Vincentian Ministry to Migrants— and the Call to Go Further

A Ministry Rooted in History

Migrant ministry is not new to the Vincentian Family. From the beginning, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac responded to people uprooted by war— what we now call mixed migration. Their compassion was not abstract; it was immediate and personal, and it came at great personal cost.

St. Vincent himself knew displacement firsthand. Captured by pirates and enslaved for several years, he endured what we now call human trafficking. That suffering was not incidental to his spirituality— it shaped it. From that darkness emerged a profound, unshakable solidarity with the vulnerable and the displaced.

Over four centuries of service, various branches of the Vincentian Family have responded to the needs of migrants in both large and small ways. For some provinces of the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission, this ministry spans a century and is woven into their identity and growth. For others, it is more recent— yet no less vital to keeping the Vincentian spirit alive and active in the world.

The Gap We Must Name

Members of the Vincentian Family have admirably responded to the needs of migrants and refugees— providing pastoral accompaniment, spiritual support, and material assistance. This work is irreplaceable and must continue. As migrant populations grow and mixed migration routes become more common, the complexity and scale of human suffering will intensify.

Yet as we deepen our understanding of systemic change, we must acknowledge a real gap in our ministry. It is a gap we recognize but often hesitate to address— not out of indifference, but because we may lack the training, infrastructure, and sometimes the institutional courage to confront it. The structures that force people to leave their homes— unjust economic systems, political unrest, exploitative labor practices, and discriminatory policies— cannot be fixed by charity alone. They must be challenged. And challenging these structures requires a different kind of effort and a different set of skills: advocacy, policy discussion, coalition building, and the courage to speak uncomfortable truths to those in power. Unfortunately, most Vincentian groups have not yet fully embraced this challenge.

Beyond Welcoming: The Call to Advocate

Migration is not a single issue. It is a web of interconnected realities— economic inequality, climate displacement, political and religious persecution, trafficking, statelessness, civil and military strife, and more. To serve migrants well, we need not only people on the ground providing direct care but also advocates who can speak for them in the halls of power.
Some branches of the Vincentian Family already hold consultative status at the United Nations and engage in international advocacy. This is a vital witness. But advocacy is needed beyond the international level. National legislatures pass immigration laws. They have more teeth in implementation than international policies. Local governments determine how— and whether— migrants are welcomed. These are arenas where a Vincentian voice is urgently needed, yet far too often absent.

Here is a hard truth: we are often very good at serving those who have already become victims. We are less present in efforts to prevent victimization and in addressing the root causes that push people from their homes and leave them vulnerable along dangerous migration routes.

To truly fulfill our Vincentian vocation in this area, we must move beyond a ministry of reception to one of transformation. This does not mean abandoning direct service— it means building on it. It means listening deeply to the migrants we serve, letting their stories inform our advocacy, and amplifying their voices in spaces they cannot easily reach.

Biblical Foundation and Catholic Social Teachings on Advocacy

This call to advocate for migrants’ welfare is not merely strategic— it is theological. The biblical tradition is unambiguous in its concern for the stranger. Through Moses— himself a refugee— God established explicit protections for resident aliens and sojourners. “You shall not oppress a sojourner,” says Exodus 23:9. “You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” These protections appear throughout Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, woven into the very fabric of Israelite law.

The Book of Ruth shows Boaz actively advocating for Ruth’s welfare among his workers and townspeople— a Moabite widow, a foreigner dependent on the community’s mercy (Ruth 2:15–16; 3:11). The prophet Ezekiel goes further, calling for equal land rights for immigrants— a radical claim for that time (Ezekiel 47:22–23). We need not explore how Jesus welcomed strangers during his ministry, for we are all familiar with those accounts. And St. Paul, as the architect of inclusion in the early Church, declared with boldness: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Catholic social teaching deepens this biblical foundation. The right to migrate— and the corresponding duty of receiving nations to welcome— is rooted in the inherent dignity of every human person. Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, Pope Pius X’s 1914 establishment of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Pius XII’s Exsul Familia Nazarethana, Pope Paul VI’s Populorum Progressio, Pope John Paul II’s Laborem Exercens, and Pope Francis’ Fratelli Tutti, among others, have expressed solidarity with migrants and called for structural responses to structural causes. Moreover, Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, has made migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons central to his definition of the vulnerable.

The Bible and the Church’s teachings are rich in advocacy for migrants. What is lacking now, and what is needed, is action from people in the Church.

A Ministry Fitted for This Time

The Vincentian Family stands at a significant threshold. The scale of global migration— driven by conflict, climate change, poverty, and persecution— presents both a crisis and a summons. We have a rich tradition of response and global networks. We carry the spirit and charism of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louise de Marillac, Blessed Frederick Ozanam, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who have done much for migrants and the vulnerable. What is now asked of us is to deepen that tradition— to hold together the welcoming hand and the prophetic voice, to serve the migrant standing before us, and to challenge the systems that put them at risk. This will require formation— equipping our members with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to engage in advocacy. It will require humility— acknowledging that migrants themselves must lead and shape the responses that concern them. And it will require courage— the willingness to speak when silence is easier and to act when inaction feels safer.

Rev. Ferdinand Labitag, CM
CM NGO Representative at United Nations