ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ CALLS ON FAITHFUL TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER AND STAND IN HOPE AT ONELIFE LA
January 18, 2025  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

Putting this year’s theme “Let us stand up together in hope” into action, OneLife LA offered hope and solidarity with our brothers and sisters suffering due to the devastation of the recent wildfires in Southern California. The annual celebration of life event was held for the first time in a sacred space this year at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, which is also a pilgrimage site for this year’s Jubilee Year proclaimed by Pope Francis with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The annual walk for life prior to the program was canceled this year out of an abundance of caution for health concerns due to poor air related to the ongoing fires and to alleviate any need for city or law enforcement support normally required for a large walk that usually draws thousands.

“In times like this we realize: life is precious, but life is also fragile. What we have, we could lose in an instant. So, we should live for God, enjoy every moment, and never take anyone or anything in our lives for granted,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez as he addressed those gathered at OneLife LA. “Now is the hour for Christian witness. We need to stand together in hope! Support one another, sacrifice for one another, take care of one another!

Archbishop Gomez was joined by the auxiliary bishops for all five pastoral regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and Bishop Joseph V. Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno, who had previously served in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from his ordination in 1980 until 2019, led the opening prayer.

The event began with community partner organizations and service agencies offering service opportunities and other resources including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, NAMI Los Angeles, Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ and Catholic Charities Los Angeles, among others. There were also opportunities to donate to the Archdiocese’s Wildfire Victims Emergency Relief Fund which offers immediate assistance to fire victims for food, clothing, and other necessities through a one-time grant.

“Today we experienced this year’s theme: Let Us Stand Up Together. We stand together in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have been affected by the wildfires. We stand together in hope, knowing that the Lord holds us and desires healing and renewal for our lives and communities,” said Michael P. Donaldson, Senior Director of the Office of Life, Justice & Peace of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “We stand together for the unborn, the family, the poor and vulnerable, the sick, the elderly, and the marginalized.”

The Gonzalez and Magallon families who lost their respective homes in the Eaton fire shared stories of being sustained by faith, hope and community during devastating times. Both families processed into at Cathedral at the beginning of the event with the Magallon family carrying a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary which remained standing in the rubble of their destroyed Altadena home.

Faithful lined up to venerate the tabernacle that remained unscathed in the fire that destroyed Corpus Christi Church in the Pacific Palisades which was on display inside the Cathedral.

The program also included testimonials on the impact of the emergency on groups at risk like those facing homelessness and in the foster care system from Sister Maria Goretti who ministers to those who live in the Skid Row area and Desiree Gentile who was given up for adoption as an infant and is now a foster care and adoption advocate. Noel Diaz, founder of the Catholic media ministry El Sembrador, shared a message of anchoring in Christ and faith even during the most challenging times.

Since 2020, OneLife LA has awarded a $10,000 grant to a community partner that reflects its mission and vision. This year’s grant recipient was Maryvale – Los Angeles’ oldest children’s charity and one of San Gabriel Valley’s most trusted and longest-running providers of child and family services for the underserved. Their latest program, Seton House, provides temporary housing for single mothers. This year, OneLife LA has renamed the grant “The Dr. Tirso del Junco Grant” out of gratitude to Dr. Tirso del Junco, a pro-life doctor who sought to honor and respect all human life in his medical practice, who has made it possible for the grant to be awarded annually for years to come.

“OneLife LA is the dream of a community of love where every human life is sacred, and every life is cared for, from the moment a person is conceived in the womb until the moment their life reaches its natural end,” said Archbishop Gomez. “We need this spirit now to renew our city and our Church.”

Musical performances included a duet by Jacky Ibarra and Sharissa Johnson, and Francis Cabildo and his band.

OneLife LA culminated with the annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn celebrated by Archbishop Gomez. The annual Mass has been offered at the Cathedral for more than two decades and features a powerful Ceremony of Light which mourns every unborn child killed by abortion during a single day in the greater Los Angeles area.

The program was livestreamed on onelifela.org and facebook.com/lacatholics and the Mass was livestreamed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbKNGShLEM8.

#####