PORTLAND — “Having Bishop Deeley provide spiritual support and encouragement to our dedicated staff and volunteers is incredibly significant,” said Steve Letourneau, CEO of Catholic Charities Maine. “It lifts their spirits and fuels them with the desire to continue to welcome newly-arrived refugees with warm smiles and open hearts.”

Bishop Robert P. Deeley spent the morning visiting with staff and volunteers at Catholic Charities Maine Refugee and Immigration Services on Dec. 12.

The visit coincided with two related commemorations, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a special day of prayer declared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to ask God to provide comfort and joy to refugees and migrants.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the “Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas” by Pope Pius XII in the 1940s. In 1531, the apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian, on the hill of Tepayac outside Mexico City, asking Diego to build a church to assist in the conversion of the nation and to be a source of consolation for those in need.

“Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Parish in Portland held a wonderful celebration on Sunday, asking Our Lady of Guadalupe to offer hope and safety to immigrants and their families, and to turn all hearts towards a true and lasting peace, especially for the most vulnerable,” said Bishop Deeley. “Today, on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I wanted to visit the RIS staff to express my gratitude for their efforts in answering our baptismal call to welcome the stranger and ensuring that the dignity of every human person is protected. Through their dedication and service, Catholic Charities Maine is defending the sacredness of human life by helping individuals and families, many of whom fled from violence seeking compassion and care, to never become victims again.”

With a staff of more than 25 people and a large and growing number of volunteers, RIS helps those seeking a new life in America to become responsible and self-reliant members of the community. The program welcomes refugees upon their arrival; meets basic needs like housing, food, and clothing; arranges for language lessons; offers community, cultural, and employment orientation; and assists with employment development and placement.

In the last decade, RIS has resettled over 3,000 refugees in Maine and served 642 refugees in 2016.

The staff at RIS understand the plight of those they serve. Many of the staff members at RIS are refugees and immigrants themselves. In fact, more than half of the people who gathered with the bishop on Monday were born in another country and are inherently aware of what it means to leave their home and start a new life in Maine.

“This integration takes patience and a drive towards social justice,” said Tarlan Ahmadov, program manager for RIS. “We all work toward making Maine a community of compassion, dignity, and safety for all.”

RIS also provides immersion programs to refugees like the American Friends Program, which matches English-speaking families or individuals with refugee families to integrate them into the community, and the RIS Mentoring Program, which matches refugees with volunteer mentors who help them reach their personal, academic, and career goals.

When refugees arrive, many are afraid about what their futures hold. Watching them transform from that state of uncertainty into productive contributors in their new home are life-changing experiences for those assisting as well.

“It is such a good feeling. At the start, you can see the fear in their eyes and they want you around all of the time, every step of the way,” said Nawar Alobaidi, a case manager for RIS. “We give them hope. We take them by the hand until they are becoming independent and can take care of themselves. We do our best.”

“To see a refugee family blossoming in a safe environment, one that is free of hostility and open to possibilities, is the most rewarding experience you can imagine,” said Letourneau. “Witnessing this again and again is what truly keeps our staff going.”

“RIS has been and will continue to be a place where refugees can feel safe, be treated with compassion, and work with staff members who are from their own communities,” said Hannah DeAngelis, assistant program director for RIS. “Refugees deserve to work with an agency that has decades of experience providing quality and compassionate services to meet their needs.”

The program also tries to educate the community through “In Their Shoes” training, which is an interactive experience for corporations, agencies, community organizations, and schools that shows participants the path of a refugee, inviting them to walk for a moment “in their shoes.”

During the bishop’s visit, RIS staff shared some of the many refugee success stories that have occurred in Maine and others that are in progress now. As RIS carries Jesus’ love into the world through its care of the vulnerable, the result is confident and grateful individuals and families.

“That’s wonderful,” the bishop told the staff. “Those are the stories that people need to see and understand. We need to help the people who come, not only because it’s our responsibility to extend ourselves and care for those who come among us, but there are jobs and opportunities for them here. We need their help too.”

Bishop Deeley was joined by Sister Patricia Pora, director of the diocese’s Office of Hispanic Ministry and a member of the board of directors for Catholic Charities Maine. Before they departed, the bishop presented Ahmadov with a check for $2,000 to be used to assist “refugees most in need.”

FMI: 207-871-7437, www.ccmaine.org/refugee-immigration-services/support/other-ways-to-help, www.ccmaine.org/refugee-immigration-services.