17/12/2025
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𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬’ 𝐃𝐚𝐲! On the occasion of International Migrants Day, observed every December 18, we, through the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CBCP–ECMI), stand in solidarity with migrants and their families across the world, especially our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), refugees, seafarers, and displaced persons.
This day commemorates the 1990 United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, reminding the global community that migrants are persons with dignity, rights, and hopes, not merely sources of labor or economic gain.
In the Philippine context, this observance is firmly rooted in Proclamation No. 276 (1988), which declared December as the Month of Overseas Filipinos, and was further institutionalized through Administrative Order No. 202 (2007), creating an inter-agency committee to oversee the celebration of both the Month of Overseas Filipinos and International Migrants Day, and to promote the welfare and protection of Filipino migrants.
As Church, we acknowledge with deep gratitude the sacrifices, courage, and resilience of Filipino migrants, whose labor sustains families, communities, and the nation. Yet, we also recognize the painful realities they face—family separation, abuse, exploitation, discrimination, and vulnerability—which call for our urgent pastoral response and collective action.
Guided by the Gospel and Catholic Social Teaching, CBCP–ECMI renews its commitment to the fourfold pastoral action of welcome, protection, promotion, and integration. We call on government institutions, employers, communities, and faith-based organizations to faithfully implement existing laws and policies, and to work together in ensuring safe, orderly, and humane migration, just working conditions, and accessible pastoral, legal, and social support for migrants and their families.
We enjoin our parishes, dioceses, and lay organizations to become true communities of care and accompaniment, where migrants are welcomed, heard, and supported, and where families left behind are not forgotten. May our churches truly become homes away from home, offering hope, healing, and compassion.
As we observe International Migrants Day, may we be moved to transform our gratitude into concrete solidarity, our prayers into pastoral action, and our faith into a shared responsibility for the protection of every migrant’s dignity and life.
Entrusting all migrants and their families to the loving care of the Holy Family of Nazareth, we continue to journey together in hope, faith, and love.
