Oxnard’s banjo-playing priest with ‘Despicable Me’ minions is moving on

The gig is up.

After 13 years back in the city where he was raised, leading a Catholic parish that includes nearly 10,000 families and his own 80-year-old mother, Monsignor Jon Majarucon is being assigned to a new church.

The Filipino-American priest who was the first pastor of color in Santa Clara Parish’s 129-year history will deliver a farewell homily on Sunday at the church on Oxnard’s South E Street.

Líderes de religiones enfrentadas en Tierra Santa oran juntos por la paz

Los Ángeles, 6 jun (EFEUSA).- Líderes musulmanes, judíos y católicos se reunieron hoy en la catedral de Los Ángeles para orar por la paz mundial, siguiendo el ejemplo del papa Francisco, que invitó este domingo al Vaticano al presidente israelí, Simón Peres, y el palestino, Mahmud Abas, para rezar por una solución del conflicto de Oriente Medio.

Estadounidense, se reunieron este viernes 6 de junio junto a otros líderes musulmanes, judíos y católicos en la catedral de Los Ángeles para orar por la paz mundial

EFE/EUA CARIBE SHM28 LOS ANGELES (CA, EEUU), 6/6/2014.- De izq. a dcha., Alexei Smith, encargado de asuntos ecuménicos para la arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles y Mark Diamond rabino y director regional del Comité Judío Estadounidense, se reunieron este viernes 6 de junio junto a otros líderes musulmanes, judíos y católicos en la catedral de Los Ángeles para orar por la paz mundial, siguiendo el ejemplo del papa Francisco, que invitó este domingo al Vaticano al presidente israelí, Simón Peres, y el palestino, Mahmud Abas, para rezar por una solución del conflicto de Oriente Medio. EFE/IVAN MEJÍA

How a Tiny Downtown School With a Blacktop ‘Field’ Became a Soccer Dynasty

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — In 2009, the middle-school soccer players from Downtown’s St. Turibius school lost their Catholic Youth Organization championship game in penalty kicks to the powerhouse American Martyrs team from Manhattan Beach.

Archdiocese of Los Angeles ordains four new priests

The four men were dressed in white and cream-colored robes. They knelt on the stone floor, ending up face down in a supplicating sign of obedience and respect. In front of thousands of onlookers, they were about to become Catholic priests.

The Sacrament of Christian mission

I love these weeks of the Easter season as we await the Ascension of our Lord and the sending of his Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Since the early days of the Church, this time has been the time associated with Confirmation, the great Sacrament of Christian commitment.

Father Romero returns to Taos to celebrate Golden Jubilee

Born in Taos and ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles half a century ago, Father Juan Romero will return to the church of his Baptism, San Francisco de Asís in Ranchos, for a Golden Jubilee Mass.

LA priest says he has lived his vocation ‘from my mother’s womb’

Los Angeles, Calif., May 28, 2014 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- A young Nigerian priest who serves the Hispanic community in California says he received his vocation in his mother’s womb.

Father Kelechi Alzoie current serves at Holy Family Parish in Wilmington, Calif., which has a large Hispanic population, mostly of Mexican origin.

St. Augustine grads remembered for ‘culture of the true, the good and the beautiful’

The students graduating from St. Augustine Academy noted the sense of family their close-knit class of 15 developed, but Headmaster Michael Van Hecke said before the afternoon ceremony Saturday that he thinks the grads are differentiated by “their spirit — their cultural effect.”

Thomas Aquinas College Honors Former President, Benefactors of Chapel

Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles recently visited Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., to bless bronze plaques and a book that honors the benefactors of the campus chapel, according to the College’s website.