By Katie Vasquez
BRONX, N.Y. — Offering prayer through the streets of the Bronx, a group of Fordham Preparatory School students and community members gathered March 24 to show solidarity with immigrants.
The group said the walk was about advocacy and compassion for those whose voices often go unheard.
“To speak for those who can’t speak themselves and to be an advocate for them,” said junior Teddy Monaco.
“Just being able to kind of spread that not only awareness but like that kindness,” added freshman Sebastian Salcedo.
Led by teacher Carolyn Wright, participants walked from campus to Little Italy in the Bronx. Wright said her involvement in immigration advocacy was sparked by a trip to Arizona with the Kino Border Initiative four years ago.
“That changed me,” Wright said. “I wasn’t able to come back and do nothing. So I felt a call to speak up and use my voice and my faith to help others.”
Wright recently joined the Dorothea Project, a movement founded in May 2025 by Ohio mother Katie Holler. The initiative draws inspiration from Dorothy Day and Sister Thea Bowman, combining their names to reflect its mission.
“They are great intercessors for who we are and what we are trying to do in being with the marginalized,” Holler said.
Holler said she was moved to act after witnessing the treatment of immigrant mothers and children.
“I knew that as a Catholic, this was contrary to my faith,” she said. “And this didn’t align with how Christ taught us to treat one another.”
The Dorothea Project has since grown into a network of Catholic women across the country advocating for justice and supporting one another in their shared concerns.
“Seeing other Catholic women having the same fears and concerns that I do — so many of us come into the Dorothea Project and say, ‘I thought I was the only one,’ ” Holler said.
Wright emphasized that while prayer is essential, public action is also necessary.
“Prayer is wonderful and needed,” she said. “But we also need to be out there in public, witness and show people face to face that we are willing to stand up for their home.”
Members of the movement have written letters to bishops and organized public demonstrations in cities nationwide. They are now working to expand chapters in parishes and communities to broaden participation.