By Eli Pacheco 

After fleeing unrest in Central and South America, many migrants make the long, difficult journey to the U.S.-Mexico border with the hopes of finding a better life. 

But entering the United States is just the beginning. After they cross the border, they must find food, clothing, shelter and work, all while navigating the complexities of the immigration system. 

On the East Coast, two Catholic parishes – Immaculate Conception Church in Durham, North Carolina, and St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Maryland – connect newly arrived people with the services they need for sustainability and survival. 

For migrants who have traveled thousands of miles from their homes in search of safety and security, these parishes are beacons of hope. Their parishioners and volunteers, embodying the spirit of St. Francis, greet newcomers with a compassionate question: How can we serve you? 

“That is the goal at St. Camillus,” said Joan Conway, a retired nutritionist who founded a food pantry at the parish 30 years ago. “Treat any immigrant who knocks on the door with dignity and respect."

Two people stand next to a large sign that reads

Martha Huber and Moises Cervantes serve on the St. Camillus Food Pantry’s leadership team. The ministry has served the area for 30 years. (Photo courtesy of Marianne Comfort)

A group of six smiling people pack grocery bags with food.

Parishioners are among volunteers at the St. Camillus Church food pantry. (Photo courtesy of Judith Hartman)

A smiling young adult man with a beard hands a white ticket to a guest.

Br. Daniel Cruz, OFM, works at return registration. (Photo courtesy of Judith Hartman)

A smiling man wearing a red shirt and grey baseball hat pushes a hand cart.

St. Camillus parishioner Scott Sumter lends a hand at the church’s food pantry. (Photo courtesy of Judith Hartman)

A woman in a grey shirt helps a man complete a form.

St. Camillus food pantry volunteer Maureen Meyer registers a new client. (Photo courtesy of Judith Hartman)

In Silver Spring 

Silver Spring, Maryland’s fourth-largest city, is wedged between College Park and Bethesda and, barring D.C. traffic, is less than an hour’s drive from the nation’s capital. It is adjacent to Langley Park, a smaller community with a considerable immigrant presence, mainly from El Salvador and Guatemala.  

Four friars serve St. Camillus Parish and its mission in Langley Park: pastor Br. Jorge Hernandez, OFM, and Brothers Juan de la Cruz Turcios, OFM, John Heffernan, OFM, and Jean-Marie Kabango-Lenge, OFM. 

St. Camillus helps migrants access food. When its food pantry opened in 2002, it served 500 baskets of food annually. In 2024, they expect to serve 20,000.  

Migrants can also get help applying for additional resources, if they are eligible to receive them, and access reduced-rate legal consultation from two Catholic lawyers. Beyond their counsel, parish partners such as Ayuda and Catholic Charities help immigrants who need help with their paperwork. 

Joan says volunteers support Langley Park Mission however they can, whether collecting clothing or giving a family a gift card to a local thrift shop.  

“I don’t think there’s anything we don’t do,” she said. “Because the parish has been at this for so long, there is a network of referrals. Everyone is met as an individual. We act as Christ for them, and they are Christ for us. 

“We have such abundance in the United States, even those of us who have a tough time paying bills every month,” she added. “We are called as Christians to share, show love and be present. If we cannot do anything for someone, we are called at least to be present.” 

One glance at the St. Camillus Mass schedule tells you the parish tries to be present to people from all over the world: Masses are offered in Spanish, French African (The parish is home to African immigrants from 42 countries), Haitian and Bengali.  

Saint Francis International School, on St. Camillus’s campus, serves children from different cultures and faiths ages 3 through 8th grade. Through scholarships, it seeks to provide an affordable Catholic-Franciscan education. The school also offers free daycare. 

With every migrant the parish helps, volunteers consider the conditions they fled from, the danger they faced, and the courage to begin their pursuit of a better life. 

“I will never understand how difficult it is to cross the Frontera (Spanish for border), how desperate those who cross are, and what the situation must be in their home country and what gives them the strength to come here,” Joan said.


A friar sits and listens to a woman in the pews of a church.

Br. Gonzalo Torres, OFM, speaks with a visitor at Immaculate Conception Church. Immigrants make up 15% of the population in Durham, North Carolina, where Immaculate Conception is located. (Photo courtesy of Fabian Hernandez)

Volunteers fill takeaway boxes with pasta, bread and other food.

Volunteers serve a meal at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. The parish helps migrants better access resources they need to live in the U.S. (Photo courtesy of Fabian Hernandez)

Six people sit at a round table. A man wearing a lavender shirt and a black K-95 mask gestures with his hands as he speaks.

Volunteers at Immaculate Conception Church help migrants who come to the parish with everything from help filling out forms to referrals for work and its food pantry. (Photo courtesy of Fabian Hernandez)

In Durham 

Some 300 miles southeast of Silver Spring, Franciscans at Durham’s Immaculate Conception Church bring the same compassionate service to migrants drawn to the area by the Carolinas’ agriculture industry. 

North Carolina’s immigrant population has grown eightfold since 1990 (115,000 to 868,000), according to the N.C. Office of State Budget and Management, and nearly 24% of agriculture workers are immigrants.  

In Durham County, where Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is located, immigrants make up 15% of the population. 

“Many of them look for a place to do well economically, where they can settle awhile and then go elsewhere,” said Katushka Olave, Spanish pastoral associate at Immaculate Conception. “Many have escaped from their countries because it is very inhuman there.” 

The parish helps migrants find affordable housing and answers to questions about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which provides protection from deportation for eligible young adults who were brought to the U.S. as children. 

Immaculate Conception helps as many as 10 people at a time, welcoming them into parish formation if they choose. (Many do.) They offer clinics to assist with paperwork and support for the most pressing needs of newcomers: finding housing, jobs and schools. 

Katushka says many of the people she helps join the parish are first and second-generation immigrants. “I see some people I helped 10 years ago, and now their children are teenagers.” 

Even in the land of opportunity, the future can be uncertain and unpredictable. Katushka has lived in the community for more than 30 years and sees hope and sadness among those shuffled to the Eastern seaboard. 

“Even Americans, they are not getting jobs,” she said. “For (migrants), it is worse because everywhere you go now, they ask you for papers.” 

For many, the parish — served by pastor Br. Manuel Viera, OFM, and Brothers Hugh Macsherry, OFM, and Br. Gonzalo de Jesús Torres-Acosta, OFM — becomes a new spiritual home and a hub for unmet needs. 

“They are happy that they came to the church, and they continue coming and growing in their faith,” Katushka said. “Some join ministries, and some are busy looking for jobs to support their families. They sometimes need to send money to their families.”

Three people jog down a road. One is holding a burning torch. All three are wearing shirts that say

Immaculate Conception Church parishioners participate in The Antorcha-Guadalupe Torch Run, a relay from Mexico City to New York City. During the annual pilgrimage honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, the torch travels from parish to parish along southeastern North America.

The Holy Spirit at work 

The work sometimes feels impossible, but God’s presence is felt in big and small ways.  

Katushka met a Nicaraguan woman boarding a plane in Tucson, Arizona, who was negotiating a language barrier at security. Katushka helped the woman, who was traveling to North Carolina to reunite with her husband, to understand checked baggage charges.   

Guess who was waiting for Katushka when she returned to the parish office?  

“She asked, ‘Can you help us make sure of what we are doing?’ Katushka said, noting that the young couple was starting over in America. “I told her, ‘Yes, I can guide you.’” Katushka referred her to a parishioner who owned a cleaning services company for a job.   

The couple attend church, and in addition to establishing themselves in the community, they continue their spiritual growth there. 

Joan remembers a day she and two young boys enjoyed belly laughs at her inability to say the one thing they asked for in Spanish: a comb (canutillo). “I will always remember those boys,” she said. 

The migrants, through their presence, bring indelible experiences that inspire a compassionate corps of Franciscan friars, friends and volunteers. 

Resources on migration 

On Sept. 25, 16 friars who serve immigrant communities met with representatives from Justice for Immigrants, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ network of multiple Catholic groups working in migration.  

The Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Office of Social Evangelization and Engagement organized this event to help identify resources and tools to aid the people it serves to shape better its approaches to immigration and the Gospel mandate to “welcome the strangers.”  

Below are some of those resources: 

— Misinformation and hateful speech directed at immigrants in the U.S. – such as the Haitians who are in the U.S. with legally protected status – continues to be in the public conversation. The Ohio Bishops’ response to this situation models how Catholics can respond to this situation and how to approach similar situations. 

— Mistruths exist about non-citizens voting. These efforts divide us and make social stability difficult. The Migration Policy Institute prepared a short explainer on this myth.  

— Pope Francis has shared statements recently on how mistreatment and dehumanization of migrants can be a grave sin and stressed the imperative of the stance of encounter and acceptance of all, especially migrants. The Holy Father illustrates how to apply the Gospel to global migration. 

— As a general approach during the elections, the U.S. Bishops have created resources to promote civil dialogue. This can be a useful tool when speaking with people who disagree with your views.

This is the fourth in a series of articles about Franciscan ministry during the global migration crisis, a humanitarian crisis of vast proportions. The previous article focused on the work friars, part-time workers and volunteers are doing in Manhattan to collect and distribute warm clothing to migrants there before winter.