When Father Mario Torres was asked if his parish could host a Dec. 28 reunion for immigrant families who hadn’t seen one another in decades, his answer was an easy yes.
Torres is pastor at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, west of downtown Los Angeles in a neighborhood dominated by recently arrived immigrants from Central America.
“Most of our families are immigrants, and most of them are not able to see their families,” said Torres. “It’s a blessing to reunite with some of their loved ones.”
A few days after Torres’s quick response, 41 immigrant families from Mexico reunited at St. Thomas on Sunday morning through a special program that helps seniors from Jalisco, Mexico, obtain special visas to travel to the U.S. to visit their families.
Appropriately, the event took place the day that Catholics celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, reflecting a shared belief that prayer and trust in God can sustain families through long years of separation — and eventually bring them together again.
“As the Holy Family fled from King Herod to Egypt, they put their faith in God, and they persevered,” said Torres.
Sunday marked the second recent reunification ceremony organized by Asociación de Clubes Jalisciences de California (California’s Association of Jalisco Clubs) and hosted by an LA Catholic parish. The first took place at St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in South LA in 2024.
This time, the elderly parents arrived at LAX Airport accompanied by an attorney, before being taken in white vans to the church where their relatives were waiting.
“It’s not the same if you see them through the phone or talking on the phone,” said Torres. “They’ll be able to hug them for the very first time in many years.”
Sensing a perfect service opportunity, Torres asked the parish youth group to get involved. Angélica Veliz, coordinator of the Youth Ministry, accepted the invitation just five days beforehand.
“It was very emotional, and I wanted to say yes [to helping] because I am also an immigrant.”
Veliz has not seen her parents since migrating from Guatemala three years ago. She felt mixed emotions on Sunday.
“I feel happy for other people,” but there is the sad feeling of “I miss my parents,” she said. “I am still young, and maybe I can see them again,” Veliz said she tells herself.
Gerardo Reyes Benítez was one of the relatives whose long wait finally came to an end on Sunday. He drove with his wife from San Diego to St. Thomas to see his parents for the first time in 18 years.
Now 36, he said he missed his mother’s cooking, and when they spoke over video calls, “I missed them a lot and really wanted to hug them.”
He took a week of vacation and plans to take his parents to SeaWorld and to visit relatives. He also had a special dinner planned for the following weekend, complete with mariachi music and a long guest list of extended family. At the same time, he recognized that his parents’ advanced age meant he had to “be very careful with them and look after them closely.”
One by one, the elderly parents were greeted with tight hugs and tears by children, grandchildren, and even siblings they hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I haven’t seen my sister in 37 years,” said María de Jesús Mejía Ayala, who came with her husband.
Her husband told Angelus that being granted the visa felt like a gift from God after more than a year of waiting.
It’s “a miracle, because others were denied — about 15 people from the group. So, we were truly blessed by God; he gave us this gift,” he said.
After arriving in Los Angeles, Ayala was unsure who would receive them. She feared her sister might not come due to fears of ICE raids. But when it was Ayala’s turn to reunite with her family, her sister emerged from the crowd, and the two shared a tearful embrace.
Father Dilson Salinas, a visiting priest from El Salvador, was also on hand to witness the special reunion.
“The love that God has for us is an opportunity he gives us to rediscover one another, 30, 40 years for some, without seeing each other, and then reuniting,” he told the families gathered in St. Thomas’ parish hall.
“Perhaps seeing the other a little older, but discovering that in that face, it is still the face I left behind, now found again, perhaps with much more joy and much more experience.”
