By Susan Stevenot Sullivan, Staff Writer

ATLANTA—Kente cloth, red silk and full skirts set the scene as Catholics from around the archdiocese, and around the world, gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the King the evening of Jan. 12.

The occasion was the first multicultural Eucharistic liturgy in celebration of National Migration Week.

As the congregation trickled in, the first performances of four choirs filled the cathedral’s soaring space.

Music before and during the mass was provided in turn by musicians and choirs from Our lady of Lourdes, Atlanta, St. Philip Benizi, Jonesboro, Our Lady of Vietnam, Forest Park and by a folk group from Immaculate Heart of Mary, Atlanta.

Songs and readings were offered in Spanish, English and Vietnamese.

Msgr. Donald A. Kenny, chancellor of the archdiocese and a native of Ireland, was the celebrant in the absence of Archbishop John F. Donoghue who was on retreat. Concelebrants included Msgr. Francis Pham Van Phoung, from Vietnam, Father Victor Reyes, a Venezuelan, and Father Martin Kalu from Nigeria.

In his homily to the more than two hundred people assembled, Msgr. Kenny spoke of the Christian imperative to make welcome those who “stand at the door and knock.”

“Today, our nation is debating the difficulties of applying to specific situations a law which Christians accept without question -- the law of self-sacrifice, the law of hospitality and the law of love. This is a very difficult time for our country, for it is never an easy proposition to balance compassion and justice.

“Nevertheless we cannot ignore the needs of immigrant people who have nothing and no way to support themselves.”

“My friends, this evening it is our duty to deal with the realities of the situation. It is our duty always to welcome those who come to our door, to seat them at our table and to invite all the faithful to welcome those who come as sisters and brothers,” Msgr. Kenny added. “For it is not to be successful stewards over government programs, propositions or proposals that we are here. No, we are here to be successful stewards over the sacraments...They are the welcoming gestures of our Catholic Church.”

“We want the Archdiocese of Atlanta to be the home for all who come to North Georgia. We do not require a green card, we do not ask for appropriate visas and permits and we have neither provision nor desire to send people away from our door once they have knocked.”

“...We place our hope in Jesus Christ. He guides us by his Holy Spirit. No matter the place we call home. No matter where home is for us, our only real home is his heart. I pray this evening that the love of Christ’s heart, then, meet all our needs. Then, that we in turn, reach our and draw into its shelter all who come our way. All who come seeking justice, all who come seeking peace, and those who come seeking the rights given us by the Creator, who is our merciful Father, our God in heaven.”

During the “Our Father” Msgr. Kenny invited the congregation to say the prayer in their own languages. The joyful sound of the same prayer addressing the same Father by individuals from diverse cultures was a signature moment in the liturgy.

Archdiocesan organizations participating in the event included Catholic Social Services Refugee and Migration Apostolate and the Office of Black Catholic Ministry.