Migrants and Refugees

… it is about all those in existential peripheries who, together with migrants and refugees, are victims of the throwaway culture. The Lord calls us to practise charity towards them. He calls us to restore their humanity, as well as our own, and to leave no one behind.

Pope Francis, Homily on the Occasion of World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 29 September 2019

Internal conflicts, wars and the climate crisis have a human face. They are driving displacement and making life harder for those already forced to flee. It is a reality for multitudes of vulnerable people worldwide.

Care for those who have been displaced from their homes is a concern, care and commitment of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

“Migrants and Refugees” was the theme of our 2019 edition of In Mission. Click here to read actions taken by Sisters around the world.

Resources

• Migrants and Refugees – Vatican website
• World Day of Migrants and Refugees – the last Sunday of September
• Pope Francis’ Messages for World Day of Migrants and Refugees
• Refugees and Migrants – United Nations website
• The situation of migrants and refugees in Europe – article on the European Youth Portal, European Union
• Climate change and disaster displacement, UNHCR: The United Nations Refugee Agency

Prayer

Holy, beloved Father,
your Son Jesus taught us
that there is great rejoicing in heaven
whenever someone lost is found,
whenever someone excluded, rejected or discarded
is gathered into our “we”,
which thus becomes ever wider.

We ask you to grant the followers of Jesus,
and all people of good will,
the grace to do your will on earth.
Bless each act of welcome and outreach
that draws those in exile
into the “we” of community and of the Church,
so that our earth may truly become
what you yourself created it to be:
the common home of all our brothers and sisters. Amen.

Prayer from Pope Francis’ Message for the 107th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2021