Pope Leo to meet Chicago Catholics fighting for immigrants
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Ash Wednesday procession. Photo: Courtesy of CSPL
Pope Leo will meet this month with a group of Chicago Catholics who have been fighting for immigrant rights.
Why it matters: The Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) has captured the pope's attention with its fight to provide spiritual and pastoral care to immigrants in Chicago.
Driving the news: A delegation of 25 Catholics will meet with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Oct. 28.
- Pope Leo's surgery to remove a lung nodule has not affected this month's meeting, a spokesperson tells Axios.
The latest: CSPL executive director Michael N. Okińczyc-Cruz delivered letters to the pope last month from immigrants being held at an ICE processing facility in Broadview.
- "Today they detained me, and I've been here for hours. I'm not afraid of what happens to me; I'm afraid of not being with my family. Please pray for them and for the families of all the other detainees. It saddens me that simply going out to work has brought me to this moment," one of the letters reads in Spanish.
Flashback: For nearly two decades, two members of the Sisters of Mercy, Sister JoAnn Persch and Sister Pat Murphy, regularly prayed with immigrants outside Broadview and in recent years provided ministry inside.
- That all stopped during Operation Midway Blitz, with immigration officials citing safety and security concerns.
Catch up quick: CSPL sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last November after DHS denied them access to Broadview.
- DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Axios at that time that clergy were not allowed because Broadview was not technically a detention facility, where the practice is allowed.
- Yes, but: The facility has acted as a de facto detention facility since the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz in September 2025.
Context: Pope Leo weighed in on the denied access last year, asking the authorities to allow Catholics to enter Broadview to serve the people.
- The pope has been vocal that Catholic doctrine dictates respect and care for immigrants, calling President Trump's policies "inhuman."
- In April, Trump responded to Pope Leo's remarks by calling the pope weak on crime and foreign policy before posting a picture of himself as Jesus on social media. The president later removed the image.
What they're saying: Deacon Maximino Montalvo visits Broadview twice a week and will join the delegation visiting the pope this month. "Every day, every person is a different story, but some are really, really devastated," Montalvo says about the immigrants he visits.
- "There was a man who spent almost 50 years in the United States. He had his own business here. His sons are citizens of the United States, and he was picked up while he was working. He couldn't believe it."
What's next: CSPL's lawsuit against the government continues, but in the meantime, members have access to Broadview under certain conditions.