A Return to the Border with Young People

by | Jan 6, 2020 | News Archives, Peace & Justice

For the seventh time, Fr. Corey Brost, CSV, accompanied a group of young people as they retraced the steps of migrants trying to cross the desert. He calls it a pilgrimage, as together they reflect on the role faith plays in “welcoming the stranger.”

Fr. Corey Brost, CSV

Twice a year, for the last five years, he has led groups to the border between Arizona and Mexico. They begin their trek at the Saint Xavier Mission in Tuscon, which is the oldest church in Arizona, described as the “white dove of the desert.”

“This is what we do as Viatorians,” Fr. Corey says, “educate young people about pressing issues in our faith, and advocate for those on the margins and the forgotten, which in our society today are the immigrants.”

During their visit, they met with border patrol guards and Good Samaritan guides, as well as celebrated Mass together and prayed at the border for victims who have lost their lives. One of their final acts was to bless water jugs that would be put out for migrants in the desert.