Pope Leo's Prayer Riders Join Miami Archbishop in Protest at 'Alligator Alcatraz'

Inmates denied Bibles as Trump and DeSantis’s prison guards claim “no right to religion.”

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Beneath a blue sign reading “Alligator Alcatraz,” Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and a band of Catholic motorcyclists prayed at the gates of Florida’s Everglades detention camp on Sunday, July 20.

Their Harleys, emblazoned with Knights of Columbus emblems, stand parked as rosaries and Pope Leo prayer cards dangled from leather-clad hands.

The unlikely prayer circle —a white-bearded archbishop in biker gear flanked by faithful riders — sends a quiet but defiant message toward the barbed-wire fences beyond.

Wenski, Miami’s Catholic leader, has emerged as a fierce critic of this remote facility built under Gov. Ron DeSantis.

He warns that the hastily erected camp on a sweltering swamp airstrip endangers migrants with extreme heat and isolation.

Detainees reported meager food, swarming mosquitoes, and even having their Bibles confiscated by guards who allegedly said there was “no right to religion”.

You’re not going to make America great by making America mean,” Wenski warned, underscoring that his fight is about human dignity, not politics.

The archbishop also bristled at officials joking that alligators and pythons will deter escape attempts — talk he calls “provocative” and “demeaning”.

He reminded leaders that “common decency” means recognizing detainees as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters with families awaiting them. For Wenski, such rhetoric and policies cross a basic line of respect.

That conviction led him to the Everglades.

On July 20, after weeks of being stonewalled, Wenski and about two dozen Knights on Bikes rode to the camp’s gates to pray the rosary.

Yet he is still waiting for permission to enter “Alligator Alcatraz” to celebrate Mass for those inside. The archdiocese has pressed to provide Communion and counsel — spiritual solace required by detention policy — but so far no answer, despite Gov. DeSantis boasting of Florida’s “religious liberty” record.

In 452, Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor, Pope Leo the Great, confronted Attila the Hun armed only with faith and persuaded the feared warlord to spare Rome.

That episode remains a timeless example of spiritual authority triumphing over brute force. Wenski’s protest at “Alligator Alcatraz” echoes that spirit — a modern tableau of faith defying worldly power.

Wenski’s showdown in the Everglades could mark a more assertive Catholic witness in public life.

By challenging a governor’s hardline agenda, he shows that spiritual authority can still speak truth to power. His leather-clad prayer vigil proves the Church need not retreat — it can ride straight into the crisis, guided by compassion and undaunted by political might.

At the gates of “Alligator Alcatraz,” a Pope Leo-inspired faith leader found his voice — and perhaps the Church glimpsed its future.

Letters from Leo is 100% sustained by your generosity. If you find value in my work, please consider supporting me by becoming a paid subscriber today.

Paid subscriptions start at only $6.67 per month and will get you full access to the ongoing Fath and the Democratic Party essays and this multi-part series on the life and formation of Pope Leo. The third part of that series was released Monday.

Do you prefer a one-time gift? Donate here instead of subscribing.

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