Attending to the Migrant, Refugee, and Those on the Margins: The Jesuits in El Paso
The mission of the Jesuits in El Paso is an ongoing response to the call of Pope Francis to attend to the migrant, refugee, and those on the margins.
Fr. Rafael Garcia, S.J., from the UCS Province entered the Jesuits in 1983 and was ordained in 1993. He was born in La Habana, Cuba and grew-up and studied in Miami, where he practiced as an architect until he felt the call to be a priest. As a Jesuit he has served in parishes as pastor at Sacred Heart, El Paso for, for 13 years; Immaculate Conception, Albuquerque, for 5 ½ years and St. Francis Xavier, Kansas City, for 2 ½ years. In August, he returned to El Paso to assist at Sacred Heart and to do ministry with migrant and refugee persons, including at immigration detention centers.