The 1,000 mile journey began on Long Island and will end in Buffalo, traveling through more than 50 New York State communities. On August 5, the caravan made a stop at the Grotto.
Rural & Migrant Ministry is leading the statewide Empathy Caravan to raise awareness and appreciation for immigrants by highlighting their positive impact on New York's economy. The caravan of empathy originated on the east end of Long Island on August 2 and will conclude at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Buffalo tomorrow. In between, they're holding vigils and uniting with New York communities across the state. The Laudato Si' Center for Integral Ecology invited the caravan to campus.
Nearly 40 Siena community members gathered in the Grotto to greet the caravan. Br. Jacek Orzechowski, O.F.M., associate director for the Laudato Si' Center, shared the words of Pope Francis who, in the encyclical Laudato Si', underscored the link between migration and the climate crisis and urged humanity to act to restore dignity to the excluded.
"As we welcomed the Empathy Caravan at the Grotto, Saints prayed for the more than 60,000 farmworkers in New York, many of who are immigrants who help put food on our tables," said Br. Jacek. "We grieved over the fact that immigrant farmworkers live in fear of being torn apart from their families and uprooted from their communities."
The caravan hopes to broadcast a message, to all corners of the state, that New York communities are stronger when all New Yorkers are being cherished.
