105th  World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Every year the Church celebrates a World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees (WDMR). Since 2018, this day takes place on the last Sunday of September

Desired in 1914 by Pope Benedict XV, the date of this celebration was first left to the convenience of the Episcopal Conferences. Then in 1969, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants was created by Pope Paul VI. In 2004, Pope John Paul II published the Instruction Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi, a reference text for the pastoral care of migrants, and set the WDMR on the second Sunday after 6 January.

In September 2018, it was decided to celebrate World Migrant and Refugee Day on the last Sunday of September.

For this new year, the theme of WDMR is "It's not just about migrants." With this theme, Pope Francis intends to emphasize that his repeated appeals for migrants, refugees, displaced persons and victims of human trafficking must be understood as part of his deep concern for all inhabitants of the existential peripheries.

On the occasion of this day, Bishop Denis Jachiet and Bishop Colomb, accompanying bishops of the pastoral care of migrants, as well as Bishop Dognin, Bishop President of the Episcopal Commission for the Universal Mission of the Church, and Véronique Fayet, President of the Catholic Relief, together call for a renewed attention of society on migrants because "It is not just about Migrants!"