A place in history
Spanish immersion teachers travel to DC for a firsthand look into American history and government
On a breezy early summer day, a group of Latina teachers walking through Washington, DC, happened upon a life-size bronze sculpture of 140 migrants huddled together in a small boat, titled “Angels Unawares.”
They found the sculpture—a second casting of the original in St. Peter’s Square commissioned by Pope Francis to honor migrants and refugees—on their first day in the city, after attending Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception nearby.
It felt like a sign.
The 15 teachers, who are almost all immigrants to the US themselves, were in DC to learn more about American history and government, with support from Notre Dame’s English as a New Language program through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE). But first, they took a moment to reflect on their own journeys and how they fit into the larger history of migration—from the Holy Family to the present day.
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