Catholic leader works in ministry to serve agricultural workers

José López, director of Migrant Ministry for the Diocese of Stockton, California, is a beacon of hope for thousands of farmworkers who work in the fields.

Most of the workers obtain the H-2A visa that allows foreigners to enter the United States for temporary or seasonal agricultural work. Other migrants do not have such immigration status.

“We try to help them join church programs,” says López. “The families and workers, mostly Mexican, come with economic and spiritual needs.”

For six years, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers mission promoters have supported the Diocese of Stockton as it meets these needs.

The Diocese of Stockton assists more than 500 migrant families in six fields, including an area called “the islands.” The farmworkers, who mostly live in housing owned by the growers, work as tractor drivers, irrigators and harvesters.

According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, farms in this state produce 400 food products, including 20 percent of the country’s milk and 50 percent of its fruits, nuts and vegetables.

For more than 20 years, López has led the migrant ministry in offering pastoral accompaniment, sacramental preparation and mission formation training. Priests celebrate Mass in the fields once or twice a month. “We made a map in which we assign parishes to nearby fields,” he says.

The ministry also organizes teams to repatriate the remains of deceased farmworkers, assist widows, help the sick and address other needs. Because of its service, the Diocese of Stockton is a model for migrant ministry for other dioceses.

One of the recommendations that emerged at the National Encuentros for Hispanic Ministry was to work collaboratively. Maryknoll’s Mission Formation Program is answering that call.

At the Pastoral Region XI of Hispanic Ministry, a commission that brings together Hispanic leaders from California and Hawaii, we had the opportunity to meet Hispanic leaders like José López and identify ways to work together.

Last August, I offered a retreat called “Missionary Disciples Making a Path as We Walk” to 40 young people and leaders at Guadalupe Chapel in in Westley, California.

Alicia Cisneros, a volunteer who attends our mission programs, describes the challenges of ministry serving migrant farmworkers. “At first, it was very difficult because, for migrants, their priority is to work,” Cisneros says. “When we tried to talk to them, there was mistrust. They didn’t want to enroll their children to receive religious education or sacraments.” This changed over time. “Little by little we gained their trust through celebrations and other kinds of get-togethers. Now we feel they are part of our family.”

Cisneros, who has served in this ministry for more than 20 years, teaches catechism to children. Her husband works with their parents. It’s rewarding to see the children grow up, she says. “Some young people are now professionals,” she adds. “They often greet me, ‘Teacher Alicia, you taught me First Communion classes when I was a child.’”

López, who was born in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and is now 69, experienced firsthand the challenges faced by farmworker children. His father, a migrant farmworker for some 30 years, had been part of the temporary labor force known as the Bracero Program (1942-1964). Back then his family traveled back and forth from Mexico to the States.

When López’s family settled in California in 1968, he was 12 years old. Growing up, he helped in the fields. In 1983 he became a leader for migrant ministry in the Diocese of Stockton. Then in 1985 he was invited to represent the diocesan program at the III National Encuentro for Hispanic Ministry. He recalls the Encuentro phrase that impressed him the most: “From your seats to the streets!”

Four decades later, that phrase remains relevant. Last year, 21 young farmworkers were confirmed at a Mass presided by Bishop Myron J. Cotta of the Diocese of Stockton. At the celebration, López says, someone thanked the bishop for being there with them. “The bishop smiled and replied, ‘This is our cathedral,’ referring to nature and the fields,” he says.

Named director of Migrant Ministry in 2001, López says he has learned from academically prepared leaders — but also from the farmworkers. “The wisdom of the rural people consists of a spirituality of giving thanks to God,” he says. “In the mornings we say a prayer to entrust ourselves to God and we thank him for everything.

“We face challenges. Sometimes it is very difficult,” López adds. “But I know God is always with me.”

He refers to Pope Francis’ message last year for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees: “God walks with his people … God walks with farmworkers.”

Deacon Leonel Yoque, a Maryknoll mission promoter in Los Angeles, leads outreach programs for Hispanic Catholics in the United States.

Featured image: A farmworker carries buckets of blueberries harvested in the fields of Stockton in California’s Central Valley. (José López/U.S.)