Exsul Familia (The émigré Family) is an apostolic constitution of Pope Pius XII on the topic of migration. It was released on 1 August 1952. The title of the document refers to the Holy Family, forced to flee into Egypt, taken as the archetype of every refugee family. Drawing upon Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum, Exsul Familia presents emigration as a natural right.
It has been called "the Church's Magna Carta for Migrants".
Background
A statistical report from the Council of Europe of that time documents the extent of the problem. In 1950, five years after the end of WWII, there were 11.8 million displaced persons in Europe, of which 1.23 million persons were foreign nationals. This figure has been slightly decreasing since May 1945. Austria and Finland are not included. They add another 801 000 displaced persons. A total of 12.6 million persons lived displaced as refugees in various West European countries.
Content
Exsul Familia concerns the pastoral care of millions of displaced persons seeking refuge after World War Two in Europe. Pope Pius XII reaffirms the church's commitment to caring for pilgrims, aliens, exiles, and migrants, affirming that all people have the right to migrate to achieve a life worthy of human dignity.
The Pontiff views the émigré Holy Family of Nazareth, fleeing into Egypt, as "the models and protectors of every migrant, alien and refugee of whatever kind who, whether compelled by fear of persecution or by want, is forced to leave his native land, his beloved parents and relatives, his close friends, and to seek a foreign soil."
Pius XII makes three theological points. Pope Leo XIII said that people have a right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. Jesus shares the same trials as those forced to leave home; and creation is a gift from God to be shared by all.
Pius XII recalled that Ambrose of Milan, after ransoming the captives taken after the defeat of the Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople, sacrificed the sacred vessels in order to relieve the destitute from physical suffering. Pius mentioned religious orders founded specifically to ransom captives as well as missioners who devoted their efforts to assist enslaved people. He also made reference to devout associations that established hospices and hospitals extending hospitality to pilgrims and other strangers. He also cited the efforts of Pope Pius VI and Pope Pius VII to provide a safe haven for French émigrés fleeing revolution and war.
History
Pius XII presented a historical summary of the contributions of the Catholic Church towards migration.
The Fourth Council of the Lateran affirmed that experience proves that the sacred ministry is carried on more effectively among strangers and pilgrims if it is exercised by priests of their own nationality or at least who speak their language. He observed that national parishes had been established for the various languages and ethnic groups. He noted both the missionaries that emigrated to serve new arrivals and the bishops and priests who helped them assimilate into a new culture. Special mention was made of Vincent Pallotti, who established St Peter's Church in Holborn to serve the Italian immigrants in London. Similarly, John Baptist Scalabrini, Bishop of Piacenza, founded "an institute of priests ready and willing to leave their native land for remote places, particularly, for America, where they could carry on the priestly ministry among the numerous Italian Catholics, who were forced by economic distress to emigrate and to take up residence in foreign lands." Because of her extraordinary devotion and outstanding work for Italian emigrants, Frances Xavier Cabrini was rightly called the “Mother of Italian Emigrants.” In 1910, in response to a request by Msgr. Luigi Pozzi, pastor of St. Joachim's parish, in South Trenton, New Jersey for sisters to work among his Italian parishioners, Pope Pius X sent five sisters of the Religious Teachers Filippini to America.