Walking 100 Miles to the Pope | Sojourners

Walking 100 Miles to the Pope

Image via We Belong Together/Facebook

In the past six days, I’ve walked 75 miles alongside 100 other women. We have 25 miles left to go.

We are 100 women who hail from all four corners of the earth. There are women from Uganda, China, Mexico, Haiti, the Philippines, Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, Brazil, Vietnam, Peru, the Bahamas, and more. But we all call this country home.

Several grandmothers joined us on this journey, and their perseverance is an example for all of us. Our youngest walker is Jocelyn — she is four years old, and her joy is contagious. We all ask to take turns pushing her stroller. As we walk, we share our stories, our suffering, and our dreams. We sing, we pray, and we also walk in silence — reflecting on our faith, the meaning of compassion, dignity, and hope.

We are all here because we have been inspired by Pope Francis’ message of love and compassion towards migrants and refugees. We hope that he will pray for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who endure daily hardship, living in fear of deportation and family separation. We hope that he can touch the hearts of Americans across the nation to treat migrants with compassion and not cruelty.

VIEW: PHOTOS from the #100Women100Miles March

During our 100-mile walk, our sense of sisterhood is palpable. Women wait for each other, massage sore feet, share water, lean on one another, and wipe the sweat from their companion’s brow. We have endured blisters and sore feet, and also the painful reminders of why we walk. One woman’s husband was detained while we were walking through New Freedom, Pa. Two sisters just found out their grandmother passed away, the grief all the worse for years of not being able to see her since their family was separated.

We have opened our hearts to each other, and are united by this shared experience. We shed many tears along the way. But along with the moments of sorrow are the acts of kindness that have been abundant and profoundly moving.

Perhaps what has surprised me most has been the way we have been received along the way in rural and urban communities, by people of all races and ages. Cyclists and joggers giving us cheers of encouragement, women and children on their front stoops waving us past. Baltimore has been our warmest welcome yet, with abundant honking horns and people stopping to talk with us and wishing us well along the way. There was a woman who brought us cold water, another woman who stopped us to give us hugs and blessings, a third who has promised to cook a hot meal for all of us. An African American woman brought flowers with inspirational messages for each of us to the church where we held our evening program.

These small miracles lift our spirits.

Sunday morning we attended mass at Baltimore’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary — America’s first cathedral — and received a blessing from the priest. He reminded us that the Virgin Mary was also turned away and treated cruelly, and she is with us as we walk along this path. Our walking is an act of sacrifice, an act of love — for ourselves, for our families, for our humanity. We all deserve dignity, at work, at home, at school, walking home from the store. While we continue our walk to greet Pope Francis in Washington, D.C., inspired by his message, we are affirming our dignity with every step, calling for a world that values human life, and allows us to be who we are.

We know it is possible because we live it as we walk.

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