BANGALORE (LiCAS News): The Archdiocese of Bangalore, India, opened a new migrant support centre near Yeshwanthpur Railway Station on December 3, calling it a concrete expression of the Church’s mission to accompany people on the move.
The Pope Francis Migrant’s Centre and Short Stay Home, launched with the Scalabrinian Missionaries, will provide temporary shelter, counselling, legal assistance, skills training, and emergency support for migrant families arriving in the city.
The centre was inaugurated by Silvano Cardinal Tomasi, retired Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, Auxiliary Bishop Arokiaraj Sasi Kumar, and Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Susainathan.
Cardinal Tomasi said the Church remains alive when it responds to people in need. “The Church is alive here and now whenever she bends down to care for migrants. Every act of welcome is a living gospel,” he said.
He called the centre a refuge, a bridge, and “a source of hope for all who walk through its doors.”
Energy minister, K. J. George, spoke of his own family’s long migration history from Syria to Kerala nearly 1,600 years ago and later to Bangalore.
“Migration is part of my family’s story,” he said. “I know what it means to start again. That is why I feel such closeness to every migrant seeking hope.”
He added that the government “will always stand by the Catholic Church in its efforts to uplift and build a society where everyone, migrant or local, can live with dignity and confidence.”
Leaders involved in migrant ministry stressed the pastoral responsibility of the Church. Bishop Victor Henry Thakur, chair of the CCBI Migrants Commission, said “a migrant should never feel alone. The Church must be a home that listens, protects, and walks with them.”
Scalabrinian superior general, Father. Leonir Chiarello, said the congregation’s work with migrants continues through this new facility.
