Archdiocese of Miami secures right to minister at ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ celebrates first Mass

The Archdiocese of Miami has secured the right to celebrate Mass and provide pastoral care at Florida’s remote detention facility for illegal immigrants, “Alligator Alcatraz,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski recently announced. 

“I am pleased that our request to provide for the pastoral care of the detainees has been accommodated,” Archbishop Wenski said in an Aug. 3 statement. “Also, we were able to respond to a request to provide similar service to the staff who reside at the facility.”

He added, “The Church has ‘no borders’ for we all are members of one human family. Our ‘agenda’ was always to announce the ‘good news’ to the poor.”

The archdiocese celebrated its first Mass Aug. 2 and plans to continue regular liturgical services under the facility’s guidelines. Under the agreement, Catholic chaplains and pastoral ministers will have “full access to offer two liturgical Masses” for detainees and staff, the archdiocese said.

According to the archdiocese, the agreement follows months of dialogue between the state’s bishops, archdiocesan leaders, and state authorities. 

Efforts to secure access gained public attention July 20, when Archbishop Wenski posted on X that 25 Knights of Columbus biked to the entrance of “Alligator Alcatraz” to pray the rosary for detainees. 

“Archdiocese is still waiting for approval to access to provide Mass for detainees,” he wrote at the time. 

The archdiocese said it aims to maintain “a successful and consistent Catholic presence” at the facility. 

“Alligator Alcatraz,” authorized by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in late June, serves as a central hub for detaining, processing, and deporting illegal immigrants, CatholicVote reported. The site is designed to hold up to 5,000 detainees.

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