It seems like no one goes anywhere these days without using GPS. How we navigate the world has changed significantly in recent decades, and our phones have become all but essential. But for those who are on the migrant journey, Google Maps has little to offer. If you search for directions from South America to the United States, “We could not calculate walking directions,” will be the response you get. Apple says “Walking directions not available.” And Mapquest (remember that one?) tells us “There is something tricky about this route.” We of course all know that millions have made this journey, though, and despite its danger and difficulty, Pope Francis reminds us that in every place and time, God walks with his people.

This past September, individuals and groups all over the world joined the Jesuit Migration Network of the United States and Canada to walk and pray together to celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Six audio prayers were recorded and produced, consisting of interviews with migrants from Turkey, Haiti, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala and Nicaragua. On morning walks, during evening commutes, in high school classrooms, and throughout personal prayers, these audio reflections were listened to over 4,600 times. Additionally, our website was visited thousands of times, from the US to the UK, from Mexico to Italy.

Walking from Venezuela to the United States is well over 3000 miles, and Google Maps won’t be of much help. As mapquest says, “there’s something tricky about this route.” But listeners from across the Jesuit network covered that distance and more, uniting in solidarity with our migrant sisters and brothers as they walk in search of a safe and healthy future for themselves and their families. 

If you haven’t joined us on this journey, it’s never too late. Walk one more mile, listen to one more story, do one more act of solidarity, because as Pope Francis says “every encounter along the way represents an opportunity to meet the Lord… because Jesus is present in the sister or brother in need.”