant brothers and sisters, but is increasingly called to serve in new ways. A new ministry is developing to support migrants who have been detained, often for months, in deplorable conditions in detention centers... This is a concrete way of demonstrating compassionate support of New Neighbors... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School...

For almost three years now, migrants have traveled from across the city to our Ministry Mornings. We are now in our third location and have made adjustments to meet a changing reality, but the mission and vision of the Ministry remain the same... We are a welcoming space for our migrant brothers and sisters... But it has become evident that Centro San Bernardino is increasingly a place of deep encounter... An ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST...

Hanging atop a doorway at the end of the corridor, a genuine horseshoe from Churchill Downs in Kentucky now bestows good luck on the volunteers and migrants visiting Centro San Bernardino. It is a gift from SM in gratitude for the assistance he recently received from Migrant Ministry volunteers... Donations are accepted on Mondays at the former Saint Bernardine School... We are now accepting only spring and summer clothing, as well as bedding and shoes...

The Migrant Ministry has evolved to meet the changing needs of the migrants we serve!... MM volunteers have been assisting JM, a Venezuelan migrant detained on Jan 13 when he went to the Broadview Center for his ICE check-in and was sent to a facility in Kentucky... A MM volunteer went to the office, paid the bond with money orders, filled out forms, and waited. And waited... What great joy to have daddy home! Celebrate! Release the white balloons! HABEMUS PAPÁ!...

RC began donating quilts to the Migrant Ministry over a year ago, and to date has donated over 40 beautiful handmade quilts that migrants gratefully take home to warm their beds... The pieces of cloth that make up the quilts are diverse... Donations are accepted on Mondays from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the former Saint Bernardine School, 815 Elgin in Forest Park... We are now accepting only spring and summer clothing, as well as bedding and shoes...

The Migrant Ministry would not be possible without the incredible support of the larger community, manifested through volunteer time, in-kind donations, and financial contributions. We are grateful for the small and large, one-time and monthly monetary donations. How is this money spent?... The Migrant Ministry Leadership Team makes the financial decisions... Starting March 1, we are only accepting spring and warm weather clothing...

The Migrant Ministry is part of a loose network of organizations that share resources, connections, and experiences to collaboratively support our migrant brothers and sisters. The network recently facilitated the return to the Chicago area of a migrant released from a detention center in Indiana... We couldn’t do what we do without your support. MIL GRACIAS, Catholic Communities of Oak Park!...

In anticipation of a larger ICE presence, we have begun to prepare our families and those who come to our free store in the event they are seeing officers in their neighborhoods or are themselves apprehended... Those phone numbers are: ICIRR or the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights 855-435-7693... NLG or the National Lawyers Guild Chicago 872-465-4244... “Free stores” are now open...

During the past two weeks we have learned of three families unable to make rent payments... We try to help any way that we can... If you are reviewing your 2026 giving, please consider a donation to Migrant Ministry... The “free stores” are open. Volunteers are offering clothing, coats, boots, and bedding as well as a breakfast space and a children’s playroom. Donations are accepted on Monday mornings...

On January 20, opening day of our new migrant center (Centro San Bernardino), the volunteers arrived early and expressed how glad they were to be together again serving the migrants... But before we started, the volunteers gathered in a room and Father Carl and Father Vittorio led us in a beautiful blessing written by Father Carl - a meaningful start to a packed morning in which 210 migrants were served...

Praying at the Broadview Processing Center early this morning we encountered a man with two suitcases and a bag of clothing for his wife who is being deported to Poland today... Donations are accepted on Monday mornings at Saint Bernardine School in Forest Park... Life for the migrants we serve has become so stressful that one of the rooms will be dedicated to accompaniment and advocacy...

Centro San Bernardino Opens This Week! - On January 6, our final event at the beloved Saint Edmund School was the distribution of approximately 80 coats, similar numbers of gloves, hats, and scarves, and about 30 blankets... Donations are accepted on Monday mornings at Saint Bernardine School, 815 Elgin, Forest Park. Please, only seasonal (winter) clothing, boots, coats, and bedding.

Adding to the good news for 2026 (after the announcement of our move to Saint Bernardine School), we will be moving in another family during the first week of January... Our plan is to start receiving donations and organizing the rooms (“free stores”) on Monday, January 12 and Monday, January 19. We will open once again to migrants and immigrants on Tuesday, January 20...

When we learned back in June that we would have to leave Saint Edmund,... We received notice that Saint Bernardine School was now available, as a number of formerly-occupied rooms were no longer being used... After moving our shelves, tables, and supplies, our plan is to start receiving donations and organizing the rooms (“free stores”) on Monday, January 12 and Monday, January 19...

On the final day of 2025 for coat and blanket distribution, we gave away more than 80 coats, along with hats, gloves and scarves... We need more coats (especially older children and adult sizes in small and medium), gloves, and blankets... From Migrant Ministry we hope that you have all enjoyed a happy and peaceful Christmas and look forward to a joyous New Year...