“I have never looked into the eyes of another person and felt so helpless.”
That is how Ryan Scello '16 described his encounter with a mother he met at a migrant camp at the U.S./Mexico border on his recent immersion trip sponsored by John Carroll University (JCU). Ryan is a senior at JCU and he served as the guest speaker at the Annual Jesuit Mission Sunday Mass at St. Michael’s Parish in Downtown Buffalo on March 8, 2020. The Noon Mass was part of the 120th Annual Novena of Grace in honor of St. Francis Xavier entitled, “The Mission Continues.”
Ryan captivated and challenged the congregation with his experiences in El Salvador where he studied with U.S. deportee Juan Ramon Lopez, prayed at the site of St. Oscar Romero’s martyrdom, and spent three days living in rural villages with impoverished farmers. His group of 19 JCU students traveled up through the U.S. border to see firsthand the struggle of those fleeing injustice in their homelands to seek legal asylum in the U.S.
"(The immersion trip) changed my perspective on truth,” Ryan says. And, he explains that the experience compels him “to be a voice for those who have nothing but their faith in a better future.”
Ryan joined St. Michael's parishioners and One Jesuit Buffalo members for a reception where he answered more questions about his Salvadoran experience.