Thanks to the generosity of several of the Diocese’s congregations and other faith communities in the Chicago metro area, a number of the organizations that have previously served as drop off sites for churches that have organized winter clothing drives for the asylum seekers arriving from Texas are now reporting a surplus of clothing. Congregations may continue to drop off donations of winter coats at Centro Romero, 6216 N. Clark Street, Chicago Illinois.

Centro Romero is named in memory of Oscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, who “observed first-hand the suffering of El Salvador’s poor and experienced the increasing government sanctioned violence against socially active priests and laypersons.” Archbishop Romero broadcast his sermons over the archdiocesan radio station, gathering an increasingly large following of people who listened to his messages for justice. Archbishop Romero was assassinated on March 24, 1980 and he is commemorated by the Episcopal Church on that day.

Centro Romero has served the refugee, asylum seeking and immigrant community on the northeast side of Chicago for thirty-eight years with Youth Learning and Leadership Programs, Family Services including a Domestic Violence Prevention Program, a Public Benefits Program, a New Americans Initiative, Adult Education, and Legal Services. For more information on Centro Romero and to schedule a drop off of winter coats, please contact Susana Salgado, Family Service Program Manager, 773-508-5300 x214.

Above, Salvador Herrera-Olaguez, a member of St. Joseph’s and St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Blue Island, helps load the congregation’s clothing donation after the Sunday Eucharist. Photo: Sandra Castillo