From ‘invisible to clandestine’

Migrant chapel remain faithful despite protests

By Elisabeth Román

It only a took a few minutes to set up the altar, place a large wooden cross behind it, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the right hand side, and arrange the rustic wooden benches underneath a large tent. Volunteers from the local parish and migrant workers gather every week in a secluded parking lot in the canyons of San Diego, California to celebrate the liturgy. Their location for the past year has remained a secret with visitors only allowed after attaining permission from parish volunteers.

It wasn’t always this way. Every Sunday for over 20 years, the migrants had gathered as a loving family, under the watchful eyes of the Blessed Mother, in an outdoor chapel located deep in the woods. Extremely poor by any standards, they work in agriculture or construction, as landscapers, in restaurants and hotels; they live in the canyons in shacks without running water, electricity, sanitation or other facilities on the outskirts of wealthy San Diego. Although they contribute to the local economy with their hard work, sweat and tears, the mostly undocumented laborers have become the focus of controversy, hatred, discrimination, and violence to the extent that their chapel draws protesters from surrounding communities, from the San Diego Minutemen, a talk show host and others, who continually clash with the small congregation.

The original chapel was vandalized, the landowner where it was located was sued, and ultimately the small structure was demolished forcing the more than 100 workers and the parish volunteers who provide them with food, English classes, and the liturgy, to find a new site. Now they are forced to meet clandestinely in a nation where religious freedom is at the heart of our constitution. “The chapel has been moved several times because of protesters. Now it is in a secluded and gated location where parish volunteers screen all those who come to Mass,” says award winning filmmaker John Carlos Frey, who has directed and produced several films and documentaries on the plight of migrants and undocumented workers.

In his 31 minute documentary film, The Invisible Chapel, Frey captures the story of faith and perseverance pitted against fear and the heated immigration debate. Frey first learned of the migrant chapel from a short story published in a website that has since been taken down. A native of San Diego, he had no idea the outdoor chapel existed and now visits often to lend his help and support.

During the outbreaks of fires in California many migrants were burned out of their shacks, denied services, accused of looting, and even blamed for the onset of fires although it was later reported they had nothing to do with it. “The fires did not affect the chapel directly, but four migrants were found burned to death and several were burned out of their shacks. When a group of migrants went to an evacuation center, a woman called the border patrol because, as she told the media, they looked suspicious and had a feeling they were undocumented. They were denied assistance and deported. In a nearby area, while the fires were raging around them, laborers in a tomato farm were not allowed to leave despite orders to evacuate the area.”

Frey says what is missing from the nation’s immigration debate is a faith-based perspective and compassion. “As Catholics, we must see everyone with the eyes of Christ. This is our faith. These are good people, who come to escape desperate circumstances that we as Americans cannot conceive nor understand. The message I try to portray with my work is one of understanding Christ through the plight of migrants.”  It is also the message behind Frey’s latest film, One Border and One Body released this year.

Your turn
Have you ever met with prejudice and discrimination? What should be the right Christian attitude?