BBC News reported on the Columban Border Ministry and the Migrant Embroiderers of Juárez, Mexico.
The link to this video report is here:
The Columban Welcome Centre for Migrants and Refugees located in the lower level of the Cathedral in Juárez, Mexico has been fulfilling Jesus’ mandate to ‘welcome the stranger’ for the last seven years. Open Monday through to Friday from 9:30 am to 5:00pm, the Columban Border Ministry Team offers a warm welcome and a hot meal in a safe place in the middle of a city best known for violence, kidnapping, corruption and the abuse of migrants.
Last year over 100,000 migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, men and women and children were provided with food, housing, legal assistance and medical services.
Here is a report from the March/April 2025 issue of the Far East magazine on the Migrant Embroiderers of Juárez.
Working with patience, Lilibeth slowly weaves her way through the process.
Stitch By Stitch
Columban Lay Missionary Lilibeth Sabado writes about her journey of discovery, service, connection and healing through border crossings, embroidery, and shared stories with migrant women on the US/Mexico border.
In August 2023, I arrived in El Paso after a six-month language immersion in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Then I underwent a tedious seven-month visa application process. This process included a trip to Manila in March 2024 for consular appearance, biometrics and an interview. On my return, my religious visa allowed me to serve on both sides of the US/Mexico border.
I divide my time between Juárez’s Columban Cathedral Project/Casa San Columbano and El Paso’s Annunciation House, collaborating with teams of volunteers serving migrant and refugee families.
My walks to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and then back to El Paso, Texas are, in many ways, like a personal journey to Emmaus, filled with moments of reflection, confusion, doubt, revelation and unexpected joy. What began as a simple task of crossing the border became, for me, a deeper pilgrimage of connection and discovery both with the communities I serve and with God, who continues to reveal Himself in the simplest of moments.
“Start with the tree design,” I was told. Every Saturday, I would join a group of women gathered around a table filled with threads, needles and fabric. These women, with their busy hands and their focus on their work, had a way of stitching through their challenges. All of them have different stories and experiences in their journey to the border yet they convey the same need – the need to survive.
While waiting for their appointment for processing to cross to the US, they use their time to do embroidery. All materials are provided for free and once a piece is completed it can be used to create a tote bag.
A mother with four kids can complete her piece in a week, moving swiftly through the motions, while I found myself lingering over every detail. Some women complete their projects in two weeks. My project, the tree, took me three months to finish — yes, three months!
The Tree of Life.
Each stitch felt like a small but significant step, not just in the embroidery, but in my own journey. Embroidery, in this way, mirrors life itself – often slow, sometimes monotonous, but filled with beauty that only becomes apparent through patience and persistence. Just as each stitch contributes to the larger pattern, each small act of connection with the women in the embroidery group contributes to a deeper sense of belonging. Over time, these stitches have woven not only a design but a sense of community, shared understanding and personal growth.
For me, the experience of crossing into Juárez each Saturday and joining the group of women in Casa San Columbano has become more than just a routine; it’s a slow, unfolding journey of connection, discovery and healing. While they worked with efficiency, I worked with patience, slowly weaving my way through the process, and in doing so, I realised that it wasn’t just the final product that mattered – it was the act of creation itself.
I realised that the process of embroidery is about more than creating art; it is about cultivating attention, learning to enjoy the journey rather than rushing towards the destination. In this way, I have found a deeper meaning in what seemed, at first, like a simple craft. The more I stitch, the more I connect – both with the tradition of embroidery and with the women around me. What started as an activity I felt compelled to do on Saturdays has now become a space for reflection, bonding and personal transformation.
Lilibeth Sabado is a Columban Lay Missionary. She has spent time on mission in Taiwan and Hong Kong. She is now based on the US/Mexico border.