THOUSANDS JOINED ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ VIRTUALLY FOR A MASS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY
September 21, 2020  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

 

Faithful from the across Southern California and beyond joined Archbishop José H. Gomez today in live-streamed Masses in English and Spanish celebrating the annual Day in Recognition of All Immigrants at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. The livestream of the Masses are available at https://www.facebook.com/lacatholics/.

“We belong to God. He gives us life so that we can serve Christ, so that we can labor and bear fruit in his vineyard, which is the Kingdom that he has planted and is growing in the world. God is One and the human race that he created is one! But he creates us as “many” — many races, many nationalities, many languages, and ethnic cultures,” said Archbishop Gomez during his homily (full homily is attached).

At the end of Mass, Kaithlyn, a Catholic high school student and uncompanioned minor from Nicaragua, shared her story of how she reunited with her mother in Los Angeles after leaving her country of origin seeking asylum in the U.S. due violence against her family. Kaithlyn left Nicaragua when she was 13 years old.

“I believe that if you have God in your heart then you will be nice to people and people will be nice to you. I would always pray when I was at the immigration process center with two other girls. We would pray together. We prayed that people would treat us right and that we would stay safe,” said Kaithlyn. “I’m very grateful that this country has given my family a place to feel safe and I will always do my best to be an example to others.”

Today’s celebration and an Archdiocesan-wide virtual novena lead up to the World Day of Migrants and Refugees designated by Pope Francis on September 27. All faithful are invited to join the nine days of prayer and reflection at https://lacatholics.org/immigration-novena/.

Traditionally, the Day in Recognition of All Immigrants Mass is a culmination of a three-day, 60-mile walking pilgrimage by a group of faithful led by Don Antonio, from Orange County to the Cathedral as a symbol of solidarity for all those impacted by the broken immigration system. Due to the pandemic, Don Antonio walked alone this year, and was welcomed to the Cathedral by Archbishop Gomez this morning. Don Antonio invites everyone to do their own pilgrimage in solidarity with the immigrant community.

Virtual pilgrimage participants may register online and commit to any number of miles for their journey. Pilgrimage participants have until December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe) to complete their pilgrimage. To register, visit: https://lacatholics.org/immigration-pilgrimage/. There is also an option to donate to Catholic Charities to support immigrant and refugee efforts.

“We are “many” because God delights in all this variety and diversity, he loves all these colors and cultures of peoples” said the Archbishop. “No one, not any one of us, is the same as anyone else. That’s because God loves each of us as a totally unique creation. And yet, for all this diversity that we can see in God’s vineyard, we are still one. One people, one family. In this moment, I believe God is calling our immigrant Church to be a light to our immigrant nation.”

The Masses were broadcast on Univision’s local UniMás KFTR-TV (CH 46) ABC7 Los Angeles’ digital channel 7.2, Guadalupe Radio, and El Sembrador (ESNE).The community of faith has been invited to show their support by sharing immigration stories and prayers on social media using the hashtag #PrayForImmigrants.

NOTE: PHOTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE BY REQUEST.

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About the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the United States with approximately five million Catholics, serving the three counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara. For the latest news, events and to subscribe for media alerts visit media.la-archdiocese.org. Follow us on social media using @LACatholics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Video footage and photographs  (credit: Angelus News) of Masses celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez are also available.