A HOMELESSNESS SURVIVOR AND A WRITER BORN ARMLESS ARE AMONG ONELIFE LA 2020 SPEAKERS
November 27, 2019  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

Speakers and performers will address tens of thousands at Los Angeles Historic Park about celebrating the beauty and dignity of every human life on January 18

Inspiring speakers will join Archbishop José H. Gomez at the sixth annual OneLife LA, on January 18, 2020, at Los Angeles Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles, for a large-scale event uniting people of all backgrounds throughout Southern California to celebrate the beauty and dignity of every human life from conception to natural death.

“OneLife LA is not an event, it is a movement,” said Archbishop Gomez. “It is a movement of love that sees in every person the beauty of God’s creation, a child of God. Love is the reason for our lives, and love is the reason we commit ourselves to defending the child in the womb, the poor and the homeless, the prisoner and the sick, the elderly and the disabled, mothers in crisis and young people in need of foster care. I hope to see many new people joining us on January 18 for this great celebration of love and life.” 

OneLife seeks to promote a culture of life, where every human life is dignified, especially the most vulnerable and underserved. The 2020 event will begin at noon with a walk led by Archbishop Gomez from the birthplace of the city at Olvera Street to the new Los Angeles State Historic Park. It will include a roster of international and national voices sharing their personal and life-affirming stories.

Speakers and performers include:

  • Jess Echeverry, whose testimony includes dark times of physical and sexual violence, teenage pregnancy and years of on and off homelessness. In 1997 she met the man she would eventually marry; this man would help her create an environment of authentic love that enabled her healing journey, her relationship with Jesus Christ and her eventual forgiveness and love for her attackers. She is the founder and Executive Director of SOFESA, a non-profit ministry that has been serving Southern California homeless and low-income children and their families since 1999.
  • Daniel Ritchie is a speaker and an armless writer from Huntersville, NC. Daniel’s parents were told at his birth that he was ‘incompatible with life’ but his parents refused to believe the naysayers, and now Daniel spends his life helping others see the beauty and dignity of their lives. He has spoken both nationally and internationally for churches, schools, fundraisers, conferences, colleges, international news organizations and professional sports teams. His writing has been featured on Fox News, Desiring God, Gospel Coalition, For The Church and many others. His first book, My Affliction For His Glory, was released in 2018.
  • Francis Cabildo is a singer-songwriter, worship leader and speaker from Southern California. He has served the Church as a youth minister, music minister, high school campus minister and inspiring speaker. He has been part of NET Ministries, Life Teen, Inc., 242Revolution.com college ministry, The City Lights movement, and has participated in numerous retreats, conferences and worship events.
  • Gia Chacón is a speaker, humanitarian, and blogger. She is best known for her passionate speaking and empowering messages on living out one’s purpose. Currently, she sits as the Pro-Life Director of Bienvenido, an organization that promotes the values of faith, family, and freedom within the Hispanic community. Daily, she impacts culture through the media as “Genuinely Gia.”
  • AJ Casillas is a Middle School Religion teacher in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. His love for the Church really took a turning point when he served as a missionary for NET Ministries (National Evangelization Teams) for 5 years, traveling across the country spreading the Gospel to the young people of America.
  • Stephanie Gray is an international pro-life presenter from Vancouver, Canada, who has traveled North America, Central America, and Europe speaking to vast and varied crowds, including medical, legal, political, and university audiences.  In 2017 she spoke for the series “Talks at Google,” presenting at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA, on the topic “Abortion: From Controversy to Civility.” The YouTube recording went viral and is part of the 200 popular uploads out of more than 4,000 “Talks at Google.”  Stephanie authored the book “Love Unleashes Life: Abortion and the Art of Communicating Truth.”

For more information on 2020 OneLife LA speakers and more details, visit https://onelifela.org/event-details/. OneLife LA was first celebrated on January 17, 2015. OneLife LA 2019 drew tens of thousands to downtown Los Angeles in celebration of the beauty and dignity of every human life. For more on 2019 highlights visit https://onelifela.org/about/

Visit www.onelifela.org for more information. For OneLife LA updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/1lifela/, https://www.instagram.com/1lifela/, https://twitter.com/1lifela?lang=en,

https://www.youtube.com/user/1lifela, and follow #OneLifeLA.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Archdiocese in the United States with approximately five million Catholics. 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 archives and footage of Masses celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez are also available.  

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