SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico — Hundreds of people gathered at the base of Mount Cristo Rey to join a prayer pilgrimage up the sacred mountain that has been thrust into the national border security conversation.
Bishop Peter Baldacchino of the Diocese of Las Cruces led the pilgrims up the dusty, hot and windy trail up the mountain on Sunday, June 28. At the top of the mountain, he called on the Catholic faithful to unity and to “welcome without fear” and for religious liberty.
“On Mount Cristo Rey, we came as a people from neighboring states and countries; but as we climbed up, we became family and we have now together placed ourselves at the feet of Christ the King,” Baldacchino said in the homily he presented at the top of the mountain. “Today’s Mass is a prayer made visible: that the Church will be one, and that civil leaders will defend religious liberty so that the Gospel can be lived and worship can be freely offered.”
The hundreds of pilgrims from across the Borderland and the Southwest responded to the Roman Catholic Dioceses of El Paso and Las Cruces’ call for the pilgrimage up the mountain in prayer for the leaders of the country. Pilgrims of all ages sang songs and prayed in both English and Spanish as they made the winding ascent to the 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ, whose outstretched arms overlook the U.S. border with Mexico.
Baldacchino reiterated that the pilgrimage was not political. But it comes at a time when the eyes of the nation are on the sacred mountain, as the Trump administration looks to expropriate a 1.3-mile stretch of the border to construct a border wall, drawing many to join the pilgrimage.
“We just feel what they’re doing is wrong,” Maria Navarro, a 58-year-old who has lived in the Borderland for decades, said as she started the hike up. “So we want to make sure that we support our community.”
Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso and Dylan Corbett, the director of Hope Border Institute and a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, both attended the procession.
Since 1939, hikers, bikers and Catholic pilgrims have made the ascent up the mountain — a sacred site to the faithful on both sides of the border. The mountain is especially sacred on Good Friday each year, drawing thousands from both sides of the border to celebrate Easter.
The president has wanted to extend the border wall at the base of Mount Cristo Rey since 2017. The strip of land is one of the last regions in the El Paso area where there is no high fencing, but it has become a popular migrant smuggling route.
The Trump administration is looking to extend the border wall to block off this route. Officials have said that they would use eminent domain to strip the land from the Catholic church to build the wall.
The Diocese of Las Cruces has sued to stop the expropriation of the land. But these plans to build the wall has contributed to worries among parishioners that the symbol of unity could become a symbol of division.
“This is part of the diocese, this should have nothing to do with the border,” Leodoro Martinez, a 62-year-old who joined from Albuquerque, New Mexico, said. “This is a free expression of religion. We are all equal before the eyes of God. It is a symbol for all who believe in Jesus Christ.”
Catholic Church calls on the Trump administration to treat migrants humanely
The Catholic Church has regularly criticized the immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Over 100 Catholic bishops, nuns and priests joined a procession from Nogales, Arizona, to the sister city of the same name in the Mexican state of Sonora on Friday, June 27. The procession called on the Trump administration to treat migrants with respect and dignity.
“We want to be well together,” Bishop James Misko from the Diocese of Tucson said during his sermon, according to Reuters. “This is what the Church is all about.”
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Prayer for ‘religious liberty’: Catholics unify on Mount Cristo Rey
Reporting by Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
