Christ calls believers to welcome migrants and refugees "with arms wide open, ready to give a sincere, affectionate, enveloping embrace," Pope Francis said Sept. 27, launching the "Share the Journey" campaign of Catholic charities around the world.

Christians' embrace of people fleeing war or poverty should be "a bit like the colonnade of St. Peter's Square, which represents the mother church who embraces all in sharing a common journey," the pope said at the end of his weekly general audience as reported by Catholic News Service.

With hundreds of refugees and migrants present in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis said the Catholic charities' staff and volunteers who assist them are "a sign of a church that seeks to be open, inclusive and welcoming."

"Share the Journey" is a two-year campaign sponsored by Caritas Internationalis -- the global network of national Catholic charities -- including the U.S. Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA -- to promote encounters between people on the move and people living in the countries they are leaving, passing through or arriving in. In the United States, the church's leading organizations have developed a series of activities, including prayers, that families, parishes, schools and individuals can undertake during the Share the Journey campaign.

U.S. partners in the effort are the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Migration and Refugee Services, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA. The coalition of Catholic organizations has developed a toolkit in English and Spanish that includes prayers, suggestions for activities for families, prayer groups, classrooms and clergy, and utilizing social media with references to #sharejourney. For more information, visit https://sharejourney.org.

John Watkins, director of Catholic Charities and Social Concerns, is coordinator of Share the Journey in the Diocese of Sacramento. For more information on efforts in the Diocese of Sacramento, visit https://www.scd.org/catholic-charities-and-social-concerns/share-journey-campaign

Link here to read Sept. 29 press release from U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: USCCB migration chairman 'gravely concerned' about presidential determination for refugee admissions: http://www.usccb.org/news/2017/17-174.cfm