Catholics Across North Jersey Will Observe Ash Wednesday with Series of Events in Response to a Call to Action on Immigration by Cardinal Joseph Tobin
Press Advisory
February 16, 2026
Contact: Kathy O’Leary Pax Christi NJ kolearypcnj@gmail.com
Catholics Across North Jersey Will Observe Ash Wednesday with Series of Events in Response to a Call to Action on Immigration by Cardinal Joseph Tobin
New Jersey- Catholics across New Jersey will gather for a series of events centering on our nation’s immigration policy with a particular focus on immigration enforcement and ICE detention.
Organizers are responding to a call to action from Cardinal Joseph Tobin the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark who during an online prayer service on January 26th attended by thousands he recalled the work of Catholics who are among those ministering to the loved ones of people locked in Newark’s ICE detention facility Delaney Hall. The Cardinal told those assembled “I think if we are serious about putting our faith in action, we need to say ‘no,’ each one of us.”
The events in Newark and Elizabeth that will begin at 11 am and continue into the evening.
11 am – 12 pm: Rally thanking Cardinal Tobin for his public witness- outside St. Patrick’s pro-cathedral 91 Washington St. Newark. Visuals include signs and banners supporting the Cardinal for speaking out about immigration enforcement and US foreign policy. The program will include chants and music.
12 pm – 1 pm: Rally goers will put their signs away to attend Ash Wednesday mass with Cardinal Tobin at St. Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral.
2 pm- 3:30 pm: Interfaith prayer service marking the beginning of Lent and Ramadan outside the Elizabeth Detention Center 625 Evans St. Elizabeth, NJ.. Participants will include clerics and faith leaders from the Christian and Muslim traditions. They will reflect on what unites them in faith always and what unites them now in the struggle for peace and justice. They will also lift up in prayer Leqaa Kordia, a young woman from Paterson who is the last Columbia protestor to still be held in ICE detention and all those currently unjustly and cruelly held captive.
6 pm – 7 pm Pax Christi and the Archdiocese of Newark are calling Catholics to witness to the evil and injustice of ICE detention and mass deportation outside Delaney Hall – 451 Doremus Ave. in Newark. They are calling the event- Hope Rises from the Ashes. They will gather in the parking lot of the Essex County Jail for a service, including the distribution of ashes and then process to Delaney Hall. The service will include a reading of the names of people who have died in ICE detention or been killed by ICE agents in the last 12 months. Participants will include: Bishop Cruz, Bishop Lorenzo, Bishop Saporito, and Bishop Studerus- all from the Archdiocese of Newark
Immediately following the prayer service everyone is invited to the basement of St. James Church at 143 Madison St. for a light supper and a teach-in.
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