BY ANNE ABBOTT | April 12, 2018
Editor’s Note: The Church of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit parish in New York City, works with the New Sanctuary Coalition to engaging parishioners in accompaniment and support work for the immigrant and refugee community in the city. This reflection from parishioner Anne Abbott highlights one individual’s experience of this program.
“Immigrants and Refugees Welcome.”

[Church of St. Francis Xavier via Facebook]
Recently, the parish offered a course on the Catholic Church’s social justice teaching, including ways our parishioners engage in service to our community. There were presentations on racism, prison ministry, immigration work. We were encouraged to use the Examen to facilitate a direction for ourselves. I found myself drawn to immigration work and attended a training by the New Sanctuary Coalition which confirmed this. At this training, we were taught to refer to asylum seekers as “friends” which opened my heart and mind to the work. I was aware that there are many “friends” among us who have come to the U.S. seeking a better life and in many instances safety and religious freedom. They have children who are U.S. citizens and are contributing to their communities in a variety of ways. Many share my Catholic faith.
I am the granddaughter of immigrants who came to the U.S .for a better life. Here they raised children who in turn raised children who have made contributions to our country and have integrated into our society. I feel privileged to have some part in the same process for today’s immigrants and the ways in which I am supported by my parish to do so.

[New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City via Facebook]
I am certain that these events are changing me in profound ways that I cannot yet express or understand I only know that this is a journey I am privileged to be on and continue to try to be open to all that it brings. I look to the support of my parish to grow in faith, hope, and love and remain grateful for the opportunities it continues to present.

Anne Abbott is an intentional parishioner at St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit parish in New York City. She is a retired hospice social worker who lives in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. A lifelong Catholic and New Yorker, she participates in the liturgical life of the parish, serves as a Eucharistic Minister at Mt Sinai Hospital, and engages in the parish’s support for immigrants and refugees.