Bishop of Providence Leads Public Rosary for Migrants at Wyatt Detention Center

Bishop of Providence Leads Public Rosary for Migrants at Wyatt Detention Center

“Remember, this is a prayerful gathering, not a political one.  We won’t be shouting, interfering, or interrupting in any way.  If law enforcement officers speak to us, we’ll thank them for being present and immediately follow any instructions they may give us.”

 

It is unusual for a rosary to begin with such a note, but these are unusual times - as Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., explained to the roughly 40 people gathered at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls on the afternoon of Monday, Dec 22.  

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

 

“This will be a difficult Christmas for many members of our diocese,” the prelate explained.  “It is a time for being together, but many are being kept from their families and will spend the holiday alone.  So we’ve gathered as a faith community to do what faith communities do best: pray peacefully and intercede to Our Lord on behalf of our brothers and sisters.”

 

The public rosary was organized by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence as a sign of spiritual solidarity with migrants detained in the federal government’s ongoing campaign of mass deportations.  It was attended by priests and Catholic lay people from parishes throughout the state, including St Mary’s in Warren and Holy Trinity in Woonsocket, from schools like Salve Regina University and the Prout School, and from religious orders such as the Dominican Friars, the Felician Sisters, and the Columban Fathers.  

 

In addition to the Catholic presence, representatives from the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, United Methodists in Action, and the RI State Council of Churches attended, as did members of the state’s Unitarian Universalist and Muslim communities.

 

“We started laying out plans for this about two weeks ago,” said Jim Jahnz, the Secretary for Catholic Charities and Social Ministry for the diocese.  “We had a preliminary conference with one hundred attendees from throughout the northeast to discuss responses to mass deportation and its effect on our communities, and the consensus settled on public prayer as a way of sharing our faith and expressing unity.”  

 

“The bishop was instrumental in putting this together: he is very much a bishop of action who believes in emphasizing the Catholic call to be a friend to the stranger.”

 

Bishop Lewandowski is a fairly new leader for the diocese, having been appointed to the position by Pope Francis on April 8, 2025, in one of the late pontiff’s final appointments before his death on April 21.  He is a member of the Redemptorist Order, a religious congregation known for their work on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised, and he previously celebrated Mass at the Wyatt Center in August.

 

The bishop alternated with other attendees in leading the gathering through a bilingual rosary, with reflections focusing on the “migrations of Our Lord,” beginning on a seasonally appropriate note with the journey of the Holy Family to Bethlehem.

 

Fr Bob Moser, who composed several unique prayers for the event, also credited the bishop with making the rosary a reality - perhaps with a bit of aid from a Higher Authority.  “I had written rosary reflections on the travels and migrations of Christ several months ago,” he explained.  “At the time I didn’t know what I would do with them, but then the Bishop mentioned this out of the blue and it was a perfect fit.”

 

“One of the beautiful things about the Catholic faith is the way our most ancient traditions and prayers continue to provide us with ways to engage with new, modern issues which confront us.”

 

The public rosary was the first event of its kind organized by the Diocese of Providence, although similar demonstrations have been organized by Catholic communities in Chicago, Miami, and other epicenters of the Trump Administration’s controversial approach to immigration and customs enforcement.

 

This comes in the wake of a recent pastoral message by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops expressing concerns about the current immigration policies, the first pastoral message the ecclesiastical body has issued since 2013.  Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, had requested his countrymen to speak out on the issue.

 

The motion passed by an overwhelming margin, with 216 bishops voting in favor and 5 voting against.  Although the identity of the dissenting bishops has not been published, it is worth noting that 5 is also the number of Catholic bishops that President Trump has assigned to his Presidential Religious Liberty Commission.

 

The pastoral message sparked outrage from conservative political organizations like CatholicVote, which (despite its title) has no formal connection with the Catholic Church and often advocates positions at odds with Catholic leadership.

 

“I heard about today’s rosary through my community and immediately felt called to attend,” said Sr Perpetua Lester, RSM.  The Sister of Mercy said that public prayer offers an opportunity for Catholics to “be witnesses of hope for those in prison.”

 

Their presence appeared to have been well-received by the individuals detained at the Wyatt Center: about halfway through the rosary, a sound of knocking could be heard upon the opaque window panes of the facility, accompanied by blurry figures waving down to the gathering on the sidewalk below.  Bishop Lewandowski, clearly affected by the display, asked the congregation to join him in raising a hand as an expression of solidarity with those on the other side of the barbed wire and thick concrete walls.

“I’m so glad they could see us,” the bishop said after the conclusion of the rosary.  “I’m glad they knew that they aren’t alone at this time of year.”

 

The group will reconvene each Monday shortly after noon to pray the rosary outside of Wyatt Center, with participants meeting in the parking lot of Fuerza Laboral at 12:15 before walking together to the facility.  Organizers encouraged any Rhode Islanders who might be interested to attend, regardless of their religious affiliation.

 

Jeanelle Wheeler, a member of the Catholic peace advocacy group Pax Christi USA, expressed her hope that the turnout would continue to grow.  Wheeler was one of ten young adults who attended a Pax Christi mission trip to El Paso, Texas, in order to learn about the immigration crisis firsthand.  “I’m excited that local Church leadership is taking a clear stand on this issue,” she said.  “I’m ready to keep up the momentum and keep working for change.”