Ash Wednesday Mass will lift up immigrants’ resilience
Catholic leaders welcome judge’s injunction allowing for pastoral care and Communion at ICE facility in Broadview
Following a judicial injunction issued Thursday requiring the Department of Homeland Security to permit clergy access to the Broadview ICE facility, the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) and the Scalabrinian Missionaries will hold a large outdoor Ash Wednesday Mass and peaceful procession in Melrose Park to begin the season of Lent. This will not be a procession to Broadview.
The Mass and procession at Our Lady of Mount Carmel will serve as a powerful public moment of prayer and hope. Thousands are expected to gather as a public expression of prayer and solidarity with immigrant families.
As part of the day’s observance, clergy and women religious will seek to enter the ICE facility in Broadview to distribute ashes, Commununion and provide pastoral care to those detained earlier that day, in accordance with the court’s order restoring access that had previously been denied.
“The collective voices and faithful witness of Catholics and Christians in Chicago and across the country are making an impact,” said Father Dan Hartnett, SJ, member of the CSPL Clergy Council. “As Lent begins, we pray this ruling restores religious freedom for those detained and moves our country closer to justice in honoring the dignity of all migrants.”
CSPL is awaiting final confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security regarding logistics to comply with the court’s order.
Lent is a sacred season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time of conversion and moral clarity. As the Church begins this season, faith leaders will accompany those inside the detention center and gather publicly outside, witnessing to the human dignity of every person and the fundamental right to pastoral care and Communion.
LEADERS OF THE ASH WEDNESDAY EVENT:
Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago and other Catholic and Christian faith leaders; families who have been impacted by recent deportations and detentions; plus more than 3,000 members of Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership and worshippers.
WHERE/WHEN:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church of Melrose Park - 1101 N 23rd Ave, Melrose Park, IL 60160 on Wednesday, February 18th, 2026
6 p.m. – Ash Wednesday Mass
7 p.m. – Community Procession East along Augusta Street to 22nd Avenue, north to Thomas Street, then west to 23rd Avenue and back to the church.
8 p.m. – Closing
Parking is available in 3 lots accessible from 23rd Ave, and a larger lot at the corner of 25th Ave and Augusta St. The Mass will take place outside the Church, at the corner of 23rd Ave and Cortez St. Mass will be moved indoors if needed due to weather.
WHY:
“Faith leaders and the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) have petitioned, processed, and pleaded with officials from the Department of Homeland Security,” said Father Leandro Fossá, C.S, member of the CSPL Clergy Council. “The whole world has seen the injustices of our federal immigration system. We are eager to see how the federal government responds to the injunction and restores the fundamental religious rights of people in detention to receive pastoral visits, rights that had been honored previously.”
Ash Wednesday’s Mass builds on a sustained series of public witness actions organized by CSPL that have mobilized more than 5,000 people of faith and community members over the past year. These have included a People’s Mass outside of the Great Lakes Naval Station, a Mass and Eucharistic procession at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish to grieve and honor Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, and an October 11 Eucharistic Procession and November 1st People’s Mass outside of the Broadview ICE Facility calling for pastoral care and Communion to be offered inside the facility. (Full timeline here; News releases, coverage and photo/video content here).
As the lawsuit that CSPL filed November 19, 2025, details, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has denied entry to elected officials, attorneys, advocacy organizations, and clergy seeking access to the Broadview detention facility since at least June 18, counter to practices dating back more than a decade. During this same period, reports of deteriorating and inhumane conditions increased.
“This ruling was made possible because of the courageous, compassionate, and persistent ministry of Srs. JoAnn Persch and Pat Murphy, RSM, who ministered for 10 years inside of the Broadview ICE facility” said Sr. Jeremy Midura, CSSF, a Felician Sister and CSPL Board Member.
The Ash Wednesday Mass and procession calls attention to the moral crisis unfolding inside detention centers, ICE facilities, and in cities across our country. It names the dehumanization of those detained and the broader harm inflicted on immigrant communities. Faith leaders are requesting accountability and the restoration of religious access, grounded in the Church’s teaching on human dignity and the fundamental right to religious freedom.
About the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership: CSPL is a Catholic and Christian rooted community organizing coalition of over 55 parishes, universities and community organizations that labors to transform racial, economic, social and environmental systemic structures through grassroots coalition building, community organizing, and liberative formation.
Source csplaction.org
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