ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ TO HONOR VIETNAMESE MARTYRS AT CATHEDRAL
November 14, 2014  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

Archbishop José H. Gomez, joined by thousands of Vietnamese parishioners, will honor 117 Vietnamese martyrs at a Mass and celebration marking the 35th Anniversary of the Vietnamese community on Sunday, November 14, 2014, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., in downtown Los Angeles. Sunday’s event unites members of the Vietnamese community from Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Orange and San Diego counties.

The festivities will begin at 1 p.m. on the Cathedral plaza with an exhibit displaying the history of the Vietnamese martyrs, followed by a play and a procession with martyrs’ relics into the Cathedral for a 4 p.m. Mass.

“This celebration reminds us of the culture of encounter that we find in the Catholic Church,” said Archbishop Gomez. “From the suffering of these martyrs, a courageous Church was born and a beautiful Vietnamese Catholic culture — that extends throughout Asia and across the ocean to Los Angeles and the Americas.” ​

The Mass will commemorate the 117 martyrs who were canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988 in the largest canonization in church history. After Jesuit missionaries brought Catholicism to Vietnam, rulers there banned foreign missionaries and tried to force people to trample on a crucifix. The martyrs, killed between the 16th and 19th centuries, included Asians and Europeans, priests, and lay people who were persecuted for refusing to denounce their faith.

 RECAP

WHO: Archbishop José H. Gomez and members of the Vietnamese community from Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, orange, and san diego counties
WHAT: Vietnamese Martyrs Mass, 35th Anniversary of the Vietnamese community
WHEN: Sunday, November 16, 20141-4 p.m. Vietnamese Martyrs exhibit, play and procession with relics of three saints4-6 p.m. Vietnamese Martyrs Mass featuring liturgical dancers
WHERE: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., 90012METRO: Red Line, Civic Center stop