Left image: Symbolic migration symbols encouraging participants to share, defend and accompany migrant families.
Right image: Authentic Latin food served at the St. Eulalia Catholic Church.
“Changing people's hearts changes their minds.”
A few attendees wrote variations of that phrase when asked what stayed with them after Walking with Migrants, two gatherings held in the Chicagoland area on Oct. 10-11.
Each gathering offered a unique experience of hospitality and reflection. On Saturday, Oct. 10, the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (SSpS) welcomed participants to their home, the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Northfield, Illinois. The gathering was part of the congregation's celebration of 125 years in the United States. The SSpS offered coffee, refreshments, snacks and lunch. To conclude the event, participants were invited to reflect on their commitments by writing them on paper footprints.
The following day, the Scalabrinian Parishes of the Western Suburbs welcomed participants to St. Eulalia Catholic Church in Maywood, Illinois. Participants were welcomed by parish members and offered authentic Latin food prepared by Living La Fiesta Inc. and bread by Eva’s Tamales. At the end of the event, participants were invited to respond to the prompt, “What can I contribute to the building of the reign of God?”
Left image: Members of the Walking with Migrants planning team. Right image: Footprints displaying participants' commitments to action along the wall at the Convent of the Holy Spirit.
While the events were shaped differently, both days carried a common lesson. Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Eileen McKenzie, who ministers with the Kino Border Initiative, shared the importance of changing the narrative.
Changing the narrative means looking beyond statistics and labels to recognize the person behind the story. Oftentimes, the media overlooks the circumstances that lead people to leave their homes and uses harmful stereotypes or language. Sharing personal migration stories allows people to view immigrant families as humans with goals, hopes of their own and shared characteristics and values that connect one another.
Sister Eileen shared that while people change their own minds, we can help them reconsider their perceptions, “by disrupting the harmful associations and replacing them with helpful ones.”
But changing the conversation does not happen through words alone. It requires relationships.
Ryan Lents and Gabriel Lara from the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership spoke about the importance of building coalitions, maintaining relationships and developing grassroots leadership. Through one-on-one conversations and intentional relationship-building within parishes and organizations, communities can identify leaders, develop strategies and build the foundation for collective action.
One example of this work is CSPL’s response during Operation Midway Blitz, the federal immigration enforcement operation launched in Chicago in September 2025.
As enforcement intensified in the Chicagoland area, CSPL and its partners organized Masses, processions and public actions, bringing thousands of Catholics and other people of faith to support those affected.
After a federal lawsuit regarding access to pastoral care at the Broadview Processing Center was filed in November 2025, clergy were granted access to provide pastoral care to detainees in May 2026. These efforts show what can happen when communities come together, build relationships and work toward meaningful change.
Both presentations approached migration from different perspectives, but their messages shared a common theme: meaningful change begins with people. It begins by listening to people’s stories and challenging the labels associated with migration. It grows through relationships that bring people together, and it continues when people are willing to listen to a story, organize and take action alongside one another.
Changing hearts doesn’t begin with winning an argument, but with making room for someone’s story to be heard.
Left image: Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters' 125th anniversary banner. Right image: Father Marvin Ajic Arana alongside panel members and participants.
Walking with Migrants co-sponsors
Saturday, Oct. 10 | Convent of the Holy Spirit | Northfield, Illinois
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, Kino Border Initiative and Coalition Spiritual and Public Leadership
Sunday, Oct. 11 | St. Eulalia Catholic Church | Maywood, Illinois
Sacred Heart & St. Eulalia, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinian Parishes of the Western Suburbs), Kino Border Initiative and Coalition Spiritual and Public Leadership
