Hope Has Many Languages: Denver Catholics Celebrate World Day of Migrants and Refugees
Catholics from dozens of cultures gathered at All Saints Parish in Denver for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, bringing together stories of suffering and displacement with a faith that refuses to surrender hope.
The beauty of the Catholic Church was on full display Friday as hundreds gathered for a multilingual, multicultural Mass for the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees at All Saints Parish in Denver. Led by Denver Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez, the celebration was marked by joy-filled gratitude and prayer, even alongside a heavy awareness of the suffering of many migrants and refugees.
Through song, intercession and thanksgiving, with dozens of cultures, nationalities and languages represented, the Mass and cultural festival served as a beautiful representation of the Church's universality.
Established by Pope Benedict XV in 1914, the annual observance serves as an opportunity to pray for those who leave their homeland in search of safety, stability, work or a new beginning.
“Migrants and refugees, independently of the reasons they fled their countries or moved here, are a message and a gift to the United States of America,” Bishop Rodríguez shared in his homily.
In a letter shared after Mass, Denver Archbishop James Golka recalled the generations of migrants who have helped build the United States.
“This World Day of Migrants and Refugees brings back the memories of countless migrants who have helped build America through those 250 years of our history since that very first day of the foundation of our country,” he wrote. “Migrants bringing their races, values, cultures and faith traditions have created the beautiful tapestry of what is today the United States of America.”
(Photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
Hope Amid Darkness
Now in its 112th year, the commemoration includes refugees among those prayed for, amid rising global tensions.
For Deacon Michael Wynar of Transfiguration of Our Lord Ukrainian Catholic Church in Denver, these tensions are personal.
“There are houses and missiles blowing up, even as I’m talking to you, so it’s hard for me to talk about this,” he noted at the beginning of remarks given at the end of Mass.
“It's hard to explain what it's like to run away from war, especially when it's generational,” he continued. “It was my dad, and now it's my parishioners, and now it's my wife's family that has to go to a bomb shelter multiple times a week because of the war.”
Despite the darkness his family and parishioners may face, their faith and the hope that only God can give are even more present.
“But what I can tell you is, they never lose hope, no matter how hard it gets. Their faith in Jesus is so much stronger, and I am a testament to that,” Deacon Wynar said, sharing that his family in particular is committed to “[continuing] to share those traditions, the faith and the unbelievable human spirit that it takes to survive a war and come to a country where you can really be free.”
Compassion and Care
While Denver may experience a more peaceful existence, local migrants are not free from their own tensions and difficulties, Mayra Juarez Denis shared.
As executive director of Centro de los Trabajadores, a local nonprofit promoting work, dignity and community among day laborers, and a member of the Committee for the Pastoral Care of Migrants led by Bishop Rodríguez, she’s seen the challenges firsthand.
After Mass, she shared the experience of a member of Centro, who, Juarez Denis said, was arrested while attending a follow-up appointment at the immigration office in Aurora after “a photo had not been submitted on time.”
“Since she arrived to the U.S., her family has strived to adapt, integrate and give her best in this country to build a new life after escaping economic hardship and political repression in Venezuela,” Juarez Denis said.
Though this member was released after three months in detention, Juarez Denis noted that there are hundreds of others detained without proper help or legal aid. Quoting Pope Leo XIV, she called those gathered and the Denver Catholic community at large to serve its migrant brothers and sisters in compassion.
“There is no justice without compassion; there is no legitimacy without listening to the pain of others,” the pope said in a 2025 video message to a gathering in Lampedusa, Italy, the site where many migrants land after braving the tumultuous Mediterranean.
“On this occasion, let us remember also our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters who live in fear or are facing deportation and an uncertain future,” Archbishop Golka wrote. “May they know that they are not alone and that we are with them with our prayer and care.”
Four women present a traditional Indian dance at the cultural festival following Mass.
(Photos by André Escaleira, Jr./Denver Catholic)
A Grateful Community and Nation
Despite the challenges migrants and refugees face, the celebration was truly a joy-filled one, bringing together dozens of languages, cultures and communities in a vibrant expression of the Church.
With readings in several different languages, three separate cultural choirs and multiple cultural gifts offered during Mass, as well as a cultural festival in the church hall after Mass, Friday’s event was a fitting celebration of the “melting pot” that is America, and the communion of the Catholic Church.
“Today, I want to express my gratitude to all of you, our Catholic migrants, brothers and sisters, coming from everywhere in the world,” Archbishop Golka wrote. “You are God's missionaries of hope sent to us to revitalize with your spiritual enthusiasm and vitality our ecclesial communities in the Archdiocese of Denver as a true divine blessing.”
“So today we celebrate in thanksgiving, the marvelous gift that migrants and refugees bring with them when they bring with them their strong faith, the traditions, values, culture to make America even more beautiful, more colorful,” Bishop Rodríguez concluded. “At the same time, our Thanksgiving is raised for the welcoming country, for the American people, who generously and with a Christian heart have made room for us and are sharing their future here with us. One day, people will recognize that migrants, refugees, and exiles are angels unawares, who knock at the door of America, bringing a treasure to share.”
