06/20/2026
Today is World Refugee Day, an opportunity to recognize the God-given dignity, courage, and resilience of refugees and to renew our commitment to walk with them in hope. As Pope Leo XIV reminds us in Magnifica Humanitas, "A litmus test for social justice today is the treatment of migrants, refugees and those forced to move due to poverty, violence, climate change and environmental disasters. The way a society treats them reveals whether its sense of justice is driven by fear or by the spirit of fraternity.”
Under U.S. and international law, a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, or a well-founded fear of persecution, based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
The Catholic community in the United States has long served refugees and advocated on their behalf as a way of living out Christ’s call to welcome the stranger and affirming the sanctity of every human life. With global displacement higher today than any other time in recorded history, including through a steady rise in religious persecution, this commitment remains more important than ever before.
