ASSUMPTIONIST EMAIL NEWSLETTER El Paso Edition, March, 2022

Three Missionary Groups Visit El Paso

Welcome to our newest installment in a series of e-Newsletters devoted to our foundation in El Paso (previous installments available here). Read on for updates and ways to get involved in this important work of meeting the spiritual and material needs of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

From an Interview with Ignacio & Javier

Ignacio has been a parishioner at St. Frances Xavier for 51 years and has volunteered for 31 years. He is married with two children and is a veteran of the Navy. At the parish, he takes care of the finances.

Javier is married with three children and three grandchildren. His mother-in-law served at St. Frances Xavier, and he has been volunteering since 2014. He now helps with the finances after Ignacio asked him to partner up. He is also the coordinator for the migrant program and helped out with the group of Cuban migrants in 2016. He said they are much more prepared for the new groups compared to back in 2016. During Covid-19 they had to take protocol training to keep the immigrants safe.

They explained that the news is a bit confusing and that there is no crisis in the city but only on the border. The number of migrants has increased over the last six years. The new title-42 has created problems on the other side of the Mexico - U. S border by causing migrants to be held up in Mexico and unable to come into the U.S.

Ignacio and Javier also emphasized the fact that there are only two paid employees at the parish. They highlighted one parishioner who does all the cleaning who will not accept any money.

Ingacio (left) and Javier (right) during their interview

Three Missionary Groups Visit El Paso

Assumption University SEND Trip

Assumption University SEND Trip is a program that sends groups of students to do missionary work for a week in various countries and locations in the U.S. The students visited St. Francis Xavier Church and helped with the migrant mission.

Elms University - Chicopee, MA

Last March 10th, the AA community of El Paso received the students from Elms College together with Andrew Mercado, Assistant Director of Campus Ministry. They spent most of the day helping and preparing to receive the migrants. Some of them were preparing meals, some were doing laundry and some were doing the registration when the migrants arrived. They also had a chance to share the meals and had meaningful conversations with the migrants. There was also a time for sharing their cultures, including food, music and dance. It truly was a night of eye-opening and fun experiences for both migrants and the students.

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Newman Center

In mid-March, (2022) along with five other UMass Amherst students, I traveled to the St Francis Xavier Parish in El Paso, where our group served at the parish’s migrant shelter. Through the hospitality, lessons, and growth, it was a gift to dedicate our spring break to this service. Father Peter, Father Ron, Father Marciano, and the entire parish and local community graciously welcomed us (and took such good care of us, even while we were all busy taking care of the migrants.) The religious sisters from Servants of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and of the Poor hosted us three women, and we enjoyed meeting and sharing experiences with many from the congregation. It was also a blessing to have met the Religious of the Assumption community in Chaparral, New Mexico. Even in these smaller, dispersed communities, the common desire to serve the brokenhearted brings them all together, closer to Christ and to our suffering neighbors. We five students, all the way from Massachusetts, feel like a part of this family now.
The community and our encounters were constantly opening our eyes to the tragic realities of immigration. Yet with every heartbreak, together with the migrants, we discovered greater hope. When the migrants file off buses they expect to be addressed with a number, but the community calls them by name and gives them new life. This shelter gives them Christ. It is a place for their bruised dignity to heal and a temporary home before they continue their journey. We are grateful and humbled for giving a week of our lives to this mission, and for the love and lessons received from the migrants. As they risk their lives for their families, we, as a family in the faith, wish to continue to dedicate our lives for them, with the same grace, joy, and compassion that the Assumptionists, the parish, and all the involved communities show - through prayer, service, and solidarity. We are all migrants, searching for life and love. We pray that all encounter this truth, and we keep the community in our prayers! Thank you!
- Veronika Jaster

Gathering with the Assumption Sisters in Chaparral, New Mexico

On January 22 Fr. Peter and others from St. Francis Xavier Parish met with the Assumption Sisters to reflect on their work with the immigrants. They had a very interesting talk by Mr. Dylan Corbett, who works for Hope Border Institute and the local Bishop.

Dylan talked about how the work we are doing with the migrants is an integral part of the Christian faith. He pointed out that the region we are in is a very unique area with so many different cultures, rich history, and traditions.

Following Dylan was Fr. Peter Precourt with a presentation of the Five Families of the Assumption: The Religious of the Assumption, the Augustinians of the Assumption, The Orantes of the Assumption, The Oblates of the Assumption, and The Little Sisters of the Assumption. His talk brought up the point that all of these communities are connected to the migrant mission and that the lay volunteers are also connected.

During the meeting they also shared testimonials, practical actions for going forward, and gratitude for meeting.

El Paso Foundation - Parish Facebook

El Paso Foundation - Parish Website

Augustinians of the Assumption - Main Website

One way you can support our migrant ministry at the U.S.-Mexico border is by sharing these updates with your friends and family on Twitter & Facebook:

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