OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE IS REACHING OUT TO THOUSANDS OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
At the last Immigration & Deportation Committee meeting, Father Hung Nguyen, Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Barrio Logan detailed the work they are doing to serve undocumented people, particularly their parishioners.
Through a group he has developed and called FAITH/ Faithful Accompaniment in Trust & Hope (https://www.olgsd.org/faith), he has organized 13 religious congregations (150 religious leaders) and 500 trained volunteers who support people at the Federal Courthouse and USCIS/US Citizen and Immigration Services offices across the street. People who have been summoned to court or to update their immigration status are being arrested and sent to detention. The pastors and volunteers pray with them and support them through their meetings with authorities.
Father Hung is also working with the St. Francis Cabrini Church to organize vigils in Barrio Logan - at the latest one, 1,500 people joined to protest the killings in Minneapolis. The people of Barrio Logan are very appreciative of wide support by San Diego residents.
Now the church has opened a support center named after Pope Francis where they are providing legal assistance and mental health services. They have started to offer workshops for families on immigrant issues and Know Your Rights. The Pope Francis Center has just opened; they plan to expand once they evaluate people's needs. They have a newsletter which includes upcoming vigils.
More information on this at
https://www.olgsd.org/faith.