The Liaison Bishop for Migrants and Refugees Office of the South African Catholic Bishop Conference (SACBC), has called on the people of God to follow in the footsteps of the Patron Saint of Migrants Giovanni Battista Scalabrini in welcoming, integrating, protecting, and promoting people on the move.

In a message shared with the SACBC communications office, Bishop Joseph Mary Kizito said, “Saint Giovanni Battista Scalabrini is a great model for us to pray to, because he experienced what we are going through as the church with the migrants and refugees in South Africa.”

“He defended their (migrants) human rights. That’s why today we are so grateful that we have a patron saint for migrants who can intercede for us… an advocate for the poor,” said Bishop Kizito.

In his message for the first celebration of the solemnity of St Giovanni Baptist Scalabrini on Thursday, June 01, Bishop Kizito called on the people of God “to walk in the footsteps of Saint Scalabrini, and to call for an end to xenophobia.”

During a follow-up cross-boarders workshop held in Aliwal Diocese, Bishop Kizito highlighted the plight of undocumented children. Although the Diocese has assisted hundreds of undocumented children in the past, Bishop Kizito said the Diocese is still faced with “many stateless children.”

“We have made a lot of progress on these issues of undocumented children, but we are facing new challenges, especially with undocumented matric students, it’s becoming difficult. A lot of them have not been given a document to enable them to write the matric exams. So, this is the challenge we are facing,” said Bishop Kizito.

During the May 23 workshop a delegation from the Lesotho Catholic Bishops’ Conference Justice and Peace Commission together with officials from the home affairs department from South Africa and Lesotho met with the Basotho migrant community of Aliwal Diocese.

According to Bishop Kizito over 500 Basotho nationals attended the workshop for migrants, refugees, and stateless people. “We wanted to look at the people from Lesotho knowing that Lesotho is our neighbour. We wanted to highlight the unification of families, the children who have no birth certificates, who cannot go to school,” he added.

At the end of the workshop the delegations form the South African and Lesotho department of  home affairs will work towards assisting undocumented Basotho nationals residing in South Africa to regularize their stay.

“There are already talks and there’s a review of the binational agreement where they will try to facilitate movement of Basotho who work in South Africa. Those who attend school in South Africa and those who travel daily to South Africa,” he explained.

In the June 01 message, the SACBC Liaison Bishop for migrants and refugees’ office encouraged all to be devout like St Scalabrini. To pray, and to show solidarity with the poor.”

“Saint Giovanni Scalabrini had a great vision for a better world, he wanted to see the world as a global village where people belong,” he added.