Ever since its establishment in 1893, Sacred Heart Church has been a haven for migrants, who go there for food, shelter, and to pray. The Jesuits who administer the church have been a fixture of the Segundo Barrio for 130 years and have served on the front lines of every major challenge to the neighborhood.
Fr. Rafael Garcia, SJ, the Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, is a leader of the effort to provide assistance to the current wave of migrants, who come mostly from Venezuela, an impoverished nation in the grip of a socialist dictatorship whose people are suffering terribly.
Fr. Garcia was recently featured on CNN, CBS, and MSNBC internationally and I invite you to view these wonderful and informative reports. See also this CNN report on the migrants’ journey.
I also invite you to view a television segment Fr. Garcia and I recently did for the Catholic Faith Network on our effort to Restore Sacred Heart Church.
God bless.