Bishop to lead Prayer and Witness to Stand with Migrants, Aug. 15, 2026, at Capitol
“Dear migrants, before saying anything else to you, I want to bow before your dignity.”
Pope Leo XIV spoke candidly during his recent visit to the Canary Islands to people whose value is often questioned if not totally forgotten.
“Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border,” Pope Leo stated.
His heartfelt words will echo through marble-clad hallways of power in Missouri during a Prayer and Witness to Stand with Migrants.
The event will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Missouri State Capitol Rotunda in Jefferson City.
Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell of Jefferson City and Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis are scheduled to participate.
People are also invited to join in a 9 a.m. Rosary procession from the Proto-Cathedral of St. Peter, 216 Broadway, to the Capitol.
This event, sponsored by the Diocese of Jefferson City, Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri, and El Puente Hispanic Ministry of Jefferson City, will be a peaceful and prayerful gathering that raises awareness of the Church’s teaching on immigration and expresses compassion, hope and solidarity with immigrants, migrants and refugees.
“Whenever we encounter anyone, we need to recognize our own dignity and bow to the dignity of the person we are encountering,” stated Marissa Flores-Madden, director of Family Immigration Services at Catholic Charities, who is helping to organize the event.
“When Pope Leo said, ‘I want to bow to your dignity,’ he was recognizing that in so many instances around the world, the dignity of people on the move is not recognized,” said Mrs. Flores-Madden. “In fact, it’s often flat-out denied.
“So, to our migrant brothers and sisters, we want to be very clear that they are not alone, that the Universal Church is standing with them, that we recognize and honor their dignity,” she said.
Bishop O’Donnell will lead the prayer service, which will include hymns, individual testimonies, a reflection by the bishop, prayers led by him and other religious and community leaders, and a sending-forth by Archbishop Rozanski.
Scheduled to give witness at the event are Mrs. Flores-Madden, who has been working in family immigration services for five years and has family members who are deeply affected by the immigrant experience; Father Patrick Dolan, a retired pastor who has had many opportunities to minister to immigrants in this diocese; and Kevin Morales, director of evangelization for St. Vincent de Paul Parish of Pettis County.
Last November, during the U.S. Catholic bishops’ fall assembly in Baltimore, the bishops issued an urgent message expressing Christian solidarity with immigrants, calling for an end to mass deportations and inviting all people of faith and goodwill to enter into an immediate discussion about reforming the nation’s immigration system, focusing on the God-given dignity of every human being.
“You are not alone!” the bishops collectively reminded immigrants to this country.
“We stand with you in your suffering, since, when one member suffers, all suffer,” the bishops stated, invoking 1 Corinthians 12:26.
That message will form the basis for the Aug. 15 event in the State Capitol.
“This is a call not just for compassion for immigrants and refugees but for all people,” Mrs. Flores-Madden noted. “Even when we disagree, we are to have compassion for one another, respect for one another.”
Although primarily focused on prayer, the gathering in the Capitol will also be an opportunity to learn about what the Gospels and the rest of Sacred Scripture, along with the Church’s extensive Deposit of Faith, have to say about welcoming migrants.
“Throughout the centuries, our bishops and popes have been very clear that we are called to minister to the stranger and ultimately forge a community in which there are no strangers,” said Mrs. Flores-Madden.
“We can disagree on what policies are the best way to go about doing that, but it’s very clear that that’s what we are called to do as Church, as followers of Jesus,” she said.
The bishops point out in their November 2025 statement that nations have the right and responsibility to maintain their borders.
At the same time, the bishops noted, all people are entitled to respect for their human dignity and must be treated as such.
“This whole prayer and public witness is our chance to stand up and say this is who we are as followers of Jesus, this is who we are as Church,” said Mrs. Flores-Madden.
Visit cccnmo.diojeffcity.org/stand-with-migrants for information about this event.
