SPOKANE, Wash. — Two Gonzaga University (GU) students will join a videoconference with Pope Francis through The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) on Feb. 24. to discuss immigration topics.
The focus of the event's videoconference will be to develop solid projects and lasting networks to help solve issues connected with migration through the BBI. Many of the students are migrants or come from migrant families.
The BBI promotes practices that lead to sustained positive outcomes for young people who have received residential services and their families.
Gonzaga students Shyh Saenz, a junior from Hayward, California, majoring in communication studies, and Anasofia Gutierrez, a senior from Renton, majoring in psychology are the two GU students joining the video conference with the Pope, along with 100 students from Catholic and secular universities across the U.S.
Both GU students are familiar with migration topics and have been active in campus efforts to work toward racial justice and serve as the voice of underrepresented students.
“I plan to chime in as much as possible and share my ideas and hopefully work for a leadership role within my group,” Saenz said in a statement.
Saenz said her family and friends couldn’t believe it when they heard the news about the videoconference. She singled out her grandparents, who are very proud of her and are sharing the news with the rest of her family.
“The city I grew up in, Hayward, is a sanctuary city and many of the people I am closest to are undocumented," Saenz said in a statement. "I was also raised Catholic and try to use my faith to spread messages in uniting for the common good to help others and social justice efforts.”
Gutierrez, whose family also has ties to Mexico, said she jumped at the opportunity to meet the Pope as she learned the topic for discussion was migration. She said her family and friends were excited about the news.
The opportunity for Gutierrez and Saenz to participate in the call with the Pope came after Senior Specialist for Faculty and Staff Formation and Adjunct Instructor of Religious Studies Kevin Brown received the invitation from a colleague at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to select two students.
“When Dr. Nancy Pineda-Madrid asked me to nominate two students who have studied or been active in justice initiatives, Shyh and Sofia came to my mind right away,” Brown said. “I know that both of them have been active in efforts on campus to work toward racial justice."
Brown said the videoconference is part of the Pope's efforts to build a more synodal church.
“I’m also glad that Pope Francis has chosen to embody what synodality looks like in his willingness to listen to and learn from the experiences and wisdom of Sofia, Shyh and the other students participating in this initiative," Brown said.
Saenz and Gutierrez are preparing video calls with students from other Jesuit schools in the western U.S. and later with the entire group representing North, Central and South America. They also held a listening session open to GU undergraduates to hear their thoughts on the topic.
The videoconference will take place on Thursday, Feb. 24 at 10 a.m. PT, and people can register to stream the video here.