U.S. bishops unveil prayer service for America’s 250th anniversary centered on migrants

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has released a national prayer service for the country’s upcoming 250th anniversary that places immigration, justice, and the dignity of migrants at the center of America’s semiquincentennial observance.

Titled “A National Prayer Service Honoring the Many Journeys that Shaped America,” the resource was developed by the Committee on Migration and the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation.

Designed as a template for dioceses and parishes across the country, the prayer service invites Catholics to reflect on the nation’s history through the lens of migration, displacement, slavery, and faith while encouraging advocacy for vulnerable migrant populations.

“In observance of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026, and rooted in the Church’s pastoral mission of welcome, accompaniment, and solidarity,” the instructions state, the service seeks “to acknowledge and honor the many diverse communities that have journeyed to the United States in search of hope, safety, and opportunity.”

The document also highlights “the voices, sufferings, and enduring contributions of those who were forcibly brought to this land.”

A prayer service rooted in hospitality

The proposed service combines hymns, Scripture readings, intercessory prayers, testimonies, and guided reflections focused heavily on migrants, refugees, victims of trafficking, and immigrant communities.

Organizers are encouraged to adapt the service to local needs and cultures by incorporating music and devotional practices that reflect “the lived experiences of migration, displacement, resilience, and faith.”

The service opens with the hymn “All Are Welcome” by Marty Haugen and includes prayers asking Catholics to “walk in deeper solidarity with immigrant communities” and to advocate for “greater protection, justice, and accompaniment for vulnerable and at-risk migrant populations.”

A prayer to St. Frances Xavier Cabrini — patroness of immigrants and herself an immigrant to the United States — asks for protection for migrant families separated from one another and for the grace to “welcome every stranger as Christ in our midst.”

The document also includes a “call to action” encouraging Catholics to reflect on “concrete and compassionate ways to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrants, immigrants, and refugees” while advocating for “just and humane immigration reform that upholds the dignity of every human person created in the image of God.”

The service concludes with a “Prayer for Migrants” asking God to help the Church “welcome, protect, promote, and integrate those who knock at our doors.”

Scripture and civil rights themes woven throughout

The Scripture passages selected for the service strongly emphasize hospitality toward foreigners and care for society’s most vulnerable.

A reading from Deuteronomy 10:12-22 exhorts believers: “So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”  The Gospel reading from Matthew 25:31-46 centers on Christ’s words, “I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me.”

The template also incorporates themes of racial justice and historical memory. Intercessions address slavery and modern human trafficking, praying both for victims of exploitation and for “perpetrators of slavery” to repent.

The service further recommends “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black national anthem and rooted in Black church worship and civic life in the U.S., as an intermediate hymn.

It also includes optional excerpts from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for use in a homily or guided reflection, alongside passages from the bishops’ 2025 special pastoral message on immigration.

Dignity of migrants

In recent years, U.S. bishops have consistently advocated for immigration reform while emphasizing the dignity of migrants, opposition to family separation, and support for refugees and trafficking victims.

The prayer service places those concerns within the broader context of the nation’s identity ahead of America’s 250th anniversary observances.

“This prayer service seeks to provide a sacred space for reflection, remembrance, lament, and hope,” the document states, inviting participants to encounter one another “as members of the one human family and the one body of Christ.”

EWTN News reached out to the USCCB for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/u-s-bishops-unveil-prayer-service-for-america-s-250th-anniversary-centered-on-migrants