Catholic communities celebrate World Migrant Day in Switzerland and Italy

Catholic communities across Switzerland and Italy held special celebrations to observe the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

In Switzerland, the organization migratio hosted a gathering at Mariastein Abbey, bringing together more than 700 people from various alloglottic and multi-rite Catholic communities. The event featured music and chants from Eritrean, African, and Ukrainian Byzantine communities. Bishop Felix Gmür presided over the Mass, emphasizing the importance of dialogue between different cultures and traditions within a single universal Church.

In Italy, Cardinal Augusto Paolo Lojudice presided over a Mass in Siena at the Basilica of San Bernardino all’Osservanza. The celebration, organized in coordination with the Migrantes Foundation, included readings by representatives from Latin American and Indian communities, as well as a prayer for peace from a Ukrainian believer. The Cardinal’s homily focused on the vulnerability of children involved in migration, echoing the message of Pope Leo XIV.