Salvadorean Father Jose Landaverde who founded the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Little Village, prepares to speak at the press conference which is celebrating its 5th anniversary helping the community fight injustices.

In the heart of Little Village, there’s a small, hardly noticeable, church. Since it opened five years ago, this congregation has become a well-known beacon of activism for the rights of undocumented immigrants.

On any given day, there are several parishioners working on campaigns. There are families fighting deportation orders, workers trying to recover lost wages and a recent successful hunger strike that persuaded local hospitals to help three undocumented young men receive organ transplants.

This weekend Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission celebrated five years of mixing faith and activism. Dozens of members of the congregation attended a special mass on Saturday and later a party to celebrate the anniversary.

[Photos by William Camargo]