Cardinal from El Salvador meets faithful on Long Island

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez of El Salvador arrived in New York late Thursday and will be spending the next few days on Long Island. He met with refugees and immigrant families on Friday at Catholic Charities Immigrant Service Center in Amityville.

Long Island is home to thousands of Salvadorians and Central American immigrants. Many greeted the cardinal with open arms. He brought them a sense of hope during a difficult time.

Pope Francis elevated Rosa Chavez to Cardinal in June. He is the first cardinal in the history of El Salvador.

The next few days he will be holding mass at local parishes including at St. Anne's in Brentwood. The community is suffering from the gang violence of MS-13.

"It's incredible that in a country like this that we would live like we live in El Salvador -- in turmoil, fearful," he said through an interpreter.

The cardinal told Fox 5 he has a message for President Trump when comes to immigration.

"It is better to build bridges been to build walls," he said.

The cardinal will return to El Salvador on Monday.