Sister Norma Pimentel is on the front lines of the border crisis in Texas. She serves as Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and oversees the ministries and services in the area providing emergency assistance and a safe space for migrants and their families to rest and regain their strength.
“These are innocent, vulnerable families that are fleeing circumstances that are very difficult in their homes and traveled great lengths encountering hardships along the way, and people taking advantage of them.” Sister Norma said in an interview on the Local News Hour [Sept. 3, 2024]. “They arrived at our border in a situation where we the community, our local families and people were able to see the terrible conditions they're in. And they need help. They need care. They need a heart that welcomes them and says, ‘how can I help you?’”
Sister Norma says she plans to talk about the responsibility of Christians to live out their faith.
“The responsibility we all have as Catholics, Christians, people of good faith that recognize that God is with us, that God blesses us and fills our heart with His love,” Pimentel said. “And we are called to share that love with every other person that we encounter. Immigrants are people that are here in our communities and that need us to share that God's love to them, especially the most vulnerable in our communities.”
As Emmie Gardner, executive director of Holy Cross Ministries, notes the University of Notre Dame awarded Sister Norma its highest medal for humanitarian service, the Laetare Medal, in recognition of outstanding service to the Catholic Church and society in 2018.
The Autumn Harvest Benefit she says will also highlight the humanitarian work being done along the Wasatch Front and Back by Holy Cross Ministries. She’s hopeful they can raise $100,000 to continue their education, health and justice programs.
“We really just firmly believe in being good humans to fellow humans,” Gardner said. “And especially this year, given the election and all that, we really want to amplify what incredible people our immigrant community is, and how they really are reaching, enriching us, not just in terms of workforce, but the diversity, the culture, all of those things that, if we can celebrate that we truly are doing. As Sister Norma said, in just being Christ-like to all humanity.”
An online auction featuring a painting done by Sister Norma as well as artwork from Haitian and Ukrainian immigrant artists is open through the event and open for anyone to bid on.
Monday is the last day to purchase tickets to the event. The link is online at kpcw.org.
