For the crowd, whose spirits were lifted by the solidarity of the event, it was a sobering and somber reminder of the need to keep pushing for reform. Lives are at stake.
“This is a widow of our broken immigration system,” shouted Diocesan Justice for Immigrants Campaign Coordinator Hilda Cruz after López had shared her story.
The Stations of the Cross, which traditionally depict scenes from Christ’s persecution and death, were adapted in Adelanto to chronicle the story José and Maria, and the realities they face as undocumented immigrants in the United States today. It began with their entry into California and included José’s profiling and arrest at a check point, his detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and his eventual deportation. A 15th station was added to depict José’s return to the United States to be with his family.
The event drew people from more than a dozen parishes and missions in the Diocese, many priests and sisters, and Bishop Gerald Barnes, who was in the High Desert on Good Friday to visit two prisons. It was also notable for a strong presence of youth and young adults, some of whom participated in the acting out of the Stations of the Cross.
“It represents us,” said Alondra, a member of the Jovenas Marianos de Jesus youth group at Holy Innocents parish in Victorville. “It is what’s happening to our communities.”
Father Francisco Gomez, S.T., who gave an impassioned closing prayer to the day, was especially encouraged.
“When you notice all the young people, this is a real sign,” he said.
Participants were predominantly Hispanic. Rick Thompson, a parishioner at St. Catherine of Alexandria in Riverside who is of European-American descent, said he would like to see more people “with my complexion” come to immigration reform gatherings.
“We need, through prayer and making Christ the center, to convey to [European-Americans] that these are things that we as Catholics need to do. We need to be accepting.”