MCALLEN,Texas (CNS) -- Three years ago, a humanitarian crisis engulfed the city ofMcAllen as tens of thousands of asylum seekers from Central American countriesentered the border city each day -- often arriving exhausted and traumatizedfrom the long journey north.
Manyof them were fleeing extreme violence and poverty in their home countries ofHonduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
SisterNorma Pimentel, a member of the Missionaries of Jesus, who is executivedirector of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, recognized the need tohelp the refugees -- mostly unaccompanied children and women with children -- whowere pouring into the city on their way to meet family members in other partsof the United States to seek political asylum.
Sheapproached Sacred Heart Church in McAllen about using its parish hall for a fewmonths to create a waystation for these asylum seekers to get a shower, freshclothes, and supplies for infants and children.
Threeyears later, the Humanitarian Respite Center has served 74,000 people -- and theparish is finally getting its hall back.
Anew building one block from Sacred Heart Church will be constructed to housethe respite center, thanks in part to a $100,000 grant from nonprofit CatholicExtension presented by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago, who is chancellorof Catholic Extension.
TheChicago-based organization is the leading national supporter of missionary workin poor and remote parts of the United States.
"Youhave welcomed strangers and made them to feel like family," Cardinal Cupichtold Sacred Heart parishioners during a Mass celebrating the Aug. 15 feast ofthe Assumption. "The immigrant is not a statistic. Each one has a story, avoice, a history."
CardinalCupich traveled to McAllen to officially grant $100,000 to the Diocese ofBrownsville for the construction of the new building. The funds were raised ata benefit dinner at the Vatican Museum organized by Catholic Extension on the dayof the Chicago prelate's elevation to the College of Cardinals in November2016.
"TheHoly Father asked that the new cardinals not have big celebrations that drewattention to ourselves, but rather that we would do something that would helpthose at the periphery of society," Cardinal Cupich said. "I'm delighted to bewith you today to dedicate the funds that Catholic Extension raisedspecifically for this event for the Diocese of Brownsville."
Standingat the future site of the new facility after Mass, Cardinal Cupich presented aplaque to Sister Pimentel and Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese ofBrownsville, commemorating the occasion.
"Iaccept this gift from Catholic Extension and Cardinal Cupich as being very mucha part of this great venture, which is our common venture in the Churchofgiving witness to Christ, especially in the most vulnerable," BishopFlores said.
The$100,000 raised by Catholic Extension for the new respite center is the latestgrant in the organization's more than 110 years of funding to the state ofTexas. Catholic Extension's historical funding of Texas totals more than $173million when adjusted for inflation, including 1,860 church construction orrenovation projects across the state.
Inaddition to the funds for the respite center, Cardinal Cupich's consistorydinner raised another $75,000 that was granted to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parishin Hidalgo, a rapidly growing parish located blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border.Cardinal Cupich personally presented those funds to the parish Aug. 15 as well,which are earmarked for the construction of a new church building.
Thework of the respite center in McAllen received national attention in September2015, when Pope Francis acknowledged Sister Pimentel during a "virtual papalaudience" at Sacred Heart Church televisednationally by ABC News.
CardinalCupich and a delegation from Catholic Extension toured the current respitecenter, which is in the process of moving out of the parish hall and to aninterim location while the new building is constructed.
Today, the numbers of the people served by the respite center have greatly decreased,but it continues to welcome families traveling from their home countries inCentral America who are escaping life-threatening situations. The three most-representedcountries are still Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
Inaddition to attending to the physical needs of its guests, the respite centeralso provides phone services so asylum seekers can contact family members, aswell as information on how to safely travel and live in the United States. Mostrefugees spend less than 24 hours at the center before boarding buses toreunite with their relatives and await their asylum court hearing.
CardinalCupich praised the tireless work of Sister Pimentel and the numerous volunteers-- including parishioners from Sacred Heart Church -- who have staffed therespite center over the past three years. He stressed the need for the CatholicChurch to extend a welcoming hand to the marginalized immigrant and refugeecommunities who pass through the center's doors each day.
"TheCatholic Church has a very important role to humanize and put a face on thestranger and the vulnerable," he said, "especially those who sufferand whose dignity and rights are compromised or threatened."
Read more:
Chicago cardinal thanks Texas parish for 'welcoming the stranger' - Catholic News Service
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