Dying of immigrant rights chief Father Guillermo Treviño, 39, mourned in Iowa and past

[ad_1] On one of many ultimate days of his life, Father Guillermo Treviño walked by means of Vatican Metropolis beneath a tender, silvery sky, holding aloft a towering picket cross.

With 100 singing pilgrims following, he led the way in which, lifting his black cowboy hat excessive every time somebody strayed.

Rev. De Neice Welch, one of many pilgrims additionally on the journey, mentioned she is going to always remember the sight of him smiling beneath that brim, guiding them like a shepherd by means of the center of the Church he so beloved.

Guillermo Treviño Jr.

Treviño, who was simply 39, died in Iowa Metropolis on Friday, Oct. 31, a day after he returned from his journey to Rome. He had undiagnosed diabetes, which in the end led to a abdomen perforation that proved deadly, in accordance a Fb posting by his sister, Mariela Treviño-Luna, who additionally was with him on the journey to Europe.

Treviño served as a pastor of the St. Joseph Catholic church buildings in Columbus Junction and West Liberty, southeast of Iowa Metropolis, however he was recognized statewide for his work as a founding member and chaplain of Escucha Mi Voz Iowa. The group is likely one of the state's main advocacy organizations for immigrant rights.

"From my time because the Bishop of Davenport, I bear in mind his playful and severe sides," Thomas Zinkula, archbishop of Dubuque, essentially the most senior chief of Iowa Catholics, mentioned in a message to the Des Moines Register. "Fr. Guillermo beloved motion pictures, Star Wars {and professional} wrestling. However he additionally was captivated with serving and advocating for immigrants. I used to be impressed by his complete dedication to searching for justice and mercy for individuals on that exact margin of society."

<img alt="Father Guillermo Treviño carries a wooden cross through Vatican City on Oct. 23, 2025." loading="lazy" width="800" height="600" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/zOTH3.ejMTQVh4EwnrnJjw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-des-moines-register/ccd64057b0954c3507062deb1a88fa36"/> Father Guillermo Treviño carries a picket cross by means of Vatican Metropolis on Oct. 23, 2025.

Maria Ayala, vp of Escucha Mi Voz Iowa, expressed her concern for Treviño's loss at a time when immigrants face growing uncertainty.

"I do not imagine what occurred," Ayala mentioned. "We'd like extra individuals like him to assist our hispano-latino neighborhood."

Treviño had simply come again from the Fifth World Assembly of Widespread Actions in Rome, the place he and Welch represented the Gamaliel Nationwide Community, a grassroots group of nonpartisan, faith-based organizations.

"Father Treviño was probably the most particular individuals I've ever met," mentioned Welch, senior pastor of Bidwell Avenue United Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.

She added {that a} reminiscence she is going to always remember is when, ready for dinner one night time through the journey, Treviño gathered the contingent from South Africa to play foosball.

"They had been all taking part in and laughing and joking, and so they did not even communicate the identical language, however he took management of that scenario and invited all these individuals to simply have enjoyable," Welch mentioned.

<img alt="Families of Pascual Pedro and Noel Lopez walk to stand near Fr. Guillermo Trevino during a protest demanding the return and release of each man, respectively, July 29, 2025 near the U.S. Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa." loading="lazy" width="960" height="640" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/bqKd8b34TQ4vnYyjOAExlQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-des-moines-register/2a3df2c7e85f5301699d18a3b0b1eee0"/> Households of Pascual Pedro and Noel Lopez stroll to face close to Fr. Guillermo Trevino throughout a protest demanding the return and launch of every man, respectively, July 29, 2025 close to the U.S. Courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

A lifetime of service and religion for social points Born in Moline on the Illinois facet of the Quad Cities, Treviño by no means gave up on individuals, Deacon David Montgomery, chancellor of the Diocese of Davenport, mentioned in an e-mail to the Des Moines Register. He famous that Treviño's personal father, a Mexican citizen, was deported 12 instances from the USA.

Treviño "was a mild and candy man, had a booming preachers voice and will effortlessly preach and pray in English and Spanish, switching backwards and forwards with ease," Montgomery mentioned.

Father Guillermo Treviño poses exterior the Vatican on Oct. 23, 2025.

Treviño's first marketing campaign to help susceptible individuals, in 2018, stopped what advocates noticed as a measure hostile to homeless individuals. The Iowa Metropolis Council agreed to switch 14 benches within the metropolis's Ped Mall with variations missing the middle armrests that had made them unsuitable for sleeping.

"I imagine this can be a mistake by the town," Treviño informed the Iowa Metropolis Press-Citizen on the time. "And we really feel that in the event you break one thing it's best to pay for it, come clean with it."

Escucha Mi Voz Iowa held its first organizing conferences within the basements of his church buildings in 2021, mentioned Montgomery.

<img alt="Pascual Pedro (right), a former West Liberty High School soccer star, stands in a photo in 2024 with Escucha Mi Voz board president, Father Guillermo Treviño. Pedro, 20, was recently detained by ICE officials and deported to his home country of Guatemala." loading="lazy" width="960" height="958" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/q9Obws.8QJG6d2Ks.xozpw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTk1ODtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-des-moines-register/5abd0e859fec8035cf9edb2d9e60b217"/> Pascual Pedro (proper), a former West Liberty Excessive Faculty soccer star, stands in a photograph in 2024 with Escucha Mi Voz board president, Father Guillermo Treviño. Pedro, 20, was just lately detained by ICE officers and deported to his house nation of Guatemala.

Treviño emerged as a number one determine within the Diocese's outreach to immigrant communities. In 2022, he acquired the Nationwide Cardinal Bernardin New Management Award, which acknowledges a “younger faith-filled Catholic who has demonstrated management towards poverty and injustice in the USA,” in accordance with the U.S. Convention of Catholic Bishops.

In 2023, he helped distribute $1.3 million in pandemic reduction checks to meatpacking plant employees and farmworkers, in accordance with Montgomery.

He added that certainly one of Treviño's most impactful victories got here in 2024, when he helped save the Catholic Marketing campaign for Human Growth. The nationwide neighborhood organizing grant program that gives $5 million to $10 million in assist yearly had come beneath hearth for exceeding its sources and confronted makes an attempt to severely scale it again, in accordance with the Nationwide Catholic Reporter. The net publication quoted Treviño as saying forward of a decisive convention of bishops that "pausing grant awards or the annual assortment for even one yr would trigger irreparable hurt to the poorest and most marginalized communities on this nation."

He was persevering with his advocacy this yr, writing an opinion piece for the Des Moines Register after Pascual Pedro, a West Liberty Excessive Shool graduate, was detained throughout a routine immigration check-in and deported fewer than two weeks later.

"As Pascual Pedro’s parish priest and godfather, I'm deeply troubled by the latest statements of Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Joni Ernst, and Rep. Ashley Hinson concerning his unjust deportation to Guatemala," he wrote. "We demand management. We demand justice. We demand you Carry Pascual Residence Now."

Most just lately, in August , U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont unbiased, sat alongside Treviño as he spoke to a crowd on immigration points at St. Joseph in West Liberty.

Sanders on Saturday recalled his expertise with Treviño and, in a message to the Register, mentioned he personally mourned his loss.

<img alt="Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to a crowd on immigration issues on Aug. 22, 2025, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in West Liberty, Iowa." loading="lazy" width="960" height="640" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2Qzp035JBTnQ2lPLJ.iPKw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-des-moines-register/8335c6ffcd0604371788394ae649d36b"/> Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to a crowd on immigration points on Aug. 22, 2025, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in West Liberty, Iowa.

"I had the privilege of assembly Fr. Treviño a number of instances," Sanders mentioned. "He was a brave man who devoted his life to preventing for dignity and justice for all individuals. He stood up for the poor, the susceptible, and the unvoiced.

"His passing is an amazing loss, however the easiest way to honor his legacy is to proceed his wrestle — to face up, communicate out, and confront injustice wherever it exists."