Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
San José (Agenzia Fides) – The 12th Regional Meeting of Bishops and Pastoral Workers of Human Mobility from North, Central America, and the Caribbean will be held from August 18 to 22 in Costa Rica, at the Juan XXIII Social School in Dulce Nombre de la Unión (Cartago).
Representatives of the Episcopal Conferences, as well as experts and delegates from ecclesiastical institutions, will participate in the assembly. Also present will be Cardinal Fabio Baggio, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini, President of the Latin American and Caribbean Ecclesial Network CLAMOR of the Council of Latin American Bishops' Conferences (CELAM), which addresses the problems and plight of migrants, refugees, the homeless, and victims of human trafficking.
Daniel Blanco, Auxiliary Bishop of San José and President of the Socio-Pastoral Observatory for Human Mobility in Central America and the Caribbean (OSMECA), emphasized that "there are brothers and sisters who leave their country and their families in search of a better future. Migration is a reality that we as Christians cannot ignore. In the Church, we pray, accompany them, and promote coordinated actions on their behalf so that their dignity as sons and daughters of God is guaranteed."
Participants from various countries, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Panama, have been invited to the meeting, where they will share their experiences. Father Gustavo Meneses, Director of the Observatory and Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Human Mobility in Costa Rica, recalled that "the complexity of the current migration phenomenon in the region poses major pastoral challenges for the Church" and emphasized how OSMECA "has become a point of reference for developing awareness-raising processes and regional interventions on migration issues."
The meeting's central reflection will revolve around the Pastoral Letter "He saw him, he approached him, and he cared for him," published by the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC) last fall. "In this meeting," Bishop Blanco added, "we will share experiences, hear testimonies, and, in light of the Word of God and the Church's social doctrine, jointly propose ways to address the new migratory context in the region."
Founded five years ago, the Observatory is a pastoral and synodal network that brings together pastoral care professionals in the area of human mobility from the Episcopal Conferences of Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic, as well as researchers on migration. It seeks to strengthen the initiatives of local churches regarding migration flows from a regional perspective. Furthermore, it aims to share knowledge, initiatives, and solutions based on reality and pastoral practice for the benefit of people in situations of human mobility.
In collaboration with the Dicastery for Service to Integral Human Development, the CLAMOR network, and the CELAM Knowledge Management Center, OSMECA has established itself as a reference point for awareness-raising and intervention processes at the regional level in the field of migration, in line with Pope Francis's call to counter the "globalization of indifference."
Bishop Blanco concluded by inviting the ecclesial community to "inform themselves and unite in prayer for this moment of grace. Let us pray that our decisions and actions convey the love of God and make us more sensitive to the suffering of our brothers and sisters." (LGR) (Agenzia Fides, 14/8/2025)
