Pilgrimage to the Border 2025
October 29-November 2
Grant Hartley, the Coordinator of Student Life at Aquinas Institute, and three Aquinas students--recent Facebook sensation and first year Master of Arts in Theology (MA) student Aubri Cherub, third-year Master of Divinity (MDiv) student Emily Alvarado, and first-year MDiv student Andre Plackis--recently led eight high school students on the annual Pilgrimage to the Border, sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Louis' Office of Peace and Justice. At the border, participants celebrated a binational Mass with communities from the dioceses of El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; Aquinas students also lead prayer and reflection, helped the others make important connections to Catholic Social Teaching, and learn and experience the border for themselves.
The pilgrimage began with a 22-hour charter bus journey to the hotel in El Paso. But this was not dead time! On that initial journey, students learned about immigration and Catholic social teaching, watched and discussed two films exploring the tensions and dangers of modern immigration to the US from Mexico, and led students in prayer and reflection. By the time participants arrived in El Paso, they were ready to engage more deeply and learn more. Over the course of the next two days, participants heard from immigration lawyers, leaders in various organizations engaging the border crisis, Border Patrol agents, and local churches, communities, and residents whose ministry in El Paso is essential. Participants also climbed Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain and pilgrimage site straddling the border between Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. All along the way, Aquinas students provided leadership through preaching, prayer, and community building.
In previous years, the binational Mass was celebrated on the banks of the Rio Grande, enabling participants join in a tangible way with their siblings across the border. This year, because the US/Mexico border has been declared a militarized zone and because Bishop J. Guadalupe Torres Campos of Ciudad Juarez was unable to attend, the Mass was celebrated with Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso (the presider) and Bishop Peter Baldacchino of Las Cruces just outside the border wall on private property generously offered by the owner. The absence of our Mexican siblings was felt, but the Mass was nevertheless an expression of a unity and shared Catholic faith that transcends borders.
The return 22-hour journey was filled with ample down time to process the jam-packed week, as well as a focused time to more intentionally reflect and help students (and adults!) discern how to share about this experience with their friends and families.
