By Rani Punnasseril
Vailankanni, Nov 19, 2025: The recent national jubilee of migrants drew delegates from 14 ecclesiastical regions of India.
The November 6-8 program that addressed the theme “Migrants: Pilgrims of Hope in the Heart of Mary,” was organized by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India in collaboration with Caritas India and the Scalabrini International Migration Network.
Jesuit Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, opened the program with a call to cultivate a “culture of integration” within the Church and society.
“In a world marked by diversity, integration is a concrete expression of the Church’s catholicity, its universality, which must be embraced and expressed in every age,” the 79-year-old Czech-born Canadian Catholic prelate to the gathering at the Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Vailankanni, a coastal town of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu,
The cardinal stressed that the presence of people from different cultures “offers local Churches an opportunity for growth and enrichment, becoming ever more catholic, ever more all-embracing.”
In his keynote address on “The Legacy of Pope Francis on Migration and the Future of Pastoral Care,” the cardinal highlighted the Church’s mission to accompany, protect, promote, and integrate migrants and displaced persons.
The three-day program offered parallel sessions in English and Hindi on a range of themes including: organizing pastoral care at the community level, climate-induced migration and responses, basic health care and mental health for migrants, testimonies of migrant workers, diocesan experience-sharing, cultural evenings, and spiritual exercises.
Bishop Sagayaraj Thamburaj of Thanjavur, who welcomed the gathering, described Vailankanni as a sanctuary where countless migrants seek the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Good Health. He assured the participants that Vailankanni “will continue to take care of every pilgrim who comes seeking solace and healing.”
Father Jaison Vadassery, executive secretary of the CCBI Commission for Migrants, said the key purpose of the jubilee was to strengthen the connection between origin and destination dioceses, fostering collaboration in migrant pastoral care. “The five-year-old migrants commission hopes to grow stronger and more capable of assisting all migrants and internally displaced people across the country,” the priest added.
The commission’s regional secretaries, who were present, reaffirmed their commitment to shared mission.
The participants pointed out that the jubilee blended spirituality and reflection. The program helped them combine spiritual pilgrimage with learning and fellowship.
After the sessions, groups of migrants were seen in the shrine, fulfilling their vows.
Jeevan Ekka from the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, currently working in Delhi, said that the program helped fulfil his long-cherished dream. “Had it not been for this jubilee, I would never have seen this holy place. The peace I felt here is greater than what I feel even in my own village.”
Augustine Pausuandal Buansingh, a Burmese Catholic refugee from Delhi, expressed similar joy. He had come to Vailankanni with his community.
Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur, chairman of the commission, said the commission “holds every migrant close to its heart and remains committed to walking with them in their joys, struggles, and hopes.”