Chicago, IL (December 15, 2015) – Hundreds of immigrant and native-born priests, religious sisters and brothers and lay leaders will participate in a Posada, a symbolic search for shelter that offers hope, justice and
human dignity for all immigrants, on Friday, December 18, beginning at 7 a.m., outside the United States Center for Immigration Services, 101West Congress Parkway in downtown Chicago.
The tenth annual pilgrimage, sponsored by the Office for Immigrant Affairs of the Archdiocese of Chicago, will include prayers for an end to family detention and a peaceful end to the conflict in Syria, meanwhile calling on public officials to protect vulnerable and deserving Syrian refugees and their families fleeing violence and death.
Pilgrims will also pray for the 2016 passage of comprehensive legislative reform that is compassionate and that effectively and permanently responds to the needs of families and the economy.
The one-mile journey will include symbolic stops outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, 71 West Van Buren; DePaul University, 1 East Jackson Boulevard; Federal Plaza, 219 South Dearborn Street; and
St. Peter’s in the Loop, 110 West Madison Street, where the event will conclude with a celebration at 9 a.m. Each stop will include special prayers and reflection.
Participants will include a number of representatives from Archdiocesan parishes and high schools, as well as university students and seminarians. Most Rev. John R. Manz, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, will
proclaim the gospel at the start of the Posada and Most Rev. Alberto Rojas, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, will lead the closing prayer at St. Peter’s in the Loop.
A directory of Posadas taking place at approximately one hundred parishes across Cook and Lake counties can be found on the Office for Immigrant Affairs’ website at www.catholicsandimmigrants.org.
Since May 2005, the Archdiocese of Chicago, its Bishops and members of the Office for Immigrant Affairs, Priests for Justice for Immigrants, Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants, Pastoral Migratoria and Polish
Immigrant-to-Immigrant Ministry have been a voice for immigrants through the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform. The Campaign was established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to
educate Catholics and the general public about the need for comprehensive immigration reform and to influence legislation for a permanent and fair solution to immigration issues in this country.
For more information about these events and other immigration efforts of the Archdiocese of Chicago visit www.catholicsandimmigrants.org, or contact Elena Segura, Director of the Office for Immigrant Affairs, at
312-534-5333 or [email protected].
About the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic Schools
The Archdiocese of Chicago school system of 230 schools is the largest private school system in the nation and has the greatest number of U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon awards of any school system of any
kind. Catholic education is an essential ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago which is committed to continuing its tradition of providing an excellent academic and faith-filled education.