Pope Francis wrote a letter addressed to a group of mostly South American migrant on Thursday, referring to them as “the suffering flesh of Christ.”
The Pope informed the 3,000 migrants gathered at Lajas Blancas in Panama, on their journey to the United States, that he wished he could be there in person with them. However, he was represented by a group of bishops from Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, along with Catholic pastoral workers.
After traversing the perilous Darien Gap, a dense tropical forest spanning over 1,400,000 acres along the border of Panama and Colombia, the migrants finally reach Lajas Blancas. This passage is recognized as one of the most dangerous migrant routes in the Americas.
The United Nations reports that in 2023, over 500,000 migrants successfully crossed the Darien Gap, marking the highest number recorded in a single year thus far.
Commissioner Reinel Serrano of the Panamanian National Border Service stated that the migrants making the perilous journey across the gap hail from approximately a hundred different nations spanning various continents.
While the majority originate from Venezuela, Ecuador, and Haiti, there are also significant numbers from China and other countries. Additionally, notable groups of Colombians and Nicaraguans are among those undertaking the crossing.
“I am also the son of migrants who left in search of a better future, there were times when they were left with nothing, until they went hungry; empty-handed, but full of hope,” Pope Francis wrote Thursday.
“They are the face of a mother Church that marches with her sons and daughters, in whom she discovers the face of Christ and, like Veronica, with affection, offers relief and hope in the Viacrucis [Way of the Cross] of migration,” he declared.
“Our migrant brothers and sisters represent the suffering flesh of Christ,” he said, “when they are forced to leave their land, to face the risks and tribulations of a hard road, to find no other way out,” he added.
The pope further encouraged the migrants to “never forget your human dignity” and to not be afraid “to look others in the eye because you are not rubbish but are also part of the human family and the family of God’s children.”
“And thank you for being there,” he said.
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