Among the teens praying fervently at Fort Bliss during last year's unprecedented arrivals of unaccompanied children was Elena, then 15. Elena told The AP that for weeks she asked God to let her out of the shelter as soon as possible. “When he arrived, you could feel like a peace, something that comforts you, something that you need,” Elena recalled during this Holy Week, which she’s observing with relatives far from El Paso. Rafael García, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish located four blocks from the border in downtown El Paso, celebrates Mass there, as he has at different shelters for five years. Jose de la Cruz Longoria, pastor at five Catholic parishes around Pecos, Texas, who ministers to teens at the shelter there.

Source: The Nation April 17, 2022 01:46 UTC