Mission Affirmed
Brownsville, TX
By Valerie Gonzalez, Staff Writer, Originally Published by the Brownsville Herald
With Thanks to Fr. Kevin Collins, OMI
BROWNSVILLE – A familiar opportunity knocked at the door of a Brownsville church last Christmas Eve when a journey-worn family sought shelter from the church in the midst of their holiday mass.
“The cathedral sort of made some room at the gym to accommodate these families and give them a warmer place to stay for that night,” Bishop Daniel E. Flores said on Thursday. Since then, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral has kept its doors open.
Two weeks ago, a Venezuelan family walked in only to walk out 15 minutes after their arrival.
Maria Carolina, a Venezuelan mother who preferred not to share a last name for safety reasons, remembered feeling a little more than the expected emotions that came with finally setting foot on U.S. soil.
That morning of Jan. 16, Maria Carolina, by then nine months pregnant, her husband and 10-year-old daughter
