Leo XIV: Migrants today are privileged ‘witnesses of hope’

The Holy See Press Office today released the pontiff's message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which the Church will celebrate on 4-5 October during their Jubilee. Migrants “face adversity while seeking a future in which they glimpse the integral human development”. Catholic migrants “can help revitalize ecclesial communities that have become rigid and weighed down,” and should be welcomed as “a true divine blessing”.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV released his message for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which the Church will celebrate on 4-5 October, which will also mark the Jubilee celebration that will bring migrants and missionaries together in Rome.

“In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope,” reads the papal message. “Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes.”

Titled “Migrants, Missionaries of Hope,” the message develops a theme Pope Francis chose for this event.

In his message, Leo laments that “The current global context is sadly marked by wars, violence, injustice and extreme weather events, which force millions of people to leave their homelands in search of refuge elsewhere.

“The widespread tendency to look after the interests of limited communities poses a serious threat to the sharing of responsibility, multilateral cooperation, the pursuit of the common good and global solidarity for the benefit of our entire human family.”

“The prospect of a renewed arms race and the development of new armaments, including nuclear weapons, the lack of consideration for the harmful effects of the ongoing climate crisis, and the impact of profound economic inequalities make the challenges of the present and the future increasingly demanding.”

For these reasons, “it is important that there be a growing desire in people’s hearts for a future of peace and of respect for the dignity of all. Such a future is essential to God’s plan for humanity and the rest of creation.”

For the pope, “This link between migration and hope is clearly evident in many contemporary experiences of migration. Many migrants, refugees and displaced persons are privileged witnesses of hope. Indeed, they demonstrate this daily through their resilience and trust in God, as they face adversity while seeking a future in which they glimpse that integral human development and happiness are possible.”

Catholic migrants and refugees “remind the Church of her pilgrim dimension, perpetually journeying towards her final homeland, sustained by a hope that is a theological virtue.”

They can be “missionaries of hope in the countries that welcome them, forging new paths of faith where the message of Jesus Christ has not yet arrived or initiating interreligious dialogue based on everyday life and the search for common values.”

“With their spiritual enthusiasm and vitality, they can help revitalize ecclesial communities that have become rigid and weighed down, where spiritual desertification is advancing at an alarming rate.

“Their presence, then, should be recognized and appreciated as a true divine blessing, an opportunity to open oneself to the grace of God, who gives new energy and hope to his Church”.

The communities that welcome them can also be a living testimony of hope, a “promise of a present and a future where the dignity of all as children of God is recognized. In this way, migrants and refugees are recognized”.

This happens where migrants and refugees “are recognized as brothers and sisters, part of a family in which they can express their talents and participate fully in community life.”

Leo XIV ends with a call to pray for “all migrants and refugees”. To this, “I wish to entrust all those who are on the journey, as well as those who are working to accompany them, to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, comfort of migrants, so that she may keep hope alive in their hearts and sustain them in their commitment to building a world that increasingly resembles the Kingdom of God, the true homeland that awaits us at the end of our journey.”

• vatican
• pope francis
• migrants
• refugees
• world day 4-5 october
• jubilee