VANCOUVER—Thousands of migrants work as farmers or caregivers in B.C. to support their families in other countries.

“They are coming here out of a need, versus a want,” said Evelyn Vollet, director of the Service and Justice Office of the archdiocese.

Away from their families and struggling with language barriers, some find support and fellowship through the archdiocese’s migrant ministry.

Migrant workers

Miguel Merida, 28, cultivates peppers in a Ladner greenhouse. “I had this goal to come here to work and help my parents,” he said through a translator.

The eldest of eight children, Merida left Guatemala to work in B.C. in November 2008 to support his family and pay for his youngest brother to go to school. “I am very grateful because I am close to achieving that.”

Unable to speak English, Merida and 150 farm workers find support at Sacred Heart Parish, where a Spanish Mass and a free meal are offered once a month. They can also join a weekly Spanish rosary group or a bilingual charismatic prayer group.

Four other parishes also serve farm workers through monthly Masses and various events: Precious Blood, St. Joseph’s in Langley, St. Ann’s, and St. Luke’s Parishes. With Sacred Heart, they reach 500 Spanish-speaking labourers.

“We’ve coordinated so that every weekend there’s Mass in Spanish at one place in the valley,” explained Father Richard Zanotti, CS, the coordinator of Hispanic ministry, which includes outreach to farm workers and new immigrants.

He is also the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, which hosted a large Christmas bash for 150 farm workers Dec. 20. They received hot meals, gifts, and clothing.

Latino immigrants

Fluent in Spanish, Father Zanotti oversees outreach initiatives to Latino immigrants; his parish has been the hub for this for 12 years.

“They come on visas or they come without visas, but they are not in the temporary foreign worker program,” he clarified. Our Lady of Sorrows has Mass in Spanish weekly; he guessed 400 immigrants and their children attend.

Other parishes, including Our Lady of Good Counsel and St. Clare of Assisi, have Spanish Masses, catechism classes, and prayer groups at parishioners’s homes.

Temporary workers

In Canada, temporary foreign workers are divided into “high-skilled” and “low-skilled” categories. Specialists, scientists, or managers who come to the country to fill certain roles are deemed high-skilled; those who work as caregivers or nannies to support families abroad are considered low-skilled.

The archdiocese reaches out to the second group, many of whom are from the Philippines. Like farm workers, they crave community and are equally concerned about wages and working conditions. Outreach to them is also parish-based.

“We are heavily relying on groups like Couples for Christ, Bukas-Loob Sa Diyos, and El Shaddai, as well as the groups that are already ministering to them,” Vollet said.

Her office began supporting temporary foreign workers two years ago. The growing program trains volunteers, connects immigrants to agencies that help with employment law and immigration, and coordinates a Way of the Cross during Lent.

St. Mary’s in Vancouver, St. Joseph’s in Squamish, All Saints, and St. Matthew’s Parishes also strive to make local workers feel welcome.

“Meeting immediate needs was the priority of the ministry when it started” in 2011, said Lenn Castro of St. Mary’s Migrant Ministry. “Some of them are: finding shelter for workers who have been fired, mistreated, or are looking for new employers; and giving emotional support to those going through many difficulties.”

The group also hosts lunches and sponsors workshops on immigration law, employment standards, and resume writing.

“We have recently attended two funerals, and it is humbling to be with these people,” Castro added. “I am so honoured to be part of this ministry as we continue to develop friendships with some of them.”

More information is available at www.rcav.org/migrant-ministry.