They toured like rock stars but they arrived early and wore sensible shoes.
The Nuns on the Bus stepped out of their coach on Wednesday to the cheers of a standing-room-only crowd at the St. John Neumann Parish auditorium who came to listen to the sisters argue for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.
Network, a national Catholic social justice lobby, made South Scranton the second stop on a 6,500-mile cross-country trek focused on raising awareness and support for immigration policies that protect family unity and workers' rights and provide a pathway to citizenship for those already in the U.S.
The afternoon assembly at a Catholic parish with a large Latino congregation was as much about recognizing the city's current cultural diversity - a product of new and old waves of immigration - as it was an effort to urge supporters to goad Congress into passing comprehensive immigration reform this summer.
"We need immigration reform now so that everyone in our society is secure," Network Executive Director Sister Simone Campbell said, "so that we build an economy where there is justice in wages, where there is hope in a future, and where education is possible for all."
The event included statements from U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, Moosic, and Mayor Chris Doherty about the community value of new immigrants, testimonials from educators and social services workers who listed the business and cultural contributions of immigrant families, and stories from local immigrants who have made Scranton their home.
Luis Canales, a member of the St. John Neumann Parish, said he was one of more than a dozen children born into a poor family in Honduras and left the country because he was threatened by gangs. He drew a huge cheer when he said he became a Marywood University student the week after he was granted amnesty and is now in the honors society there.
"Because of that seal on my passport I have the opportunity of an education, safety and a better life for me and for my family," he said. Secure in his own place, he said he wants to help others "because I know what it is like to be in those shoes. I know what it is like to think, tomorrow I will be sent back to my country. I am going to get killed."
After the speeches, nuns and volunteers served tamales and Nepalese dumplings on American flag plates. The speakers and visitors agreed to take their message with them when they left the hall.
Sister Therese O'Rourke, I.H.M., president of the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, said "this space" - the decades-old site of a Catholic school once run by the sisters - "touches our hearts."
"It serves to remind us that we are called once again to serve the most pressing needs of our time," she said. "In 1933, it was to educate new immigrants. Today, it is to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, our neighbors, who are immigrants."
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com