As disciples of Jesus Christ, rooted in Gospel values and our rich Catholic social tradition, the Immigration Ministry of the Office of Human Dignity and Solidarity fulfills the Church’s evangelization leadership role by welcoming immigrants in Cook and Lake Counties, building communion between immigrants and non-immigrants as brothers and sisters in Christ, and accompanying and empowering immigrants toward their formation and integration as full members of society and people of faith in the one family of God.
The Immigration Ministry of the Archdiocese of Chicago serves as a national model to support undocumented and documented immigrants and promote Christ’s desire for communion between immigrant and non-immigrant communities. We create a society where immigrants will be welcomed and their cultural gifts celebrated; immigrants will remain united with their families and share meaningful and mutual relationships with non-immigrants; immigrants will rediscover and/or deepen their faith, and become engaged in acts of service among their brothers and sisters and be actively involved in the transformation of society seeking justice for all.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is proud to be able to participate in this important ministry.
Goals
• Educate in understanding and respecting the dignity of every immigrant as a human being and recognizing the benefits of immigrants and immigration for our nation.
• Educate the undocumented community to safeguard their basic rights and family unity.
• Advocate for Compassionate Comprehensive Immigration Reform (using the principles of the U.S. Catholic bishops) and for the humane treatment of immigrant detainees and deportees.
• Empower immigrants to participate in their communities through service, leadership formation and action, all the while promoting justice by implementing and coordinating immigrant-to-immigrant ministry in clusters of parishes through lay leadership teams.
For more information concerning Immigrant Social Ministries, please visit the Office for Human Dignity of the Archdiocese of Chicago