Catholic bishops from across California held mass for hundreds of people detained inside the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on Wednesday, the first service at the high-desert facility in more than five years.
More than 300 detained people attended the hour-long service, which took place on an outdoor basketball court in the men’s wing. Seven bishops, representing dioceses from San Diego to Sacramento, delivered communion and a sermon.
The bishops could not speak directly with detainees, but San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú said the visit was meant to show solidarity.
“We want to be close to the people who are suffering now,” Cantú said. “That's what today was about.”
In November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement raising concerns about immigration raids and conditions in detention centers. They urged the federal government to allow broader pastoral access. Cantú said Wednesday’s mass was a public example of California bishops standing behind that call.
Cantú also described how bishops were escorted through fences to reach different security sections — roughly 200 men on one side and 100 on the other — as they distributed communion.
Bishop Emeritus Gerald Barnes of the San Bernardino Diocese said he was moved to see men kneeling behind the fences in prayer.
“I could just imagine they were praying for their families,” Barnes said. “They were praying for their children. They were praying for each other.”
Bishops describe fear among families affected by raids
San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas said the diocese has long ministered inside jails and detention centers, but recent immigration raids have deepened the trauma families carry into parishes.
He said many parents describe children panicking after witnessing a parent’s arrest.
“The tactics they’re using are not humane,” Rojas said. “People are being treated with disrespect, like trash. Families are scared.”
Rojas said he wouldn’t be surprised if some of the detainees who received communion on Wednesday were parishioners of the San Bernardino Diocese. Several asked bishops to bless Bibles and rosaries during the service.
A woman from Santa Ana who came to visit her son said she was grateful the bishops made the effort. She declined to give her name due to safety concerns.
“It’s good that they’re visiting…so that they don’t feel alone.”
The California Catholic Conference says bishops plan to visit additional detention centers next year and will continue requesting entry to facilities across the state.
“Our hope,” Cantú said, “is that every center handling people in detention treats them with dignity and allows us to minister to them.”
