On the occasion of the International Day against Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking, the Diocesan Group against Human Trafficking of the Church in Valencia, Spain — formed by Caritas, Villa Teresita, Sisters Adorers and the Scholas Chair of the Catholic University of Valencia, in collaboration with the Department of Social Action and the Lay Delegation of the Vicariate for Evangelization — convened a Silent Walk through the historic center of Valencia on September 26, 2025, under the motto: “A path of hope against human trafficking.”

A call to walk in hope

The motto of this initiative is directly linked to the Jubilee of Hope 2025, convened by Pope Francis, which invites the entire Church to renew the gaze of the heart and open itself to listening to the most silenced cries.

In this context, the Walk was a space of prayer, reflection, and commitment — a concrete way of walking together along this jubilee path that transforms hearts. In the midst of prayerful silence, participants expressed their desire to look with hope at a reality that often remains invisible: that of so many women deceived, excluded, objectified, and consumed, but who still retain their dignity and can face the future with hope.

From our charism of Adoration and Liberation, the Sisters Adorers participated with the certainty that God continues to go out in search of every woman. That is why, on this day, we wanted to proclaim strongly our message:

“You matter. God is searching for you. You are important to Him, and your life has a future. You are not lost. There is a Love that is looking for you.”

A walk that challenges and transforms

The response to this call exceeded expectations, gathering a large number of people who, throughout the walk, experienced intense moments of awareness, denunciation, and community prayer.

During the journey, several questions were proposed for personal and ecclesial reflection:
• Does this painful reality challenge us as Christians?
• Do we allow ourselves to be affected by their pain?
• Have we become accustomed to realities of suffering and normalized them?
• Can we be part of the solution?
• Do I get involved personally and as a community?

Pope Francis reminds us that the Jubilee must lead us to a “transformation of the heart,” and that this conversion is expressed in concrete gestures of commitment and tenderness. One such gesture can be discovering, with new eyes, “that these people are there,” waiting for our closeness and solidarity.

With Mary, toward hope

The route ended with a blessing by Our Lady of the Forsaken at the Royal Basilica of Valencia, presided over by the Auxiliary Bishop of Valencia, Monsignor Fernando Ramón, accompanied by the Episcopal Vicar for Social and Charitable Action.

It was a deeply symbolic ending: a prayer for hope under Mary’s maternal gaze, so that the entire Church may continue to walk united in this Jubilee toward a freer, more just, and fraternal world.