The theme announced by His holiness Pope Francis for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees is “Free to Choose Whether to Migrate or to Stay.” In his message, Pope Francis acknowledges that while the decision to migrate should always be free, in many cases it is not. This point was reflected by St. John Paul II in his message for the 90th World Day of Migrants & Refugees, in which he wrote, “Building conditions of peace means in practice being seriously committed to safeguarding first of all the right not to emigrate, that is, the right to live in peace and dignity in one’s own country.” As he concluded his message, Pope Francis referenced the words of the Lord when He said”…I was stranger, and you welcomed me” reminding us that the Lord’s words are a “constant admonition to see in the migrant not simply a brother or sister in difficulty, but Christ himself, who knocks at our door.”