The Catholic Church in Chile celebrated this Sunday, September 1, the National Day of Migrants and Refugees, which on this occasion carried the motto “God walks with his people: with faith, the Chilean Church accompanies those who need it most.”
In this framework, the Chilean Catholic Migration Institute (INCAMI) called on people of good will to collaborate with the traditional national collection that supports the pastoral mission of the organization.
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The president of INCAMI and Bishop of San Marcos de Arica, Mons. Moisés Atisha, warned in a letter that this year, “the migration issue has been of special media manipulation.”
In this regard, he noted: “Although we are not unaware of the reprehensible acts of some foreign people in our country, we do want, as a representative body of the Chilean Church, to mark the presence and focus on so many other brothers and sisters who come to seek, what they “The Holy Family also sought hope for a better future, where they can also feel integrated and, along with this, contribute their human, labor and spiritual wealth to the new homeland that welcomes them.”
In this framework, and making reference to the episcopal document I was a stranger and they welcomed me. A Christian view of migrationpublished a few months ago, the prelate highlighted that “as a Church we call to open our arms to migrants and awaken a spirit of welcome among the faithful.”
INCAMI: 65 years giving pastoral response to the migratory reality
INCAMI has been working on migration issues in the country for more than 65 years. So far in 2024, it has already offered its advisory service on immigration regularization issues to more than 15,000 people of different nationalities, of which more than 1,700 were children and adolescents.
In the case of Santiago de Chile, the local team has carried out 20 special immigration assistance operations inside and outside the metropolitan region.
One of the advisors of the Migration Pastoral in the Punta Arenas region, Vanessa Guerrero, explained to the portal The Austral Press the keys to his pastoral work, which began in the pandemic.
The task, he indicated, consists of welcoming, receiving migrants, who sometimes arrive with fears due to their irregular situation, and go to the Church to ask for help. In this framework, since its inception they have already served more than 5,000 people.
Unlike other regions that are passing through, Punta Arenas—located in the south of Chile—is a “final destination” region, he noted, and in general, migrants “come to ask how they can have papers to work, understanding that it is the only way they have to get ahead.”
“Welcome, listen and guide” migrants
The Bishop of Punta Arenas, Mons. Oscar Blanco Martínez, for his part, emphasized the importance of the National Day of Migrants and Refugees, as an opportunity to offer “a Christian perspective” on their situation in the country.
In the region, he maintained, the task is to “welcome, listen to and guide migrants and also advise them on being able to obtain documentation for permanent residence in Chile.”
“It is a daily job, there is a team that is on that mission and the truth is that there are many migrants who turn to us every day for help,” he summarized.
Those who wish to collaborate with INCAMI can deposit their contribution in the following account:
Name: Chilean Catholic Migration Institute or INCAMI
Account type: checking account
Bank: Banco Chile
Account number: 166-35764-02
RUT: 82.067.900-8
Mail: contacto@incami.cl
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.