Br. Joseph Kotula, O.F.M., will talk next week at St. Bonaventure University about the profound impact his visit to the U.S.-Mexican border had on him.

Br. Joe’s talk, called “Stories from the Border,” is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, March 10, in the Rooney Room of the McGinley-Carney Center for Franciscan Ministry. Pizza and fair trade coffee will be provided.

Br. Joe spent three weeks in December at the U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona to experience and learn about the plight of immigrants seeking entry into the U.S.  

He toured migrant shelters and a migrant resource center, and assisted in providing water for those traveling. He also visited a safe migrant shelter in Sonoyta, Mexico.

“This experience opened my eyes to the pain and suffering of so many looking to provide a better life for themselves and their family members,” Br. Joe said. “Visiting Arizona and Mexico made real all that many of us have only read about and witnessed through news accounts.”

The talk isn’t intended to be a forum for debate on a volatile topic, but rather one man’s reflections on what he witnessed.

“I’m happy to share my experience with others,” Br. Joe said. “Perhaps people will be able to walk with me and experience vicariously what I did.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2019, St. Bonaventure was named the #1 regional university value in New York and #2 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.