"I'm extremely concerned about the food shortage and the inability of people to purchase food for their families or to pay their rents. To deprive them of their well-being and the well-being of their children in this time seems to me to be extremely cruel," Sister Markham said.

Bishop Barber said Oct. 1 the "economic devastation" in this country wrought by the pandemic "has already led to the closure of at least 150 Catholic schools, many in low-income areas that serve children of color."

Caravans formed regularly in Honduras prior to the pandemic, though Mexico had started deploying its national guard to impede large groups of migrants from transiting the country.

"Tens of thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed,” Persiana Kamberaj, head of programs for Catholic Relief Services in Khartoum, said, adding that flooding has ignited an urgent need for humanitarian aid.

"We ask you, Lord, through the intercession of our Mother Virgin Mary, the star of the sea in the storm, to lead our homelands, our churches and our people to the port of safety,” Cardinal Rai pleaded.

About 30,000 Catholic men and women around the world are knights or dames of the Holy Sepulchre, pledging to support the church of Jerusalem with their prayers, regular pilgrimages and financial offerings.