{"id":16183,"date":"2026-08-17T12:49:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T10:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/?p=16183"},"modified":"2026-09-02T13:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:12:54","slug":"migrants-missionaries-of-hope-in-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olcgs.org\/es\/migrants-missionaries-of-hope-in-costa-rica\/","title":{"rendered":"Migrants, Missionaries of Hope: Building Networks of Accompaniment in Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lya Mart\u00ednez Montero, Province Secretary, Puerto Rico (Province of Central America)<\/em><\/p>\n

El Human Mobility Secretariat<\/strong> del Costa Rican Episcopal Conference<\/a> convened a national gathering under the theme \u201cMigrants, Missionaries of Hope<\/em>.\u201d On June 22\u201323 and August 10\u201311, 2026, sisters and partner joined other pastoral workers in San Jos\u00e9 with the desire to join efforts, share experiences, and seek more humane, comprehensive, and effective responses alongside families on the move.<\/p>\n

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Nearly forty pastoral workers from dioceses across Costa Rica took part in a space for reflection and training aimed at strengthening the Catholic Church\u2019s response to the challenges of human mobility.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the Good Shepherd mission, this gathering was an opportunity to strengthen our work with migrant individuals and families. In Costa Rica, we accompany them through Hogar Misericordia <\/strong>in San Jos\u00e9 and our community of sisters in Paso Canoas<\/strong>, on the country\u2019s southern border. These places enable us to be close to migrants at different stages of their journey, offering welcome, a listening ear, guidance, and accompaniment.<\/p>\n

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Those in migration recieve support and accompaniement at Hogar Misericordia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a result of these gatherings, we welcome the creation of the National Commission for Human Mobility<\/strong>, on which our Sr. Gilma Mu\u00f1oz<\/strong> sits together with other religious and lay persons. This commission represents an important step toward strengthening coordination among those who accompany people on the move and toward seeking more coordinated responses to the challenges faced by migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking families.<\/p>\n

For our mission, this coordination opens new possibilities to join efforts and build partnerships with other institutions and organizations<\/strong>, so that we can accompany people on the move more safely and in a more coordinated way throughout their journey. We want to be present not only when they arrive in San Jos\u00e9 or Paso Canoas, but also to strengthen the links that make it possible to accompany them along their different routes\u2014both for those who continue north and for those who return south to their countries of origin.<\/p>\n

In this way, our Project with Migrant Families <\/strong>at Hogar Misericordia and our presence in Paso Canoas on the southern border can become increasingly integrated into a network of accompaniment that responds comprehensively to the needs of people and families on the move.<\/p>\n

In addition, as a result of a process of coordination and advocacy with a range of organizations and institutions, the agreement \u201cStrengthening the Integration of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Costa Rica<\/em>\u201d was signed on August 13. It sets out a legislative agenda around four priorities: effective integration, access to regularization, formal and decent work, and attention to intersectional vulnerabilities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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This agreement, and the process of coordination that made it possible, have special significance for our mission because they help create more favorable conditions for migrants and refugees to live with greater security, dignity, and opportunities for integration. At the same time, they remind us that accompaniment cannot be limited to responding to immediate needs; it also involves promoting rights, building partnerships, and advocating to transform the situations that make the journey of families on the move more vulnerable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"This experience in Costa Rica joins other Good Shepherd projects in Central America, such as the \u201cDe y con Jes\u00fas Migrante<\/em>\u201d mission in Honduras<\/strong>, which expresses our commitment to walk with migrants wherever they are. Across different contexts and places of presence, we seek to bring one shared mission to life: to be close to people on the move, welcome their stories, recognize their capacities, and accompany their journeys with hope<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These steps encourage us to continue building a pastoral ministry that welcomes, accompanies, protects, and promotes<\/strong>, recognizing in every migrant and refugee not only a story that needs to be heard and accompanied, but also a protagonist and missionary of hope<\/strong>, able to offer their gifts, experiences, and dreams toward building a more fraternal, just, and inclusive society.<\/p>\n

As sisters and partners-in-mission, we want to continue walking with migrants, strengthening networks, building bridges, and joining efforts so that no migration journey has to be made alone. In every encounter, partnership, and gesture of welcome, we renew our confidence that, even amid uncertainty, people on the move are also bearers and builders of hope<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Discover more about the Hogar Misericordia <\/strong>in the video below:<\/p>\n