Kirin Kalia on Immigrant Religious Figures

Here is a very interesting Editor’s Note of Kirin Kalia in the latest issue of Migration Information Source:

“Since today is All Saints’ Day, I got inspired to see if Catholics have a patron saint of immigrants. Little surprise that, yes, they do.

The official patron saint of immigrants is Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, a nun born in Italy in 1850. She arrived in the United States in 1889 to serve Italian immigrants at the behest of Pope Leo XIII, establishing a number of schools, hospitals, and orphanages before her death in Chicago in 1917. The first American citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, Cabrini was made a saint in 1946 and named the patroness of immigrants in 1950. More details on her life here.

Thinking of this brought me to another question: Who do immigrants from other faiths and backgrounds appeal to before and after their journeys? After all, if you were about to make a long, possibly dangerous, voyage to an unknown or faraway destination, you might well ask someone – or something – to ensure your safety along the way. And, you may want someone to thank when you get there.

Mexican immigrants seeking safe passage to the United States may be more likely to pray to Saint Toribio Romo Gonzalez, a Mexican priest killed in 1928 and canonized in 2000. In the 1990s, a tale of how three Mexicans got out of the Arizona desert alive because of Saint Toribio became widely known. Similar tales soon emerged. As The Dallas Morning News and the Chicago Tribune have reported, Mexicans now regularly flock to the saint’s hometown in Jalisco in search of miracles and safe passage across the border.

Along the US-Mexico border, Mexican migrants worship Juan Soldado (Soldier John), a “folk saint” who, as the story goes, was wrongly killed for a crime he did not commit. He’s now been adopted by many as the unofficial patron saint of impoverished Mexicans who risk their lives to illegally cross into the United States.

On the other side of the world, Indians have a few options when they want to make sure they receive a visa to a Western country. Near Hyderabad, hundreds of thousands of migrant hopefuls visit the Chilkur Balaji Temple to pray to Lord Balaji, as The Wall Street Journal reported a few years ago. The temple’s enterprising priest gave Lord Balaji, a form of the Hindu god Vishnu, the new identity to attract more people. He now goes by the popular nickname ‘the Visa God.’

In the Ahmedabad area, people bring their documents to Sidhdheshwer Chamatkarik Hanuman Mandir to ask Lord Hanuman, the monkey god, to fulfill their visa wishes. That temple was so successful it inspired a spin-off.

Taoism’s Mazu, goddess of the sea, is popular in coastal areas of southeastern China as well as Taiwan, Vietnam, and Chinese communities worldwide. According to this account, immigrants made temples devoted to Mazu to thank her for their safe arrival. Chinese immigrants in the United States have long venerated her, and recent arrivals continue to do so at temples such as the famous Ma-Tsu Temple USA in San Francisco, as religion scholar James Miller describes in his book, Chinese Religions in Contemporary Societies.

I am certain immigrants have more deities or gods they seek out. Please pass along your suggestions and I’ll pull them together for a future newsletter.”