The apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Cádiz and Ceuta in Spain, Bishop Ramón Valdivia, called for a vigil for peace, justice, and stability in Ceuta, the Spanish city located in northern Africa and the site of a recent immigration crisis.
In a letter addressed to the priests, religious, and faithful of Ceuta, where the recent arrival of thousands of illegal migrants led to an overwhelming breach of the city’s maritime border, Valdivia invited the faithful to pray on the eve of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, celebrated on Aug. 15, following a suggestion made by Pope Leo XIV.
“As a proposal for ecclesial action in response to this humanitarian and confidence crisis, I believe it is necessary to turn our gaze toward God,” Valdivia wrote, expressing his desire that this prayer take place “with the intention not only of seeking protection for the city of Ceuta but also so that we may become aware of the importance of maturing in the faith we have received and ask for the necessary light so that, united, we may experience these moments as a new cultural beginning and not simply as a crisis, which one hopes will prove temporary.”
“These events seem to me to reveal the depth of the cultural change that is taking place. For this reason, now more than ever, we need to lift our eyes and pray together the Our Father, saying: ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!’” he insisted.
In the letter, Valdivia, who is also the auxiliary bishop of Seville, acknowledged that he needed time “to reflect on and understand the scope of what we have suffered and, at the same time, to try to understand, with the light available to me, the repercussions that go beyond what the media have been showing.”
The bishop pointed to “the humanitarian disaster generated by ambition and corruption” in which “young people without a future threw themselves into the unknown, driven only by political slogans or ill-intentioned promises” while adults “took advantage of the lack of government control to flee the criminal responsibilities of their own country, perhaps aided by a premeditated pardon arranged for this occasion.”
He also wrote of minors who, “abandoned by their families, become easy prey for predators” and, referring to the residents of Ceuta, “people who have felt their own space violated.”
‘Our Lady of Africa has been our stronghold’
In his reflection, Valdivia shared that what arose in his heart was “gratitude born of faith,” emphasizing that “from the very first moment, Our Lady of Africa has been the stronghold in which we can find refuge.”
“I have been able to perceive how the mother and patroness of Ceuta has once again, throughout history, become the lighthouse guiding us as we navigate stormy seas,” he added.
The auxiliary bishop of Seville also highlighted the way Catholics have faced the challenge of the arrival of a group nearly as large as Ceuta’s own population: “It is only right that we all send a message of gratitude to this small Christian community, so that they may receive strong encouragement from the rest of the diocese and continue to keep alive the witness of faith.”
“I want to believe that both the floral offering and the celebration and procession with the image of Our Lady of Africa were not merely a passing sigh but rather a catalyst for breaking the inertia generated by fear, the spark that awakens awareness of what faith contributes to the rebuilding of the city, the greatest challenge facing society and the Church in this time that the Lord has given us,” Valdivia said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
