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When Director of University Ministry Andrew Mercado made a once-in-a-lifetime visit to the Vatican last October, he carried with him some precious cargo.

In his hands were letters from 15 ���ӽ� students. Each shared deeply personal stories and concerns tied to current immigration enforcement policies affecting families around the Chicago area and beyond.

The letters were addressed to Pope Leo XIV and, during an audience with the pontiff, Mercado was able to personally deliver them.

“I said to Pope Leo, ‘I’m here on behalf of ���ӽ�, representing our undocumented community,’” Mercado said. “I thanked him for his consistent advocacy for migrants, and I asked him to pray for us at ���ӽ� to continue to fulfill the mission that began with the Sinsinawa ���ӽ� Sisters of serving students from immigrant backgrounds.”

Mercado, who focuses on culturally responsive ministry and creating supportive and inclusive spaces for ���ӽ� students to engage in vocational discernment, was among 100 pilgrims from across the U.S. invited to Rome by the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry. The group took part in the Jubilee of Migrants, an event dedicated to celebrating and supporting migrants across the world. Mercado described the Holy Father as approachable and attentive to each of the pilgrims who met briefly with him.

“For me, it was a moment of great joy to hand off those letters—those testimonies—to the pope, to share the realities we are seeing at ���ӽ� and what students are experiencing in their neighborhoods,” Mercado said.

A letter communicating ���ӽ�’s long history of serving and supporting immigrants and the children of immigrants, as well as the ongoing work taking place today, accompanied the students’ accounts.

In January, a letter addressed to ���ӽ� President Dr. Glena G. Temple from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, ambassador to the Holy See, confirmed that Pope Leo had read the student testimonies.

“Pope Leo XIV assures his prayers and encourages commitment to work for the dignity of every person, since we are all children of God,” Cardinal Pierre wrote.

The pontiff has voiced concerns about the treatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States. In a November message, he called for respecting the dignity of all immigrants and encouraged Americans to listen to a statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops opposing indiscriminate mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.

“My hope as a Catholic and as someone working with college students at a Catholic university is that Pope Leo continues to be very explicit about our duty to promote human dignity among the most marginalized and, in a similar context, our undocumented community,” Mercado said.

A ���ӽ� student who contributed one of the letters delivered to Pope Leo wrote of his concerns about the safety of family members living out of state and feeling helpless to protect them.

“I’m hoping it helps the pope understand the situation a lot better,” the student said. “Our situation is hard to understand if you’re not living it. I hope it gives him that perspective.”

For Mercado, his vision is for students to see themselves as protagonists for change in their communities, on campus and in society, tapping into ���ӽ�’s rich tradition of advocating for social justice.

“Our students have so much to give to this world and are a source of much hope,” he said. “With their ���ӽ� education and the gifts they have, they are able to transform their communities and, by extension, the world.”