On Saturday, January 27 at 4:00 p.m., Bishop Richard J. Malone will celebrate an Asylum Seekers and Refugee Awareness Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Athol Springs. It will mark the fifth anniversary of Buffalo Peace House. A reception will follow in the Parish Social Center with a meet and greet with the bishop as well as residents and alumni of the Buffalo Peace House. Tours of the house will also be available.

Since opening its doors in 2013, Buffalo Peace House has provided safe shelter for hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees from 20 different countries. The non-profit in Hamburg was created in the former convent at St. Francis of Assisi Parish. There are currently 18 people being offered temporary housing there as the asylum process can often take several months.

According to the United Nations, an asylum seeker is a person who claims that they are refugee, however that claim has not been proven. When asylum seekers leave their home country to seek sanctuary in another country, they must apply for asylum. Asylum grants them the right to be recognized as a refugee, and makes them eligible to receive both legal and material assistance. An asylum seeker must be able to show that their fear of persecution in their home country is well-founded.