“Welcoming migrants is about justice, not generosity”.

In Malaga, we currently work in the parish of San Antonio de Padua in the neighborhood of Portada Alta. Reading last Christmas the passage of the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt, we began to think about what we could do as a community for the problem of migration.

We got in touch with the “Casa Betania” of the Fundación la Merced Migraciones.

And little by little we began to give shape to the idea of dedicating the house where the SCJ community had previously lived to welcoming migrants in contact with Casa Betania.

The community thought it was a good way to celebrate 50 years of presence in Malaga and to continue working for a Church without frontiers, mother of all.

We were also moved by the memory of our Founder, Fr. Dehon, who always had a strong social imprint, especially with the most disadvantaged.

St. John’s House will always be in contact with Casa Betania. A house of first welcome.

In St. John’s House we will take in boys who have to leave the Betania House and suddenly find themselves on the street, or boys who are totally destitute.

At Casa San Juan they will spend the necessary time until they find a job and can afford a room to live in.

During this time we try to give them the warmth of a family and to be close to them so that they do not feel abandoned.

There are also volunteers who help them to learn the language, to get to know the customs and other things.

The name of St. John’s House refers to the first social work that our Founder Fr. Dehon did, which was the St. John’s College in Saint Quentin (France) dedicated to promote the children of the poorest workers and to give them a good education not only intellectually but also to educate them in the values of the Gospel in the face of the industrial revolution that was taking place.

For the Casa San Juan community it is a great challenge, it makes us leave our situation of comfort and a life already built and get involved strongly with those who today are living not only the drama of leaving their country but also the personal drama of a broken life and an uncertain future.

We want to contribute as a grain of sand on the beach to be builders of a new “civilisation of love” as our founder insistently told us Dehonians.

For our parish, I believe that it can be like a small earthquake that shakes consciences when we realize that there are others who are having a much worse time.

Welcome and help would be the two words that we would like to put in motion.

An invitation to other communities

A phrase I read today I think sums it up and is perfect to make an appeal.

“Welcoming the migrant is about justice, not generosity.”