"The Church cannot be silent," writes San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, of the cross that immigrants bear, as he recalls a lesson from his childhood.
On August 3, 2026, the 100th anniversary of San Antonio's elevation to a metropolitan archdiocese, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, issued a pastoral letter titled We Will Come to You: United in Solidarity with Our Brothers and Sisters in Migration. With a deeply personal tone, the letter -- addressed "to the more than 1 million Catholics of the archdiocese and to all people of good will" -- is a call to greater discernment and pastoral action to welcome and accompany immigrants.
The letter is prefaced with a quote from Pope Leo XIV's apostolic exhortation Dilexi te, which reads in part:
The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, She sees children; where walls are built, She builds bridges. She knows that Her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And She knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ Himself who knocks at the door of the community.
"Fear has taken root"
Archbishop García-Siller explains that his letter comes at a particularly difficult moment in San Antonio, and the nation, regarding the long history of immigration enforcement. Noting recent developments, including the removal of sanctuary status for churches, schools, and hospitals; the use of an 18th-century wartime statute to deport people without due process; and increased federal spending on the building and running of detention camps, the letter notes:
Across our parishes, neighborhoods, and homes, fear has taken root: deportation, detention, and family separation now threaten to paralyze our communities. Pastors sit in living rooms with families afraid to open their blinds. We pray with parents who embrace their children each morning unsure if they will be home at night. I have looked into their eyes and seen a fear I refuse to ignore. The community bears this cross, and the Church cannot be silent.
A personal history
Archbishop García-Siller devotes a section of the pastoral letter to his personal history, which has echoes among many of the people of San Antonio, Texas. Born in Mexico, he grew up in a family with fresh memories of the Cristero War, when the government attempted to forcibly outlaw religion. This year, the world marks 100 years since that war. An uncle, the archbishop writes, was arrested and executed fighting for the faith. "The Cristero War taught me an enduring lesson," the archbishop said. "A government may seek to organize itself against the faith, to legislate God from public life, and punish those who refuse to comply, but the faith endures."
Many survivors of the Cristero War migrated to San Antonio, which welcomed them. At 23, while still in seminary formation, García-Siller himself was sent by his religious community to the United States. He says that while he, like today's migrants, was afraid, his experience was far easier than theirs:
To my brothers and sisters in migration: many of you did not choose the hour or the destination. You left because survival left you no choice. You had no time to prepare, few possessions, and no guarantees. I will not pretend my path matched yours. Yours has often been far harder. Yet, the small taste of fear I felt in that uncertainty marked me forever. It is why I recognize your suffering, walk with you on the road, and remain resolute in defending your God‑given dignity.
A pastoral plan
"We Will Come to You" is more than just a message of compassionate care for immigrants. It is a plan for accompaniment that involves everyone. As noted in a press release from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, four pillars undergird this call to action in the face of the immigration crisis.
1Human Dignity
Whatever their legal status, every person bears the image of God and a human dignity that must be protected.
2Encounter with Christ
When we welcome, protect, promote, and integrate immigrants into community, it is Christ we welcome.
3A Church That Goes Forth
From receiving Know Your Rights training to ministry with those detained, parishes and families are called to active accompaniment.
4The Common Good
We must work to remind civic leaders that the principles of dignity, family unity, and due process are non-negotiable.
As part of the pastoral plan, parishes, Catholic schools, and campus ministries will receive a reflection guide and liturgical resources, with emphasis on September’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Resources and a prayer
The full text of Archbishop García-Siller's letter, which provides prayers and resources for further exploration, can be found in English and Spanish at https://archsa.org/we-will-come-to-you/ along with a video reflection from the archbishop.
In closing, the letter entrusts immigrants and those who accompany them to the Mother of God, in her protective patronage as Our Lady of Guadalupe.
We entrust to her every family in San Antonio and our rural communities who live in fear of tomorrow: every mother who has not slept, every father weighing the risk of the drive to work, every child who has learned to watch the door, every person held in a detention center and separated from loved ones, every family torn apart, every person sent away, and every life lost in search of a better future. We lay them all at her feet. She is their mother and our mother. . .
Blessed Mother, with you, we are not afraid!
