The diversity of ethnic dress was one of the most beautiful details at a Mass for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees in Surrey.

Though the universal church marks the 105th World Day for Migrants and Refugees Sept. 29, the Archdiocese of Vancouver celebrated with Mass and a reception at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church Sept. 15.

Pope Francis chose the theme “It is not just about migrants,” to point out “our blind-spots and make sure that no one remains excluded from society.”

Archbishop J. Michael Miller echoed the sentiment in his homily, reminding the congregation that many Catholics in the pews are “from migrant or refugee families, whether of several generations or just recently arrived.”

The church in Vancouver is “primarily a Church of migrants or immigrants and refugees, a fact that we should never forget,” he said.

The theme resonated with Laura Barrera, who moved to Canada from Mexico in 2012 with her husband and two daughters. While the first month as a migrant was difficult, it was the people her family encountered who made a difference. She said community was integral to their transition into their life in Canada. 

“We met a lot of nice people who helped us,” she told The B.C. Catholic. “There were a lot of challenges and it was a journey just to move here, but thank God we were all together … as a family I think we survived because we were together. God was really, really always with us.”

There are many communities of religious and lay faithful in the Lower Mainland who help families like the Barreras get settled into their new life in Canada. The Scalabrinian priests, for example, work specifically with migrants.

Father Rosemond Sylvestre, the assistant pastor of St. Ann’s Parish in Abbotsford, is a Scalabrinian and a migrant himself. He left his home country of Haiti in 2006, studying and living in Brazil and Italy before coming to Canada.

Archbishop Miller greets faithful of various backgrounds after Mass.

The experience of migration is a concept Father Sylvestre is particularly well-versed in given his own personal experience and education: he holds a specialization in pastoral theology of human mobility from the Scalabrini International Migration Institute, attached to the Urbaniana Pontifical University in Rome.

As a priest in the Lower Mainland, Father Sylvestre said he learns a lot from this “Church of migrants.”

“In my time here, I didn’t just learn English,” said the Haitian-born priest. “I also learned about the different cultures, traditions, and groups here in Canada.”

As part of his ministry here, Father Sylvestre serves migrant workers, many of whom work for farms in the Fraser Valley. These interactions are insightful for him: “I spent a lot of time visiting them, praying with them, and teaching Discovery [faith study] with them. The biggest thing that I learned from them was the humility that they showed. They help me to grow, too.”

The exchange of knowledge and culture is part and parcel of the message from Pope Francis that this day is not just about migrants, but about all of us. 

“As a community, we need to celebrate them, welcome them, protect them, integrate them, [and] promote them. When we celebrate with the Church, this shows that … it’s about all of us,” Father Sylvestre said.

“This is something that we need to continue because it provides an opportunity for us to come together.”

A dancer performs during the reception at Our Lady of Good Counsel Sept. 15.
Polish women in traditional clothing.