HUNDREDS SOCAL TEENS ATTENDED A THREE-DAY CONFERENCE ON EXPRESSING SAINTHOOD IN EVERYDAY LIFE
August 6, 2019  |  By:   |  Press Releases  |  

–Youth gathered in prayer for victims of shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton at closing Mass–

Archbishop José H. Gomez and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Religious Education hosted the fifth annual City of Saints conference this past weekend on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles to offer teens an encounter with Christ through fellowship, praise and worship as they participated in workshops presented by renowned speakers, including youth leaders.

“God wants your life to be beautiful on this earth, to be filled with love and joy and holiness and hope,” said Archbishop Gomez during his homily. “God wants your life to be a light that leads other people to know him and to love him! God is calling you to make this world a “City of Saints”, to work with all your strength and to use all of your gifts to serve our brothers and sisters, especially the poor.”

Archbishop Gomez welcomed the teens on Friday afternoon by celebrating Mass, then led the youth in an outdoor Eucharistic procession to the Sacred Space, where spiritual directors shared different prayer paths during the weekend.

The event featured music by the nationally-known recording artist Ike Ndolo, facilitated group time, worship and prayer, teens received the sacrament of reconciliation, and many other activities including a mosaic of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that students helped to create by taking pictures. You can download the final image from this link https://we.tl/t-8FakJ2ncq5. A time lapse video and event photos are available upon request.

During the closing mass of City of Saints on Sunday, Archbishop Gomez invited the youth to join him in prayer for peace, and offered the intention to the victims of Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton mass shootings.

About 1,186 teenagers attended City of Saints from 55 parishes and schools throughout the tri-county Archdiocese (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura). The event was emceed by Mental Health and School Counselor Roy Petitfils, Musician and Author Chris Padgett, Theology teacher Brian Greenfield, Catholic speaker and the author of Follow and Room 24 Katie Prejean McGardy, and Director of Partnership for ODB Films and owner of Monarch Catholic Ministries Doug Tooke.

For more information about City of Saints, including photos, videos and updates, please visit http://cityofsaints.org and follow Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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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 at LACatholics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Video archives and footage of Masses celebrated by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez are also available.