Bishops from across three states were set to hold Mass in Nogales, Arizona, with a procession crossing the border to commemorate 250 years of U.S. independence and centuries of migration to the country.
Border Mass 250 events was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Friday, June 26 and was billed as a "pastoral conversation" at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 272 N. Rodriguez St. in Nogales.
Bishops James Misko of Tucson and John Dolan of Phoenix were to be joined by Santa Fe Archdiocese Archbishop John Wester and El Paso Diocese Bishop Mark Seitz.
"We're looking for a day of pastoral accompaniment with everybody who lives and is immersed in this rather complex and complicated situation at the border," Misko said.
The Tucson diocese's Facebook page was to livestream what it is describing as a "fireside chat."
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The Mass was to follow at 5 p.m. at Sacred Heart and conclude with a 6:15 p.m. rosary. A procession across the border to Parroquia de la Purísima Concepción, a Catholic church in Nogales, Sonora, was scheduled to immediately follow.
The bishops will then break bread with migrants on that side of the border. Participants are asked to bring their passport.
Tucson Bishop James Misko, seen here at his installation ceremony, will be the main celebrant at a border Mass on Friday in Nogales.
The churches, one in Arizona and one in Sonora, are roughly one mile apart.
"It's an opportunity for us as a church and us as bishops, the shepherds of the church, to practice what we also call the ministry of presence," Misko said, quickly pointing out the objective is not political.
"We're there to present to those who are employed on both sides of the border, who manage the border for both nations in the United States and Mexico."
Misko, 56, will be the main celebrant at the Mass. He was ordained as bishop for the Diocese of Tucson in February after serving as a priest for 19 years in Texas.
Border Mass 250 was designed "to honor and to celebrate the great contribution that migrants have made to the United States for the last 250 years," Misko said.
"Migration is simply part of the human condition. People have been migrating for hundreds of thousands of years. But also the Church has always been very clear that nations have the right and responsibility to manage their borders."
