Bishop McGrath and Hundreds of People of Faith Hold Prayer Vigil for Immigration Reform

February 26, 2010

MEDIA ADVISORY

February 23, 2010

CONTACT: Inma Gomez, inmasita@msn.com, (408) 375-7301 or Lourdes Mieses, lourdesmieses@pactsj.org, (408) 910-6309

Affected community members available for on-camera interviews.  See testimony at http://www.youtube.com/user/pactsj#g/c/DFB90309C409FBB8

Bishop McGrath and Hundreds of People of Faith

Hold Prayer Vigil for Immigration Reform

SAN JOSE, CA – Hundreds of people of faith will gather on February 26, 2010 at 7:00 pm at St. Julie’s Catholic Church in San Jose for a prayer service calling for comprehensive immigration reform, called “We Are One Family Under God.”

Members of the faith community will be joined by Bishop Patrick McGrath of the Diocese of San Jose, as well as representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Congressman Mike Honda.  Participants will sign postcards calling on U.S. Congressional representatives to help pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.

WHAT: Prayer Vigil for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

WHO: People of faith, religious leaders, community members, and members of U.S. Representatives’ staffs, including:

Bishop Patrick McGrath, Diocese of San Jose

Representatives from the office of Congressman Mike Honda, chair of the Asian Pacific Caucus

Representatives from the office of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, chairwoman of Judiciary Subcommittee on Citizenship, Refugees, Immigration and Border Security

WHEN:  Friday, February 26^th, 2010, 7pm

WHERE: St. Julie Billiart Church, 366 St. Julie Drive, San Jose, 95119

“We want to show that there is a diverse and unified base of people that want comprehensive immigration reform to be a political national priority,” said Matthew Malone, a student member of Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform.

The vigil is sponsored by Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform and People Acting in Community Together (PACT) and is part of “Together, not Torn: Families Can’t Wait for Immigration Reform,” a nationwide mobilization of people of faith for immigration reform.  “Together, not Torn” includes 100 local events and hundreds of thousands of pro-reform postcards from people of faith to Members of Congress.

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