Angelus News | March 20, 2026

ANGELUS

FROM A

SHEPHERD’S

HEART

Archbishop

Gomez celebrates

15 years in LA,

25 as a bishop

March 20, 2026 Vol. 11 No. 6

ANGELUS

March 20, 2026

Vol. 11 • No. 6

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ON THE COVER

VICTOR ALEMÁN

This month, Archbishop José H. Gomez is celebrating two major

milestones: 15 years as archbishop of Los Angeles, and 25 years as a

bishop. Our coverage begins on Page 14 with thoughts from some of his

closest collaborators on his leadership style and vision. On Page 22, Tom

Hoffarth looks at what leadership has meant for Catholic education in

Los Angeles, and on Page 38, Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno tells the

story of their friendship over the last 15 years.

THIS PAGE


Archbishop Charles J. Chaput imposes

hands on José H. Gomez during his

ordination as an auxiliary bishop of

Denver on March 26, 2001.

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Pope Watch.................................................................................................................................... 6

Archbishop Gomez..................................................................................................................... 7

World, Nation, and Local News....................................................................................... 8-10

In Other Words.......................................................................................................................... 11

Scott Hahn................................................................................................................................... 68

Events Calendar......................................................................................................................... 69

46

CONTENTS

Boyle Heights parish holds Mass for peace after Mexico violence

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lacatholics.org

52

56

The lessons learned from that viral TikTok ‘baby formula’ test?

Inés San Martín on four Catholic factors to watch in the US-Iran war

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60

62

Grazie Pozo Christie: My husband’s knot-untying lesson

Heather King on Leo Politi, Los Angeles’ forgotten storyteller

4 • ANGELUS • March 20, 2026

POPE WATCH

Leo’s man in the U.S.

Pope Leo XIV named a seasoned

Italian diplomat as the new

apostolic nuncio to the U.S. on

March 7.

Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, 68,

will succeed Cardinal Christophe

Pierre, who turned 80 in January and

had served in the post since 2016.

Caccia, a native of Milan, is no

stranger to the US: Since 2020, he’s

been based in New York, where he’s

served as the permanent observer of

the Holy See to the United Nations.

As papal nuncio to the United States,

Archbishop Caccia will play a key role

in the selection process for U.S. bishop

appointments and will serve as a point

of contact between the bishops and

clergy in the United States and the

pope, in addition to carrying out the

diplomatic tasks of a foreign ambassador

serving in the United States.

Caccia said in a statement that he

was “honored and deeply humbled

by the decision of the Holy Father to

appoint me as apostolic nuncio to the

country and the Church where he

himself was born and raised.”

“I receive this mission with both joy

and a sense of trepidation, conscious

of the great trust placed in me and of

my own limitations, yet confident in

His Holiness’ prayerful support and

guidance,” the archbishop said.

The president of the U.S. Conference

of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop

Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City,

said the bishops “extend our warmest

welcome and our prayerful support” to

Caccia “as he carries out his responsibilities

across the United States, and

we look forward to working with him.”

Archbishop Caccia is a career Vatican

diplomat with experience in the

Philippines, Lebanon, and Tanzania.

He also worked for a time as assessor

for general affairs in the Secretariat of

State under St. John Paul II in Rome,

considered an important post in the

Roman Curia.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a native

of England who serves as the Vatican’s

secretary for relations with foreign

governments, told America Magazine’s

Gerard O’Connell that Caccia is “well

prepared for his new mission” after his

years in New York.

“Archbishop Caccia has no problem

in communication; he speaks English

fluently and knows how to interact

well with people,” Gallagher said.

Pierre, meanwhile, is expected to

split his time in retirement between

his native France and Rome.

He earned widespread respect

among U.S. bishops for identifying

episcopal candidates who embodied

Pope Francis’ priorities while avoiding

polarization, gaining a reputation as a

bridge-builder and a moderate.

“He served both popes (Francis and

Leo) and the Catholics of this country

with a keen intellect and a sharp eye

for pastoral candidates for the episcopacy,”

wrote Michael Sean Winters

of the progressive-leaning National

Catholic Reporter on March 9.

In 2023, Pope Francis showed his

esteem for Pierre by elevating him to

the rank of cardinal, a promotion not

common for nuncios.

He received the “red hat” from

Francis during the same ceremony as

Robert Prevost, the future Pope Leo

XIV.

OSV News Vatican Editor Courtney

Mares contributed to this report.

Papal Prayer Intention for March: Let us pray that nations

move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear

disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of

dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.


NEW WORLD OF FAITH


The year of St. Francis

In 2011, during a solemn ceremony

at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope

Benedict XVI placed the pallium on

my shoulders, a symbol of my union

with the universal Church as I began

my new pastoral duties as shepherd of

the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Following that ceremony, I made a

pilgrimage to Assisi.

I wanted to offer the Eucharist at the

Church of Saint Mary of the Angels,

which is where it all began, the true

spiritual heart from which Los Angeles

was born.

St. Junípero Serra and his brother

Franciscans founded Mission San

Gabriel Arcángel in 1771, and 10

years later the missionaries and a

diverse group of families founded the

city, naming it for this little church in

Assisi: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de

los Angeles de Porciuncula (“The Town

of Our Lady of the Angels of Porciuncula”).

“Portiuncula” is a word that means

“little portion,” as in a little part of

land. Though it is now enclosed within

the magnificent Basilica of St. Mary of

the Angels, this church was built by the

Benedictines in the ninth century.

By the time St. Francis came upon it

in the early 1200s, it was broken down

and nearly abandoned.

In his biography of Francis, written

not long after his death, St. Bonaventure

tells how one day Francis was

prostrate before the crucifix in this

little church when he heard the Lord

speaking to him. Three times the Voice

said: “Francis, go and repair my house

which, as you see, is falling completely

into ruin.”

At first, Francis understood these

words literally. He thought Jesus wanted

him to repair the chapel, so he got

some tools and started working on that.

Over time, he came to see a deeper,

more symbolic meaning. Jesus was not

asking him to restore a church, but to

rebuild the universal Church.

This was the beginning of the great

Franciscan renewal movement, which

sent missionaries first throughout

Europe and eventually to the ends of

the earth.

The Church in the Americas is born

from that Franciscan mission.

Franciscans were among the first to

evangelize the New World, beginning

not long after the voyages of Christopher

Columbus.

It was a Franciscan bishop, the great

defender of the indigenous, Bishop

Juan de Zumárraga, who received the

sacred tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe

from St. Juan Diego.

Franciscan missionaries brought the

faith to California and spread this faith

throughout the southwest and other

parts of what is now the United States.

The first martyr on U.S. soil was a

Franciscan, Father Juan de Padilla.

After years of preaching throughout

Mexico and in Colorado, Arizona, and

New Mexico, he was killed while evangelizing

among the Quivira Indians

in 1542, near what is now Herington,

Kansas.

As I give thanks for the blessings of

these past 15 years as archbishop, and

as I prepare for the 25th anniversary of

my ordination as a bishop on March

26, I find my thoughts returning to the

deep spiritual ties that connect us with

Francis and the movement he started

at that little chapel in Assisi.

Pope Leo XIV has declared this a

special Jubilee Year in honor of the

800th anniversary of St. Francis of

Assisi’s death.

We are preparing here for our observance

of this Jubilee, working with

the many Franciscan communities,

parishes, religious houses, and other

institutions. Look for updates at lacatholics.org/year-of-st-francis/.

This Jubilee is also fitting because we

are celebrating the 250th anniversary

of our nation’s founding and the 495th

anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s

appearances at Tepeyac.

So this will be a special time of grace

for all of us to reflect on the deep

Franciscan roots of our country and

our Church.

It is also, sadly, a moment of war and

deep social divisions in our country,

marked by suspicion, fear, and violence.

As Leo has said, in this moment

Francis has much to teach us. “Not because

he offers technical solutions,” the

pope says, “but because his life points

to the authentic source of peace.”

This will be a special time of grace for all of us to reflect on

the deep Franciscan roots of our country and our Church.

Francis used to greet people with a

little prayer: “May the Lord grant you

peace.”

As we reflect on his witness and

teachings during this Jubilee Year, let

us renew our commitment to bring the

Lord’s peace into all of our relationships

and to work to promote reconciliation

and understanding among our

neighbors.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

And in this Franciscan Year, let us ask

holy Mary, Queen of the Angels, for

the gift of peace — for our city and our

world.

March 20, 2026 • ANGELUS • 7

WORLD

■ Sri Lanka’s spy chief arrested in

connection to 2019 Easter bombings

The arrest of a former intelligence chief in Sri Lanka has

sparked renewed demands to investigate the country’s infamous

2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

Major General Suresh Sallay was arrested Feb. 25 on charges

of conspiracy and aiding the 2019 attacks, which struck

three Catholic churches and neighboring hotels, killing 279

people.

Allegations arose in 2023 that Sallay was linked to the

bombers and had allowed the bombings to proceed to

strengthen the presidential candidacy of Gotabaya Rajapaksa,

who won the November 2019 election with a pledge to fight

terrorism. Under Rajapaksa, Sallay was named head of the

State Intelligence Service.

Following the arrest, a spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese

of Colombo called for a full investigation into the bombings:

“The law should be above everybody, and it should be

impartial and treat everyone equally.”

■ Mexican bishops: Stay home,

be careful amid cartel violence

Mexico’s Catholic bishops are asking Our Lady of Guadalupe

to protect citizens from growing violence after the killing

of cartel boss Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as

“El Mencho,” by the Mexican military in Jalisco Feb. 22.

“May she cover us with her mantle, protect our families,

and help us build paths of justice, peace, and hope,” read a

message from the national bishops’ conference.

In their message, the bishops also urged Catholics to

strengthen security measures, avoid unnecessary travel, and

to follow the instructions of civil authorities.

In his own message, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico

City asked Catholics to step up their prayers, both at home

and in parishes.

“The fight against evil is a permanent duty of all disciples of

Jesus, the Teacher of Peace,” he said.

Members of the National Guard walk past people while on patrol in Acapulco, Mexico,

Feb. 22, after violence broke out in several Mexican states following the killing of the

drug lord known as “El Mencho.” | OSV NEWS/HENRY ROMEROIN, REUTERS

A monk in a bunker — Benedictine Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel of Dormition

Abbey on Mount Zion in the heart of Jerusalem and of Tabgha Priory at the Sea

of Galilee is seen on this selfie photograph taken Feb. 28, in the shelter on the

premises of the Tabgha Priory, where a group of French pilgrims sheltered with

monks, praying and singing for two hours. Their special intention was for those

that lack shelter in the time of instability as U.S. and Israeli strikes hit Tehran that

day, prompting retaliation from Iran. | OSV NEWS/COURTESY ABBOT NIKODE-

MUS SCHNABEL

■ Brazilian archdiocese

gets tough on Latin Mass

Catholics in one Brazilian archdiocese could face excommunication

for attending an unauthorized Latin Mass.

In a Feb. 11 Facebook post, Archbishop Carlos Alberto

Breis Pereira, OFM, of the Archdiocese of Maceió, said that

attendance of “old rite Mass in another location [to the single

approved location and time] will be considered an act of

public schism, resulting in automatic excommunication.”

The Latin Mass is only authorized to be celebrated each

Sunday at one chapel in the archdiocese. The move appears

to be the first time a bishop has equated attendance at an

unauthorized Latin Mass to schism since Pope Francis imposed

new limits on the liturgy in 2023. Critics have argued

that legal precedents imply excommunication is an invalid

penalty for attending an unauthorized liturgy.

The archbishop’s decree is expected to be reviewed by the

Vatican’s Dicastery for Legislative Texts.


NATION

■ Vermont flips on gender ideology

requirements for foster care

Two Christian families had their licenses to serve as foster

families restored in Vermont after the state reversed a policy

on transgender affirmation.

The Quoti and Gantt families had been involved in a lawsuit

against the state after their licenses to foster were revoked in

2022 and 2024. At the time, Vermont required foster parents to

affirm childrens’ gender identity and support related medical

treatment. Both families held that this infringed on their

religious beliefs.

But the case was dismissed Feb. 20 after state officials finalized

a new policy that clarifies that “endorsement or affirmation

of specific identities” is not a condition to have a foster

parenting license.

Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse, senior counsel at Alliance

Defending Freedom, praised the decision: “No parent should

be forced to lie to a vulnerable child about who they are,

much less promote irreversible and life-altering procedures

that don’t have any proven health benefits.”

■ Lou Holtz, the ultimate

Catholic coach, dead at 89

Outspoken Catholic and longtime University of Notre

Dame football coach Lou Holtz died March 4 at 89.

A college football coach for more than four decades,

Holtz is best remembered for his 11 seasons leading at

Notre Dame, including the team’s last national title in

1988. But he was also well known for his deep faith.

When asked by his local bishop what it meant to coach

at Notre Dame, Holtz once replied,

“It means if you have an 8 o’clock

meeting, you can find a 7 o’clock

Mass,” Holtz responded. “When

you want to go to confession, you

just walk across the campus to the

basilica. When you are leaving at

10 o’clock at night, the Lady on the

dome is smiling down at you.”

Lou Holtz chats with

two Catholic bishops at

a 2002 luncheon where

he thanked nuns and

priests for the positive

effect they had on his

life. | CNS/JOE BENTON,

NEW CATHOLIC

MISCELLANY

A mother’s mission — Jackie Flavin, mother of Harper Moyski, who died in the

August 2025 Annunciation Church shooting, looks at desks she set up Feb. 23 in

honor of Harper and another Annunciation student, Fletcher Merkel, who also died

in the shooting. Flavin and other Annunciation volunteers set up those two desks plus

others outside to signify children who have died by gun violence in Minnesota since

2021. They are part of an organization of parents called Annunciation Light Alliance,

which is lobbying to protect children from gun violence. | OSV NEWS/DAVE HRBACEK,

THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

■ Notre Dame professor drops

controversial appointment

A pro-abortion professor at the University of Notre Dame

whose appointment as head of an Asian studies institute

had sparked major backlash will no longer take the

position.

In her Feb. 25 announcement, political scientist and

attorney Susan Ostermann said that the “focus on my

appointment risks overshadowing the vital work the institute

performs,” and said that it is “clear there is work to do

at Notre Dame to build a community where a variety of

voices can flourish.”

A January memo announcing her appointment had

reportedly “blindsided” university president Father Robert

Dowd. It led to faculty resignations and criticism from at

least 10 Catholic bishops, as well as from some students,

who had planned a Feb. 27 protest that became a prayer

service instead.

“Ostermann may have stepped down, but the university

has officially had no part in that,” Gabriel Ortner, one of

the event’s organizers, told The Pillar. “They have issued

no apology, and have not taken action against those who

made this appointment.”


LOCAL

■ LA student choirs perform

at OC’s Christ Cathedral

Several Catholic

students in the

Archdiocese of Los

Angeles participated

in the 2026

Southern California

Youth Choral Festival

held March 7 at

Christ Cathedral in

Garden Grove.

Among the archdiocese’s

schools and

parishes that participated

included St.

The various student Pueri Cantores choir groups at Christ Cathedral during the

2026 Southern California Youth Choral Festival. | FROILAN ALVAREZ

Anthony of Padua in Gardena, Holy Innocents in Long Beach, Holy Family in

Glendale, St. Gregory the Great in Whittier, St. Andrew Pasadena, and Bishop

Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto High School in Los Angeles.

The festival was open to choirs in grades 4-12 and culminated in choral preludes

and a Mass celebrated by the cathedral’s former rector, Father Christopher

Smith.

Pueri Cantores is the national student choral organization of the Catholic

Church that puts on festivals across the country.

“Let these young people, through their talents and their beautiful music in

honor of Our Lord, let it soothe us,” Smith said. “Let it reassure us that, yes,

there is goodness in the world.”

■ Homeboy to turn

historic monastery into

recovery center

Homeboy Industries, the Los Angeles-based

nonprofit founded by Father Greg

Boyle, acquired the historic Monastery of

the Angels in the Hollywood hills to convert

it into a 60-bed addiction and mental

health recovery center.

The four-acre property previously belonged

to an order of Dominican nuns for

nearly 100 years. In addition to creating the

new center, Homeboy Industries is expected

to maintain the existing Spanish-style

property, eventually allowing people back

in to pray at the chapel and purchase the

religious sisters’ famous pumpkin bread and

candy.

The new recovery center, called Home of

the Angels, will partly be funded by the California

Department of Health Care Services

and operated with the Los Angeles Centers

for Alcohol and Drug Abuse. The facility is

expected to open by the end of 2027.

“The antidote to addiction is community,”

Boyle told the Los Angeles Times. “That’s

what we are always trying to foster.”

■ Supreme Court sides with

parents on California gender law

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California

cannot keep student “transgender” identities secret

from parents.

The 6-3 decision, announced March 2, ruled that

the secretive policies adopted by the state of California

with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s support likely

violate the First Amendment rights of parents and

that parents enjoy “the right not to be shut out of

participation in decisions regarding their children’s

mental health.”

In response to a class-action lawsuit brought against

the law last year, a U.S. District Court judge had

originally ruled in December that parents “have a

right” to the “gender information” of their children,

while teachers themselves also possess the right to

provide parents with that information. In January, the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit blocked

that order, sending it to the Supreme Court.

The suit was originally brought by two sets of

Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More

Society who said the law misled them and secretly

facilitated their children’s social transition despite

their objections.

On solid ground — Auxiliary Bishop Albert Bahhuth and Father Rodel Balagtas, pastor at

Incarnation Church in Glendale, are part of a groundbreaking ceremony on March 1 for a

new 8,500-square-foot parish community hall as the church prepares to celebrate its 100th

anniversary in 2027. | INCARNATION CHURCH


V

IN OTHER WORDS...

Letters to the Editor

A blurrier line between pot and alcohol?

I agree with Patrick Brown in his Feb. 20 issue cover story that neither

the Church nor society are ready for the coming marijuana boom. Commercial

interests who stand to gain from the boom sell the myth that marijuana is a

safer alternative to alcohol. It is not, and we will witness the consequences.

But I take issue with Brown’s attempt to draw a sharp line between alcohol and

marijuana. I have seen the devastating effect that addiction and abuse of both

alcohol and marijuana have on individuals and their families. The public health

and safety costs of alcohol abuse far outweigh those of marijuana abuse (this may

change as pot use becomes more prevalent).

Both are mind-altering substances. Both can be used recreationally in social

settings, in moderate doses, in a way that can enhance enjoyment and relaxation,

without losing one’s “grasp on reality and rationality.” Both present the risk of crossing

the threshold between relaxation and impairment.

But I fully agree that the Church, as Brown said, can “speak to the ennui young

people feel” and help all people make decisions about alcohol, marijuana, and

much else.

— Paul C. Fox, M.D., Latrobe, Pennsylvania

What the science says about marijuana

Patrick Brown’s Feb. 20 cover story was a clear-eyed presentation of what the

scientific and medical communities have long documented.

It bears repeating that the dangers of marijuana use include: memory, attention,

and learning impairments; increased risk of psychosis and schizophrenia; dramatic

increase in impaired driving and accidents; a gateway to experimentation with

other drugs; decreased motivation and long-term productivity; increased exposure

to carcinogens and respiratory irritants; illegal markets thriving despite legalization;

increased emergency room visits for cannabis intoxication and hyperemesis syndrome;

and a drug culture that reflects and deepens spiritual emptiness.

One hopes that states still considering legalization will pause long enough to

weigh the facts carefully. After all, with all this evidence before us, what could

possibly go wrong?

— Steven A. Christie, M.D., Miami, Florida

Y

Continue the conversation! To submit a letter to the editor, visit AngelusNews.com/Letters-To-The-Editor

and use our online form or send an email to editorial@angelusnews.com. Please limit to 300 words. Letters

may be edited for style, brevity, and clarity.

Salute to service

Archbishop José H. Gomez blesses the awards and

medals given to students during the annual Christian

Service Awards Mass. This year’s event on March 10

at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels celebrated

Catholic students and faculty who exemplify a commitment

to service in their community. | JOHN RUEDA

View more photos

from this gallery at

AngelusNews.com/photos-videos

Do you have photos or a story from your parish

that you’d like to share? Please send to editorial@

angelusnews.com.

“[God] created us for

communion, not for

war, for fraternity, not for

destruction.”

~ Pope Leo XIV, in a video prayer message released

on March 5, calling on people around the world to

pray for peace.

“They were probably not as

scared as they should have

been.”

~ Justin Myers, a teacher at The Heights School in

Maryland, in a March 7 EWTN News article on

students and chaperones arriving home safely after

being stuck in the Middle East during the U.S.-Iran

conflict.

“Prayer keeps me young.”

~ Father Bruno Kant, the world’s oldest priest,

in a March 5 CNA Deutsch article on Pope Leo

congratulating him on his 110th birthday.

“We now live in an era when

the distance between the

battlefield and the living

room has been drastically

reduced.”

~ Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, in a March 7

statement criticizing a video montage posted from

the White House’s X account combining movie

scenes and footage from the Iran war captioned

“Justice the American way.”

“It feels like I skipped

straight to having a

3-month-old.”

~ Terrica, in a Feb. 26 People article on her having

a 13-pound baby, the largest one ever born at the

New York hospital.


Archbishop José H. Gomez

at the annual OneLife LA

Walk for Life in downtown

LA on Jan. 18, 2024.

‘IN IT FOR

THE LONG

HAUL’

Long drives, a strict

prayer life, and a lot

of handshakes: What

15 years of leading

the country’s biggest

archdiocese has looked

like for Archbishop

José H. Gomez.

STORY BY PABLO KAY /

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

VICTOR ALEMÁN

A

nyone who’s spent time

around Archbishop José H.

Gomez will tell you that

leading the nation’s biggest

Catholic community is not a dream

job.

It entails managing a calendar of

endless appointments: parish anniversaries,

school visits, confirmations,

board meetings, working breakfasts, and

check-ins with priests and staff.

Then there are all the people to greet,

phone calls to make, homilies and

talks to prepare, decisions to make, and

words to choose for every interaction.

But since he began his tenure in 2011,

there’s been a clear sense that Archbishop

Gomez sees the job as being about

something else.

After Archbishop Gomez ordained

Robert Barron as a bishop in 2015, he

asked his new boss what he expected

from him as the Santa Barbara Pastoral

Region’s new auxiliary bishop.

“I want you to be present to the people,

to teach them doctrine, and to give

them hope,” the archbishop replied,

words that Barron wrote on a piece of

paper that he left next to his computer

for the next six years in Southern

California.

According to Barron and other close

collaborators, those words define how

Archbishop Gomez sees his work here

in Los Angeles. It’s not a job, it’s a

mission.

And that may explain why after 15

years, he hasn’t slowed down.

“He doesn’t let the office consume


Auxiliary Bishop Brian Nunes with Archbishop

Gomez in November 2023. Before becoming a

bishop, Nunes lived and worked with the archbishop

for eight years while serving as his priest

secretary and vicar general for the archdiocese.

him,” said Auxiliary Bishop Brian

Nunes, who while still a priest lived

and worked with Archbishop Gomez

for eight of those years. “He’s very down

to earth.”

A

few months after he

succeeded Cardinal Roger

Mahony as archbishop in

March 2011, Archbishop

Gomez articulated that sense of mission

in a pastoral letter titled “Witness to the

New World of Faith,” which spelled

out his five pastoral priorities for the

archdiocese: promoting education in

the faith, vocations to the priesthood

and religious life, a stronger sense of

Catholic identity and cultural diversity,

the sanctity of life, and the beauty of

marriage and family.

Fifteen years later, Archbishop Gomez

says he’s encouraged by the faith of

ordinary people he meets around the

archdiocese, in particular the young

people answering the call to the priesthood

and religious life, and those who

turn out for events like NCYC, Youth

Day at the Religious Education Congress,

and Catholic school gatherings.

“For me, as a bishop, to see so many

young people participating in the life

of the Church is just amazing,” said

the archbishop in an interview with

Angelus.

One thing that surprised him at first

about the archdiocese was its sheer size,

especially the long drives to visit parishes

in Santa Barbara County.

“Everywhere I go, there are people

from all over the world here,” said

Archbishop Gomez. “It’s the universal

Church at its best.”

Since he first arrived in LA as coadjutor

bishop in 2010, Archbishop Gomez

said he felt very welcomed not only by

Cardinal Mahony, the auxiliary bishops,

priests, and deacons, but by the

ordinary Catholics he met everywhere.

All these years later, he said, he’s still

learning from them.

“These 15 years have been an extraordinary

blessing for me,” he said. “What

else can I say?”

O

rdained to the priesthood in

2008, Nunes recalled that

he was still a “baby priest”

when Archbishop Gomez

arrived. During his first years in LA,

As much of the world came to a stop due to the

COVID-19 pandemic, on March 19, 2020, Archbishop

Gomez led a livestreamed prayer service

from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

they didn’t talk very often.

That’s why Nunes was surprised when

one day he was called to interview to be

the archbishop’s next priest secretary.

During the meeting, Nunes had an excuse

ready for why he wasn’t qualified

for the job.

“Archbishop, I’m not tall enough to

put the miter on your head,” Nunes

told him with a laugh.

“That’s OK, don’t worry about that. I

like to do that myself,” the archbishop

replied.

As the interview went on, the

archbishop asked Nunes only a few

questions. He wanted to know about his

family, his Spanish skills, and whether

he could sing.

“He just really wanted to get to know

me,” said Nunes. “That really said a lot

to me about how he sees the importance

of relationships.”

When Archbishop Gomez first came

to LA from his previous posting in San

Antonio, some of those relationships

blossomed in surprising ways.

Leticia “Letty” Ibarra remembers how

she and her husband, Arturo, were

set to host a big welcome dinner with

guests at their Pasadena home. But after

getting held up doing business at the


Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels,

Archbishop Gomez never made it.

The following weekend, the Ibarras

went to a Mass and breakfast to finally

meet him.

“I was in line with my husband, so I

greeted him, and I spoke Spanish,” said

Ibarra. “I don’t know why.”

Walking away, Archbishop Gomez

suddenly called out, “Wait, Letty!”

Remembering that he never made it

to that welcoming dinner, he said, “I

want to go to your house.”

“It was a big honor for me that he told

me that without knowing me,” Ibarra

said. “Since then we’ve had a very nice,

beautiful friendship.”

The Ibarras would go on to help

Archbishop Gomez create a Catholic

Association of Latino Leaders (CALL)

chapter in Los Angeles after founding

it in 2007. Both husband and wife have

served on the board. The Ibarras were

surprised by how much effort he made

to attend their meetings and even celebrate

Mass for the members.

“He was very accessible to us. He gave

us his time. He made time, as busy as

he is, to attend the meetings, to celebrate

the Mass for us, for the members.

It was special.”

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, Archbishop

Gomez has ministered to Latinos

for decades. Ibarra believes that’s been

a key advantage during his time in Los

Angeles.

“He understands the Hispanic community,

he understands [immigrants],

he understands how we live, why we do

things,” said Ibarra. “Because a lot of

them are traditions … that gives a lot of

safety for the Hispanic community.”

A

nother demographic

championed by Archbishop

Gomez since his days as an

auxiliary bishop in Denver

has been young people.

“He sees that we need more stuff done

with the youth,” said Kenny Lund,

who has served with the archbishop

on several boards and committees,

including the regional advisory council

of NET Ministries, a youth missionary

organization.

Six years ago, the archbishop encouraged

Lund when he led an effort to

purchase, renovate, and rebrand the

Archbishop Gomez hears

confession during a “City

of Saints” event for young

Catholics on the campus of

UCLA the summer of 2017.

site of Camp Mariastella

in Wrightwood as Saint

Edward Retreat Center.

“He really helped us

get that off the ground

and rebuild that place,”

said Lund, a parishioner

of Assumption of the

Blessed Virgin Mary

Church in Pasadena.

“With his help, we’ve

gone from eight retreats

a year to 65.”

People like Lund will

also tell you that while

Archbishop Gomez sees

his mission primarily as

that of an apostle, that

doesn’t mean he doesn’t

take the other aspects of

his job seriously.

“You can see that the archdiocese has

done very well under his leadership,

but he also knows how to delegate that

leadership to others,” said Lund, also

the executive vice president of Allen

Lund Company, a transportation brokerage

company founded by his father

that today has 41 offices across the U.S.

with 800 employees.

Lund’s background has given him an

appreciation for how difficult it is to

“run” a sprawling operation like the LA

Archdiocese.

“You can only be successful in that

large of an organization if you’re comfortable

in delegating and empowering

people to get that vision accomplished.”

Lund said he’s seen how Archbishop

Gomez has had to “learn a lot” and

even change as a leader during his years

in LA. What’s less obvious, he said, is

how one person can do so much “without

getting too upset or without being

overwhelmed.”

After their years together, Nunes sees

a few clues.

“It’s his faith, his prayer, his devotion

to the Blessed Mother,” said Nunes.

“That’s not a revelation to anybody

who’s been around him at all.”

That sense of personal discipline,

Nunes believes, includes not only

prayer and daily Mass, but also a good

diet and regular exercise.

“He’s very careful. He knows he’s in it

for the long haul.”

A

ccording to Nunes and

Barron, a major test came

when Archbishop Gomez

was elected president of the

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

in November 2019. As the metropolitan

archbishop, he already had his fair

share of administrative duties beyond

Los Angeles. Then, a few months later,

the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The

responsibilities seemed too much for

one man.

“[During that time], he was one of

the most respected churchmen in the

country — and yet his manner was

always humble, unassuming, and kind,”

said Barron, who now leads the Diocese

of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. “I

never once saw him put on airs or demand

special notice, just the contrary.

He’s a man of tremendous simplicity,

humility, and graciousness.”

Now stationed in the archdiocese’s

San Gabriel Pastoral Region, Nunes

considers himself lucky to know the


lighter side of Archbishop Gomez that

few get to see: an avid sports fan who

will channel flip from one sports game

to another during quiet evenings, and a

diehard Green Bay Packers fan.

“[Packers games] are the only time

I’ve ever heard him root for a non-LA

team,” confessed Nunes.

Upon taking up the role of priest secretary,

Nunes made another surprising

discovery.

“Part of my job as secretary was to be

his driver, and that would free him up

to do emails, phone calls, whatever else

he needs to do [during trips],” recalled

Nunes.

But as often as possible, especially

on long rides, the archbishop would

inform Nunes: I want to drive.

“He’s not a big stickler for things needing

to be a certain way. He was happy

to drive, and it was nice to be able to

relate to him on that level, as road trip

buddies.”

A

s for his more public side,

Mass-goers at the cathedral

— where Archbishop

Gomez lives and celebrates

Mass regularly — said they appreciate

how he makes visitors and regulars alike

feel welcome.

Archbishop Gomez with students after

throwing out the first pitch at the LA

Dodgers’ Catholic Schools Night at

Dodger Stadium in May 2015.

“He has this aura, like a real father to

the community,” said 83-year-old Hedy

Rosario, speaking to Angelus after 10

a.m. Sunday Mass at the cathedral on

March 1, the day he succeeded Cardinal

Mahony back in 2011.

Other Mass-goers said they appreciated

the archbishop’s accessibility to

greet people after Mass at the cathedral.

More than one said they were inspired

by his advocacy for immigrants and his

way of connecting with Spanish-speaking

faithful. Pauline Bennett said she

was impressed by how he’s handled the

problem of priest sex abuse from his

early days in LA.

“It was such a clear moral issue to

him,” said Bennett. “I remember

thinking that it was good to have the

leadership of the Church saying clearly

to the people of Los Angeles without

making excuses for it, that this was a

great wrong and a great harm.”

But after accompanying Archbishop

Gomez to countless public events —

especially liturgies like confirmation

Masses and parish anniversaries —

Nunes said he came to understand

something about him that wasn’t

obvious at first: “He takes very seriously

his role as bishop.”

“For so many people that he meets,

he understands that

may be their one time

ever meeting a bishop

and for that person,

he’s very aware that he

represents the Church

to them,” said Nunes.

“So he’s very sensitive

and careful about what

he says and how he

acts because he wants

people who, if they’re

encountering the

Church, or even somebody

who represents

God, that they have a

good impression.”

Associate Editor Mike

Cisneros and contributing

writer Kimmy

Chacón contributed to

this story.

Pablo Kay is the editor-in-chief

of Angelus.

Auxiliary Bishop Edward W. Clark on the day of his

episcopal ordination in 2001. | TIDINGS FILE PHOTO

A FATEFUL

DAY FOR

TWO LA

BISHOPS

O

n the same day in 2001

when Father José H.

Gomez was being consecrated

an auxiliary bishop

for the Archdiocese of Denver, an

LA priest named Edward Clark was

undergoing a similar experience.

Thus, both men will be celebrating

the 25th anniversary of becoming

bishops on March 26.

Bishop Clark served as an auxiliary

bishop for the archdiocese’s Our Lady

of the Angels Pastoral Region from

2001 until 2022, when he retired after

reaching the mandatory resignation

age for bishops at 75.

Born in 1946 in Minnesota, Clark

spent the later years of his youth growing

up in Southern California and was

ordained a priest in the archdiocese

in 1972. He served in parishes and

Catholic high schools, studied in

Rome, and served at St. John’s Seminary

in Camarillo before St. Pope John

Paul II named him a bishop in 2001.

Clark was set to celebrate the anniversary

at a special Mass and reception

later this month.

— Angelus Staff



CLASSROOM

CHAMPION

Superintendents past and present say

Archbishop Gomez’s commitment to

Catholic education has achieved big results.

BY TOM HOFFARTH / PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICTOR ALEMÁN

Archbishop José H. Gomez with students at

St. Paul Catholic School in Mid-City during

Catholic Schools Week in January 2018.

W

hen Archbishop José H.

Gomez officially began his

tenure in Los Angeles in the

spring of 2011, Dr. Kevin

Baxter was head of the archdiocese’s

elementary schools. Meanwhile, Paul

Escala was the president and CEO

of St. John Bosco High School in

Bellflower.

In the years that followed, both men

would go on to work with Archbishop

Gomez as superintendent of LA’s

Catholic school system — Baxter from

2015 to 2019, and Escala from 2019 to

the present.

Looking back at the last 15 years,

both men agree that Archbishop

Gomez’s leadership style and personal

commitment to Catholic education

— even under inconvenient

circumstances — has paid off big for

Catholic families.

“When a guy like me might have

radical ideas on how we change the

way we see our work, push the envelope

and take risks, it would be easy

for [Gomez] to say no,” said Escala.

But instead, Escala said, Archbishop

Gomez has “always stuck to his core

principles” when faced with challenges.

“I’ve gotten to see him in the most

risk-filled, crisis environments —

public health, fires, social unrest,

immigration threats,” Escala told Angelus.

“That discipline is something I

admire greatly about him.

“He has always led with this idea that

schools are not compartmentalized

in the life of the Church, they are a

function at the parish and community

level. That pastoral approach to

the ministry protects the essence of

Catholic education.”

Escala and Baxter said that approach

has translated into better policies,

higher test scores, and improved

student safety. Nevertheless, Baxter

said he saw up close how daunting the

task that faced Archbishop Gomez

could be.

“He has understood that this is

where God has called him in places

that are very public facing,” said Baxter,

the current director of the Mary

Ann Remick Leadership Program —

Alliance for Catholic Education at

the University of Notre Dame. “That


can be a challenge for someone who is

so spiritual and very humble.”

When he hired Baxter in 2015,

Archbishop Gomez created a new

position, Senior Director of Catholic

Schools and Superintendent, that

elevated schools’ role in the archdiocesan

leadership structure. When he

formed a cabinet of directors of each of

the archdiocese’s major departments to

advise him on leadership, he included

Baxter. That meant the superintendent

was now in a group dynamic with other

major archdiocesan offices, including

religious education, communications,

and legal counsel.

“That was a big deal,” said Baxter,

whose 18 years in LA Catholic schools

included eight years as principal at St.

Columbkille in South LA and American

Martyrs in Manhattan Beach.

“It said a lot about how he viewed the

importance of Catholic schools in the

ministry of Los Angeles. I think there

were plenty of bishops around the

country who wouldn’t have done that.”

Baxter said the regular face-to-face

meetings with Archbishop Gomez

allowed them to better understand

each other. Baxter was also impressed

when the archbishop invited him to

special meetings with auxiliary bishops

for updates and seeking feedback.

“He wanted the Catholic schools to

get in front of the other bishops — and

to some that might sound like, well, of

course that happens,” said Baxter. “But

from my conversations with colleagues

around the country, that wasn’t so

common.

“As I was getting a better idea about

the archbishop’s vision and approach,

that had a profound effect on the

decisions we made and how we made

Former LA Catholic schools Superintendent

Kevin Baxter with late Auxiliary Bishop David

O’Connell at a 2015 press conference.

Archbishop Gomez with high-schoolers during a 2024

visit to St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy in Downey.

them. The archbishop is great about

empowering people to make decisions

and then very supportive of what can

be decisions made about very difficult

issues.”

Baxter saw Archbishop Gomez’s

endorsement of the dual-language

immersion program crucial at a time

when some parts of the ADLA were

losing students. All Souls School in

Alhambra had to close in 2010 under

Baxter’s administration, but it reopened

the next year as All Souls World

Language School, the first Catholic

school in the nation to offer both a

Spanish-English and Spanish-Mandarin

track. It went from 20 students then

to more than 400 today.

“That was one of the best things we

ever did, and that model thrived because

the archbishop was very excited

and supportive of that initiative,” said

Baxter.

What followed was a national cover

story in America magazine titled “How

L.A.’s Catholic schools are growing

when so many others are closing.” The

September 2017 article looked at how

the archdiocese had grown to serve

some 80,000 students, the most by a

Catholic school system in the country.

Besides the emphasis on innovation

and the addition of a STEM network,

Baxter also credits Archbishop Gomez’s


focus on schools providing safety and

security at a time when families were

afraid of stricter immigration policies

following the 2016 elections.

When Baxter left in June 2019 to

become chief innovation officer for the

National Catholic Education Foundation,

Escala was hired to replace him a

few months later.

Escala already had a positive first

impression of Archbishop Gomez from

his arrival in 2011.

“As a Latino who grew up in San

Pedro, I thought we needed an

archbishop who looked like us, and

I was cognizant that both of us were

leading as men of Hispanic descent

in our roles,” said Escala. “In a city as

diverse as Los Angeles, we need to see

ourselves in our leaders.”

Escala had worked in various educational

leadership roles around California

before returning to the archdiocese.

He was just six months into his term

when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As

schools switched to distance learning,

the question of when to return to

in-person instruction became a source

of anxiety and hesitation for many. The

archdiocese’s schools accomplished

that before any other school system in

LA County.

“That’s where I think he really stood

apart from his brothers across the

country,” said Escala, referring to the

country’s Catholic bishops. “He was

engaged and willing to do what was

necessary to ensure children can be

formed in the Catholic faith even

during our darkest times.”

More recently, Escala said that Archbishop

Gomez went out of his way to

back the Solidarity Schools initiative,

launched in 2023 to help kids in

disadvantaged areas with reading and

math skills.

“We had no financial support for what

we were trying to do,” Escala said of

the $2 million program serving more

than 4,000 students in 18 schools.

“The one person who said yes to this

was the archbishop. He was the lead

investor and that gave us a way to talk

to philanthropists, to school principals,

to teachers. With the archbishop on

board, that made all the difference in

the world.”

Archbishop Gomez’s qualities are

ones that Escala said he tries to embrace.

“He is an intentional listener, and his

quiet, authentic care is what we need

to see more of with our leaders. That’s

the difference between success and

failure. There is a lesson in his pastoral

leadership many in the secular world

could learn from, and I know I have.”

Tom Hoffarth is an award-winning

journalist based in Los Angeles.

Current Superintendent of Catholic Schools Paul

Escala and Archbishop Gomez at the March 2025

Christian Service Awards Mass with Lucia Lopez of

St. Monica Preparatory in Santa Monica.



after the September 2019

“One Mother, Many Peoples”

Mass celebrating the various

ethnic cultures represented in

the LA Archdiocese.

BLESSINGS

CAPTURED

A selection of (just) a few of our

favorite moments with Archbishop

Gomez over the last 15 years.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY VICTOR ALEMÁN

Archbishop Gomez brings Christmas presents

to a family near LA’s Skid Row in December

2024 as part of the Adopt-a-Family program.


Some exotic pets get a blessing from Archbishop

Gomez during the annual Blessing of the Animals

in downtown LA on April 20, 2019. The blessing is

traditionally held on Holy Saturday.

Women religious, auxiliary bishops,

and local Guadalupanos join Archbishop

Gomez during the annual

Our Lady of Guadalupe procession

through East LA in Dec. 2019.

Inmates at Men’s Central

Jail thank Archbishop

Gomez after Christmas

Mass on Dec. 25, 2022.

Archbishop Gomez celebrates the closing Mass

for the Mission San Gabriel Jubilee Year inside the

mission’s newly restored church on Sept. 10, 2022.

A baby grasps Archbishop Gomez’s pectoral

cross after a special Mass celebrating the launch

of El Sembrador (ESNE) Radio in October 2015

at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.




Then-Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Brennan

poses with Archbishop José H. Gomez

during Brennan’s farewell Mass in March

2019 to become the new bishop of the

Diocese of Fresno. | VICTOR ALEMÁN

‘HE’S STILL

MY BOSS’

Over 15 years, Bishop

Joseph Brennan has worked

alongside Archbishop

Gomez in three different

jobs. Here’s what he saw.

BY PABLO KAY

F

ew people have worked

as closely — and in such

different capacities — with


over the last 15 years than Bishop

Joseph Brennan.

Shortly after he officially began in

LA, Archbishop Gomez surprised

then-Father Brennan by asking him to

serve as his top aide in the archdiocese.

Then, in 2015, Pope Francis appointed

Brennan and two other priests (a group

dubbed “the triplets” by Pope Francis)

to serve as auxiliary bishops under

Archbishop Gomez.

But even since Brennan left LA to

lead the Diocese of Fresno in 2019 (another

Pope Francis appointment), the

two have maintained their friendship

and their working relationship. In 2024,

Brennan dedicated his first pastoral

letter — which addressed the Eucharist

— to Archbishop Gomez, calling him

“a great mentor, a good friend, and a

lover of Jesus in the Eucharist.”

Brennan spoke candidly to Angelus in

Then-Msgr. Joseph V. Brennan is

pictured giving a blessing outside

Mother of Sorrows Church July

19, 2015. | JOHN RUEDA


a phone interview about what

he admires about the archbishop,

what he’s learned from

him, and the “weird” dynamic

between them today.

Bishop, how did your relationship

with Archbishop

Gomez begin?

The first time I remember

meeting him was at the funeral

of Msgr. Michael Linahan,

one of our great Irish pastors,

in 2011.

Archbishop Gomez is greeting

people, and I’m thinking

he doesn’t know me. But he

gets to me and says, “Good to

meet you, Joe!”

It was amazing that he knew

our names (the priests), it

mattered to him that he would

be able to call us by name. It

meant a lot.

That was the start of a positive

trajectory in terms of our

personal relationship and our

working relationship. He was

just that engaged, and cared that much

that he would prepare himself that way.

A couple of years later, the archbishop

asked you to serve as vicar general and

moderator of the Curia for the archdiocese.

What was it like going from

being a pastor to working alongside

him daily?

I remember the day everything

changed, when the archbishop called

me in for a meeting. The priests of

the archdiocese had just voted among

ourselves for a new vicar for clergy, and

thankfully, I’d come in second the last

few election cycles. My heart was starting

to sink because I’m thinking, “Oh

my, I didn’t dodge the bullet this time.”

When I went in, the archbishop said:

“I presume you know what this meeting

is about.”

And I said, “Well, I’m presuming I’ve

been selected as the assistant vicar for

clergy.”

He said, “No, I want you to be my

vicar general.” My jaw dropped. Once I

put my jaw back in place, I said, “You’re

kidding.” And then he said, “I’m not

kidding.” And then I said, “Well, then,

I’m yours.”

That was pretty much it: We didn’t

really talk about the job, he just said

I would be tutored by Msgr. Royale

Vadakin (the previous vicar general)

and that was wonderful because he’d

been my pastor at the old Cathedral of

St. Vibiana for three years, and I loved

my time with him.

I had been admiring and observing

Archbishop Gomez from a distance as

pastor at Holy Trinity in San Pedro, loving

what I was hearing and seeing from

him. And then I just saw and loved

more after I became vicar general.

Those three years were tough because

the job was tough. I would tell people:

“I hate my job, but I love my boss.” I

didn’t really hate the job, but it’s the

toughest job I’ve ever done, honestly.

But I did it willingly, and I would do it

again for him, because he is such a gentle

man, and he is so deeply spiritual.

One thing that I really admired about

him is that he doesn’t just say that he

listens: he really listens. He wouldn’t

say, “I made up my mind, I’ve made

the decision, get out of my office,”

because some bishops would do that.

He’d say, have a seat, I’ll listen. And

listening, he was influenced by what

others had to say.

Archbishop José H. Gomez poses

with the “triplets” named by Pope

Francis as new auxiliary bishops for

Los Angeles in 2015: Bishop Joseph

Brennan, left, Bishop Robert Barron,

second from right, and Bishop David

O’Connell. | VICTOR ALEMÁN

What did he teach you about being

a bishop that’s helped you over the

years?

Two things stick out to me. One of

them would be flexibility: the open

heart, the flexible heart, that he brings

to every situation. He doesn’t make

decisions drastically.

The other was his immense patience.

He is an incredibly patient man. I got

to see how patient he is with people,

and he was patient with me.

I honestly don’t think I did that great

of a job as vicar general, but he was so

patient with me. I think it was especially

difficult for him when Msgr.

Vadakin left after about three months

of mentoring me and showing me

the ropes. I don’t think I was what he

was looking for, but he stuck with me

for three years. I think that’s how I

became bishop: he didn’t know what

else to do with me (laughs)!

What are some moments during his

time here so far that are closest to

your heart, or that you think help

explain who Archbishop Gomez is?

One was right before I found out that

I was going to go to Fresno. The U.S.

bishops had this retreat in January


2019 at Mundelein Seminary near

Chicago, where it was cold and snowy,

with the pope’s preacher, then-Father

(now Cardinal) Raniero Cantalamessa.

During that retreat, I had a sense

that the archbishop wanted to share

something with me, but it just never

happened. Two weeks later, I got the

phone call telling me that I’d been

appointed as bishop of Fresno, and

that’s when I kind of put two and

two together. I think I know why he

wanted to say something, but couldn’t

just yet.

So I called him immediately, and he

was so supportive and positive that I

could do this bishop thing up here in

Fresno. Although he did apologize,

too. “Joe, I tried to protect you,” he

said.

I was the first of the “triplets” to be

moved. I think that was hard for the

archbishop. I think he knew it was

going to be hard for me, and it already

was when I got the phone call, because

it changes your life forever.

Another was when I was living at the

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

shortly after starting as vicar general.

For various reasons (none of them to

do with Archbishop Gomez), I wasn’t

comfortable living there.

I was reluctant to do it, but knowing

how open he is and how he always

listens, one day I finally went to him

and said, “Archbishop. I’ve only been

here for a few months, but living here

at the cathedral is killing me, and the

job is hard enough. Can I move my

residence?”

I told him that I wanted to move to

Mother of Sorrows in South Central

LA, where a priest friend was pastor,

and where I thought I could thrive

helping out on weekends.

And he said, “I understand. Cathedrals

are not normal places. Yes, of

course you can go!”

Now that you’re both bishops in

different California dioceses, what’s

your relationship like today?

We’re still in the Los Angeles Province

of Bishops, so he’s my metropolitan

archbishop. So in a sense, he’s still

my boss! Apart from the meetings that

we go to, I call him regularly, just to

say hi, to report in and touch base.

Bishop Joseph Brennan

on his time working under

Archbishop Gomez: “I did

it willingly, and I would do

it again for him, because he

is such a gentle man, and

he is so deeply spiritual.” |

VICTOR ALEMÁN

He’s only a couple years older than

I am, but we have a bit of a weird father-son

dynamic going on, except it’s

much more eyeball to eyeball. Being

an ordinary has affected that: you share

a lot of the same stress and burdens

and problems, you can commiserate

with each other, understand each other

better. I’m not doing all that great

up here, but they haven’t fired me yet,

and I guess I’m just grateful for that!

Pablo Kay is the editor-in-chief of

Angelus.



Father Miguel Ángel Ruiz,

pastor of Our Lady of the

Rosary of Talpa Church in Boyle

Heights, talks about the relics of

six Mexican martyrs on display

at the parish during a Mass for

peace in Mexico on Feb. 24.

PRAYING

FOR PEACE

After drug-cartel violence shook

Mexico, the arrival of Mexican martyrs’

relics in LA prompted a week of prayer.

STORY BY KIMMY CHACÓN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUANITO HOLANDEZ JR.

The relics of six Mexican martyrs

were not supposed to arrive at

Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa

Church in Boyle Heights until after the

summer.

But when the parish’s pastor, Father

Miguel Ángel Ruiz, learned that the

relics were going to show up early —

coincidentally on the week that a wave

of drug cartel violence suddenly rocked

Mexico — he knew it was God’s providence

when it was needed most.

“I said, ‘It’s God’s sign; let’s do it,’

” Ruiz said. “Not only will we pray

for peace, but we will also have the

intercession of the martyrs through the

presence of their relics.”

The parish, simply known as “Talpa”

to most parishioners, held a week of

prayer that kicked off Tuesday, Feb. 24,

with a Mass for peace and veneration of

the martyrs’ relics, temporarily gifted to

the parish by the Knights of Columbus.

The relics of St. Miguel de la Mora de

la Mora, St. José María Robles Hurtado,

St. Mateo Correa Magallanes, St.

Luis Batis Sáinz, St. Rodrigo Aguilar

Alemán, and St. Pedro de Jesús

Maldonado Lucero were priests killed

during the Cristero War against the

Catholic Church in Mexico during

the 1920s. They were canonized by St.

Pope John Paul II in 2000.

The Mass and relics come as Mexico

deals with the aftermath of the killing

of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera

Cervantes, a prominent drug cartel

leader, which sparked days of violence

in the country, bringing fear and

uncertainty to families on both sides of

the border.

The violence hit close to home for


Parishioner Esther de la Rosa prays near a

poster of the six Mexican martyrs, whose

relics were hosted at the parish.

many who attended the prayer service.

Maria Rico attended the Mass with her

daughter and said she has a sister and

her family who had been “locked inside

their home” since the violence began.

“They don’t know if they’ll be allowed

to go out to work because she lives

in Jalisco, near where the situation

occurred,” Rico said in Spanish.

They prayed that Our Lady of Guadalupe

would protect the country and its

citizens, as she has many times before.

“We are here specifically to pray for

peace in Mexico,” Rico said. “It breaks

my heart to know what is happening,

how many innocent people are dying.

“But I also believe that we have Mary

— Our Lady of Guadalupe — there in

Mexico. She came to visit us and has

remained there for almost 500 years.

So, I trust that her blessed hands will

protect our Mexican people.”

Rico said she drew strength and hope

from listening to Ruiz’s homily and

seeing the relics.

“It was truly perfect timing. [The relics]

came exactly at the moment when

we needed it most emotionally.”

Her 22-year-old daughter, Maddi

Bonilla, admitted she was not “aware of

the political status of Mexico,” but that

seeing what her family is experiencing

made the crisis feel personal and left

her uneasy.

“It makes me feel unsettled. I’m a psychology

major, and that kind of impacts

the way I think about the situation,” she

said.

Sara González has attended Talpa

since 1985, even after moving to Whittier.

She, too, has family in Mexico and

has been affected by the violence.

“Whenever something important

happens here [at the church], I always

come back,” González said in Spanish.

“I’ve told everyone to take care of

themselves, may God bless them, and

if they have to stay home, to stay safe

— and hopefully all of this will be over

soon.”

González, whose mother was born in

1927, was raised by a first-person wit-

ness to the faith shown by the Mexican

martyrs.

“She used to tell me about it and how

they couldn’t baptize her,” González

added. “They had to baptize her in

the basement because they couldn’t

perform baptisms at the time she was

born.”

That made it difficult for her family to

obtain the necessary documents later.

In his homily, Ruiz pointed to the

martyrs’ example of solidarity and faith

in the face of adversity.

“The presence of the martyrs today

reminds us that we’re not alone — that

our people who are suffering in Mexico

are not alone,” Ruiz said. “Whoever has

family members in danger and may not

be able to visit them right now can find

comfort in knowing that they are not

alone.”

Kimmy Chacón is a freelance journalist

and graduate of the Columbia

University Graduate School of Journalism.

She lives in Los Angeles and works

in education.


THE COMPASSION TEST

An influencer’s viral challenge to

places of worship begs the question:

Are churches ready for the ‘TikTok Era’?

BY PATRICK KOROLY

SHUTTERSTOCK

Waverly Church of the

Nazarene (WCN) is no

megachurch. It sits in a small

town in Tennessee with a population of

around 4,000. It doesn’t have the largest

following, but its 350 weekly attendees

are devout. WCN’s pastor, Daron

Brown, has served the community

for 25 years. “Pretty much everybody

knows everybody,” he said.

Unwillingly, this local church was

recently pulled into the national spotlight.

On Nov. 4, the church received a

phone call. The caller claimed that she

was a mother who had run out of baby

formula the night before and was afraid

for the life of her baby. The church

administrator who answered the call

directed her to Helping Hands, a local

food bank supported by WCN.

Confusingly, the caller insisted that

she’d already reached out to Helping

Hands but was told a complication

involving SNAP benefits meant they

could not help her.

The administrator was flustered.

WCN is closely involved with the food

bank: Several church leaders serve on

the board, and church donations help

keep the pantries stocked. She’d heard

nothing about a shortage at Helping

Hands, nor did they rely on SNAP for

their services. Further, she knew that

Helping Hands would not be open until

later that day. How could the caller

have reached out already? There were

reasons to suspect dishonesty.

The administrator continued to

suggest other resources, but the caller

insisted that she’d tried them all, including

other churches. She ended the

call, suspecting she was being misled.

The administrator’s suspicions were

correct. On the other end of the phone

was Nikalie Monroe, a TikTok influencer

who has made more than 40

such calls to places of worship posing as

a mother seeking formula for her child.

Across the course of her series, she grew

her following from just 30 to more than

500,000. Millions of unique viewers

saw the series.

Unwittingly, WCN had been featured

in a series that would lead to a national

harassment campaign against local

churches like them. After that call,

thousands of harassing phone calls,

emails, and social media posts targeted

the church. In the eyes of many viewers,

they had shown themselves to be

greedy and callous.

“You might give your last few dollars to

church, and I’m curious if that church

actually helps your community or not,

or if they just pocket your money,”

Monroe said in the first video of the

series. Many times she claimed that she

hoped to be proven wrong. (Monroe


could not be reached for comment.)

Each video follows a similar script:

Monroe asks the audience whether

their churches would feed a starving

baby, turns on a recording of a baby

crying, and calls a place of worship

(most often a church, though she’s also

reached out to a mosque, a Buddhist

temple, and a pro-life pregnancy

center) to ask for formula.

When these churches direct her to

resources like food banks or pregnancy

centers, she insists that she’s tried and

been told to reach out to local churches

instead. If they offer to find her formula

themselves, Monroe reveals the experiment.

“Let me pause my baby,” she

says.

Some churches passed Monroe’s “test”

and saw tremendous benefits. Heritage

Hope Church of God, a small church

in Somerset, Kentucky, saw nationwide

support after they were the first to offer

Monroe a yes.

“We never had anything happen like

this. It’s kinda overwhelming,” said

Pastor Johnny Dunbar, affectionately

dubbed “Appalachian Papaw” by Tik-

Tok. “I think what got people’s attention

is I asked, ‘What flavor?’ ” Dunbar said

he didn’t understand exactly what had

happened until an influx of donations

came a few days later.

Another was Portico Story, a pro-life

pregnancy center in Murfreesboro,

Tennessee.

“We’ve gotten donations from all over

the country,” Executive Director Laura

Messick told me. “Probably $1,000 in

donations just from people saying thank

you … I was grateful that we responded

well.”

Monroe placed 43 calls in all. Nine offered

her the help she was looking for.

Yet did the other 34 refuse to offer her

help, or were they unfairly presented

as greedy and indifferent? Nearly every

church directed Monroe to partner

organizations with ready access to these

resources. Some, like WCN, only ended

the call after it became apparent that

Monroe was misrepresenting herself.

All of these have been reduced to the

binary of yes or no. For those who said

no, harassment inevitably followed.

Churches changed phone numbers,

shut down websites, and tried to hide

from the national spotlight.

Monroe ended her campaign after


finding that many churches were

already aware of the series.

To her, this showed why it was necessary:

“It brought a lot of change. A lot

of change and a lot of movement has

happened.”

But for pastors and churches, what was

the lesson of the series? How should

churches adapt to the TikTok era?

All churches involved were caught

unprepared by the series. Employees

and volunteers were unprepared to

handle the calls. Leaders were lost in

the aftermath. Churches, both small

and large, had never considered that

this could happen.

“I’m not aware of any coordinated

efforts [to prepare for these situations],”

said Tim Glemkowski, executive

director of the Catholic parish renewal

organization Amazing Parish.

While occasional pranks and hoaxes

are nothing new, campaigns of this

scale are largely unprecedented.

“This is very much an emerging topic.

This is something we’re going to have

to deal with moving forward,” said

Patrick Diener, who oversees the parish

division at Partners in Mission, a Catholic

education leadership organization.

How can churches prepare for the

spotlight of social media?

One major issue is deciding what the

root problem is. Is this about church

giving or handling dishonesty? Was

there a charitable shortcoming on the

part of these churches, or were they

unfairly targeted?

Pastors and leaders tended to decide

based on the responses they received.

Organizations receiving a positive

Waverly Church of the Nazarene in Tennessee was one

of the places of worship called during a viral TikTok

challenge asking for baby formula. | WCN

response said that the series encouraged

them to remove barriers to giving.

Churches receiving harassment defended

their existing charitable programs.

For those pastors, this was a targeted

hoax, not a charitable failure.

Brown did not believe WCN’s administrator

should have acted any differently:

He referred the caller to legitimate

resources and did not hang up until

it was clear something was wrong.

Going forward, he said that the church

will take more steps to authenticate

callers but will stand by their charitable

practices.

Many churches said the same: they

know what they do and their communities

know what they do. Their focus is

preserving that.

Certainly, part of the solution must be

recognizing issues with church charity,

whether perceived or actual. Glemkowski

believes this campaign targeted

the perceived “compassion gap” in

churches. “At a local level, how do we

receive people? It’s a good moment

of reflection to say, ‘Are our frontline

greeters and people who answer the

phones ready?’ ”

For locals — both church members

and neighbors — the church is expected

to offer a special kind of community.

“The church comes from the root of

the domestic church, which is the family.”

Diener said. Leaders, he said, must

learn “to realize that pastoral aspect as

father.”

Much of the frustration seemed to

come from a sense that churches had

neglected this responsibility. Pastors

told me that many callers, both sympa-

thetic and angry, said they had lost faith

in the church. “Not in God, but in the

church,” Dunbar heard many times.

Yet how can churches balance this

face-to-face intimacy with national

scrutiny and organizational responsibility?

“The thought of being Christ at all

times for the world has to manifest itself

in a new way, because we are always on

every time we answer the phone, every

time we answer an email, every time we

talk to a person,” Diener said.

Community responsibility is no longer

enough. Churches — even small, local

churches — can be called upon as national

and even global representatives

of Christianity at any moment. How

can that sense of family remain at such

a large scale?

For large churches, the demands of

organizational responsibility may stand

in the way of immediate help. Pastors

must be able to account for funds.

Catholic churches especially have no

choice in the wake of abuse scandals.

Diener told me about a similar

situation: A parish priest broke diocesan

guidelines by using his own grocery

budget to feed the poor. The intention

was good, but a responsible church

must know where its money is going.

For many churches — from WCN to

the nation’s largest Catholic dioceses —

charitable discernment and verification

are not obstacles to community trust.

They’re requirements. Leaders believe

that these are ways for churches to

retain local trust in a rapidly changing

world.

With these responsibilities in tension,

churches are facing an impossible

problem. Financial responsibility can

easily seem like bureaucracy that stands

in the way of a church family. Face-toface

trust and national accountability

are not the same. How can churches

practice all of these well without making

compromises?

Nobody seems to have a solution. Yet

churches have no choice but to adapt.

When the next call comes, they need

an answer — for the caller, the community,

and maybe millions of viewers.

Patrick C. Koroly lives in Pittsburgh.

He writes primarily for The Vocation

Project, an education collaboration

focused on finding fulfillment in working

life.


A woman reacts as she

holds an image of Iranian

late Supreme Leader Ayatollah

Ali Khamenei at a rally

in Beirut March 1, after U.S.

and Israeli strikes killed him

Feb. 28. | OSV NEWS/MO-

HAMED AZAKIR, REUTERS

A WAR WITHOUT WINNERS?

Four keys to a Catholic

reading of the widening

U.S.-Iran conflict

BY INÉS SAN MARTÍN

Despite repeated warnings from

the White House, a controversial

U.S. incursion into Venezuela,

and a major redeployment of

American forces to the Middle East,

many observers still believed a direct

confrontation with Iran was unlikely.

But since the U.S. and Israel

launched an attack that began with

the killing of Ayatollah Ali Hosseini

Khamenei and has expanded into a

regional conflict, what’s at stake for

Catholics?

Here are four different lenses worth

considering.

The danger of miscalculation

One striking feature of the current

crisis is how widely the possibility of

war was discounted.

In the logic of deterrence politics,

credibility matters. If threats are not

believed, they fail. Yet if they suddenly

are carried out, the shock can create

rapid escalation.

That dynamic appears to have been

at play in the opening days of this new

war: what many assumed was rhetorical

brinkmanship quickly became a

military campaign.

The lesson is not new. In the Cold

War era, strategists often warned that

misreading intentions between adversaries

could trigger conflicts no one

originally intended.

In the Middle East, where tensions

are already layered with decades of

mistrust, such miscalculations can

spread quickly beyond their initial

spark — as the current regional escalation

appears to demonstrate.

If the conflict does not escalate into

a broader global confrontation, the

episode may nevertheless serve as a

warning to other countries believed to

be on Washington’s radar, including

Cuba.

Pope Leo’s instinct: appeal rather

than accusation

In his March 1 Angelus address

hours after the first missiles landed

in Iran, Pope Leo XIV responded to

the conflict in a way that reflects the

Holy See’s long-standing diplomatic

approach: avoid assigning blame and

urge dialogue.

Speaking at the end of the Angelus

on March 1, the pope warned of the

dangers of escalation.

“Stability and peace are not achieved

through mutual threats, nor through

the use of weapons, which sow

destruction, suffering, and death,”


he said. “Only through reasonable,

sincere, and responsible dialogue.”

Two days later, responding to

journalists outside Castel Gandolfo,

he reiterated the same message in

simpler terms.

“Pray for peace, work for peace, less

hatred,” the pope said. “Hatred in the

world is constantly increasing.”

That tone may strike some observers

as restrained, but it reflects a consistent

diplomatic strategy. By not

condemning one side or another, the

Vatican preserves the possibility of acting

as a mediator should negotiations

eventually emerge.

Yet the reality unfolding on the

ground today suggests that the governing

logic of international politics often

resembles a very different worldview

— one best summarized by Michael

Corleone in “The Godfather Part II”:

“If history has taught us anything, it’s

that you can kill anyone.”

The tension between those two

visions — the pope’s hope for reconciliation

and the ruthless calculus of

geopolitical power — is at the heart of

the present crisis.

A sharper Vatican voice also exists

While the pope’s language has been

pastoral and universal, the Vatican’s

diplomatic apparatus has spoken in a

noticeably sharper register.

In a lengthy interview with Vatican

News, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the

Holy See’s secretary of state, warned

against what he described as the growing

acceptance of “preventive war.”

“If states were to be recognized as

having a right to ‘preventive war’ according

to their own criteria,” Parolin

said, “the whole world would risk

being set ablaze.”

The cardinal also expressed alarm at

what he called the erosion of international

law.

“Justice has given way to force; the

force of law has been replaced by the

law of force,” he said, questioning

whether anyone truly believes that the

aspirations of peoples can be fulfilled

“through the launching of missiles

and bombs.”

Figures like Parolin don’t speak like

that often. Vatican diplomacy often

prefers quieter channels of influence.

But his words reflect a deeper Catholic

concern: that the normalization

of preventive war could undermine

the fragile system of international law

built after World War II.

There is also the fact that Parolin

could be among the top-ranking Vatican

officials who could be replaced

by Pope Leo XIV in an eventual Curia

personnel reshuffle, perhaps emboldening

him to speak with unusual

candor.

The forgotten victims: Middle Eastern

Christians

For Christians in the Middle East,

however, the war’s most immediate

significance is far less abstract.

It is about survival.

In the early days of the conflict,

Pope Leo XIV prays for world leaders to “abandon

projects of death” in a video message released by the

Vatican March 5, asking people around the world to

pray for peace. Speaking to pilgrims after praying the

Angelus prayer March 8, the pope called for an end to

the war in Iran and warned that the conflict could drag

more countries in the Middle East into instability. | OSV

NEWS/POPE’S WORLDWIDE PRAYER NETWORK

buildings belonging to the Chaldean

Church in Ankawa, the Christian suburb

of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, were

reportedly struck in an apparent drone

attack. The facilities had been partially

funded by the Knights of Columbus.

The incident highlights a painful

reality: wars in the region rarely stay

contained within national borders.

Although the current conflict is

technically between the United States,

Israel, and Iran, its ripple effects extend

across a region where militia groups

linked to Iran abound, including

Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in

Yemen, and Hamas in Palestine. As a

result, places that are not formally part

of the war can quickly become part of

the battlefield.

For local Christians, that means there

is often no clear place of refuge.

If Iran sends a drone to Iraq’s Kurdistan,

the U.S. military in Iraq will respond

regardless of the collateral damage.

In such circumstances, Christians

often find themselves caught between

forces over which they have no control

— and in a war that is not theirs.

The region’s Christian communities

have demonstrated remarkable

resilience over the past three decades,

rebuilding churches and neighborhoods

devastated by conflicts in Iraq

and Syria.

Yet history offers a sobering pattern:

after each war, the Christian presence

shrinks even further. How many times

can a community rebuild before rebuilding

becomes impossible?

Ultimately, a Catholic reading of the

crisis is not about picking a winner, or

deciding whether to justify or condemn

the incursion. It revolves around a

deeper question: whether the moral

and diplomatic instincts that have guided

the Church’s approach to war and

peace for decades can still find space

in a world increasingly governed by

raw power.

Or, to put it another way, the real test

of this crisis may not be who wins the

war — but whether peace still has a

credible voice in shaping what comes

next.

Inés San Martin is a Vatican expert

writing from Argentina. She’s the cohost

of the Spanish-speaking podcast

“Descifrando a León.”



WITH GRACE

DR. GRAZIE POZO CHRISTIE

Untying the marriage knot

My husband has a superpower.

He uses it sparingly, but when

he does, he uses it to marvelous

effect.

It has saved our happiness a handful of

times, just when we were beginning to

give up hope that we could recover that

tender camaraderie that makes married

life so sweet. His power is the ability, so

to speak, to suddenly and decisively cut

the knot.

Alexander the Great did it most famously.

Legend has it that in the midst

of his campaign against the Persian

Empire, while marching through

present-day Turkey, he came upon

an ancient, intricately tied knot in the

city of Gordium. A local prophecy said

that whoever untied this knot would

become the ruler of the entire world.

Alexander examined the knot and

tugged at it. The curious populace held

their collective breath. Would he sit

and worry at the knot for days while his

army ate all their meager food? But no.

Alexander quickly realized the knot was

heart-breakingly complex: a tangle tied

so tight and close that no human effort

could loosen it.

In a moment of characteristic boldness

he declared, “It makes no difference

how it is loosed.” He drew his sword

and dramatically, forcefully, gracefully,

sliced it apart. The crowd was stunned,

and Alexander went on to conquer the

world.

I can tell the story of one of our knots,

as my husband tells it often to this

church group or that.

Many years ago, during the painful

falling apart of a family business, we

found ourselves locked into immovable

and opposing positions. He wanted me

to step away from the failing business;

A painting of Mary Undoer of Knots hangs within the

Knotted Grotto at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter

and Paul in Philadelphia during the World Meeting

of Families. The project invites visitors to write their

prayer intentions on the white strips and then tie

them to the structure. | CNS/CARLY MOSSBROOK

my loyalty to my struggling parents

made it feel impossible.

He explained the urgency of breaking

ties; I held on tighter. He harangued

and I cried. He became angry, with

a slow burning underground anger

that seeped into everything at home.

What seemed a betrayal of my parents

became less and less imaginable to me,

as my husband’s tenderness disappeared.

It was a vicious cycle — and an

intricate, sorrowful knot.

We picked at it for months, to no

avail. And then the Holy Spirit struck:

The dark clouds of resentment in my

husband’s mind parted and the face of


Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie is a mother of five

who practices radiology in the Miami area.

God shone on him. In that moment he

understood, suddenly and confidently,

how he could simply cut the knot. He

came to me that afternoon, when my

hands were deep in the dirty sink, and

said, with perfect simplicity: “I have

tried to make you do what I know is

right and proper. You, for whatever

reason, can’t do it. From this moment

I accept your decision. I love you more

than myself, and I will wait patiently for

you to come to your senses. I will wait,

tenderly, as long as it takes.”

When I looked up at him (suspiciously,

I own), his eyes were perfect pools of

divine compassion, and his smile pure

grace and glory. What could I do but

wrap my wet hands around his neck

and weep on his chest?

That very night, filled with peace, I

called my parents and told them I was

stepping away. They were also kind and

tender. Everywhere I looked about me

I saw nothing but faces shining with

gladness and generosity. One bold and

courageous move of self-sacrificing love

had cut the knot, and our sorrow, just

like that, was at an end.

My husband tells this story often,

knowing that inevitably someone listening

is picking hopelessly at the Gordian

knot in his life. That person may not

know that human ingenuity will not

untangle it, and that there are no hands

strong enough to force the cords apart.

The vicious cycle of anger responding

to offense, and the echoes of resentful

silences mirroring each other across the

dining table have but one solution, and

it is a supernatural one.

The sword that slices through those

cords is the sharp sword of Divine Love.

It’s not a love that comes naturally to

any of us, but if just one combatant

in a struggle can find the humility to

grasp its hilt, the awful battlefield will

be transformed quite suddenly into a

garden.

It is, in fact, a superpower. My husband

has mastered it, but there is not a

single son or daughter of God that can’t

become adept at loving better, and

slicing through the cords that bind us

up in knots.


DESIRE LINES

HEATHER KING

LA’s (almost) forgotten storyteller

“The Blessing of the Animals,” mural by

Leo Politi, 1908-1996, American. | CHRIS

ENGLISH VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Leo Politi (1908-1996) walked, loved, wrote about, and

illustrated the streets of LA, especially Bunker Hill

and downtown’s Olvera Street.

His children’s books number more than 20 and include

“Pedro: The Angel of Olvera Street” (J. Paul Getty Museum,

$15.95), “Juanita” (J. Paul Getty Museum, $77.34),

“Little Leo” (NY Scribners, $69.99), “Moy Moy” (Charles

Scribner’s Sons, $30.32) and “Mieko” (Golden Gate Junior

Books, $49).

Perhaps his best-known is “Song of the Swallows” (J. Paul

Getty Museum, $16.95), about a little boy who plants a

garden to welcome the annual return of “las golondrinas”

to San Juan Capistrano. The book won the Caldecott Medal

in 1950 for the “most distinguished American picture

book for children.”

Born in Fresno, the younger

of two children of Italian-American

descent, Politi

would die at 87 in the city he

had served and celebrated for

decades.

When Leo was 7, the family

returned to his mother’s

hometown of Broni in northern

Italy.

He displayed artistic talent

from an early age, retained a

lifelong affection for village

life, and frequently sketched

Broni’s houses, residents, and

street life.

In 1920, the family moved to

London for a year where Leo

was exposed to art, theater,

film, and sidewalk chalk

artists.

Three years later, at the age

of 15, he won a scholarship

to the National Art Institute

at the Royal Palace of Monza,

near Milan. He served a

six-year apprenticeship, studying architecture, drawing, and

sculpture, and returned to California by way of the Panama

Canal in 1931.

Captivated by the “earthy qualities of the life and vegetation

of the tropical Central American jungle,” he would

adopt its ochre yellows and burnt siennas for his own work.

In 1934 (some accounts say 1933 or 1938), he married

Helen Fontes. The couple would have two children, Paul

and Suzanne, and lived in a rented house on LA’s Bunker

Hill.

During the Depression, Politi’s habit became to sit at a

café on Olvera Street, alive at the time with traditional

handcrafters, food vendors, and strolling musicians. He’d

sketch or paint watercolors of the colorful members of the

passing crowd, or the surrounding buildings, or the high


Heather King (heather-king.com) writes memoirs, leads workshops,

and posts on Substack at “Desire Lines: Books, Culture, Art.”

points of a religious fiesta. Or he might carve from a block

of wood, hoping to sell a piece or two to tourists or locals

and make some spare change.

In addition to the watercolors for which he was best

known, he was also adept at wood engraving, lithography,

and oils. He took his deepest inspiration from children:

their openness, their playfulness, their spontaneity. A

devout Catholic, he emphasized the sanctity of the mother-child

relationship and, long before DEI initiatives, reveled

in LA’s melting pot of races, ethnicities, and traditions.

He made frequent visits to the Children’s Literature

Department of the Central Library. The children crowded

round to hear him read, tell stories, and give weekly drawing

demonstrations.

A historian as well as an artist, Politi wrote also for adults,

in such books as “Tales of the Los Angeles Parks” (Best-

West Publications, $295) and “The Poinsettia” (Best-West

Publications, $46).

These, too, were illustrated: with watercolors of the

now-vanished Victorian houses that once stood proudly

atop Bunker Hill; with LA’s flowers, birds, and trees; with

the city’s “everyday” street life: packages being delivered,

gossip exchanged over backyard fences,

laundry hung out to dry.

Though never wealthy, he once refused

to sell the rights for his popular

Pancho character to Disney, preferring

to retain his artistic integrity.

In 1965, Politi’s art was given an

exhibit at the Central Library, after

which the Board of Library Commissioners

approved a $3,000 purchase,

chose a selection of Politi’s paintings

that had been used in his book “Bunker

Hill, Los Angeles: Reminiscences

of Bygone Days” (Desert-Southwest,

$99.75) and added them to the

library’s California collection.

In November 2023, a selection of

these paintings was placed in the

Children’s Literature Department at

Central Library where, clearly, Politi

is remembered and treasured to this

day.

Many of Politi’s books are available

at the library. An LAPL blog post by

Tina Princenthal, principal librarian,

is a rich source of information about

Politi’s life and work, and also features

several wonderful photos of Politi

surrounded by children.

His legacy lives on. His name is

attached to an elementary school

in Koreatown, an open area north of Dodger Stadium, a

square in Echo Park, and a branch library in Fresno, the

city of his birth.

A mural painted by Politi in 1979 called “The Blessing of

the Animals” adorns the sides of Olvera Street’s Biscailuz

Building, and commemorates a traditional event still held

here annually on Easter Saturday.

This year’s blessing, by Archbishop José H. Gomez, will

be on April 4, at 12 p.m. Bring your pets!

Practically every person who ever met Politi spoke of his

generosity of spirit, his infectious enthusiasm, and his air of

goodwill. His principal biographer, the legendary LA priest

and Tidings scribe Msgr. Francis J. Weber, entitled his

book “Leo the Great” (Mission Hills, $60).

What a beautiful example Politi set for all of us: to see the

extraordinary in the everyday; to celebrate the man, woman,

and child on the street; to remind us that no matter

the political, economic, or spiritual climate, our real life

is lived in tiny moments of connection, shared laughs and

meals, and the ability to see God in our neighbor.

May we all, like little Juan, plant a garden — and pray for

the return of the swallows.


LETTER AND SPIRIT

SCOTT HAHN

Scott Hahn is founder of the

St. Paul Center for Biblical

Theology; stpaulcenter.com.

Lent’s last lap

It’s late in Lent, and that’s OK. It feels like I need the time

and the grace that goes with it. The prophets Isaiah and

Jeremiah saw God as a patient potter, purposeful as he

molds his creations.

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father;

we are the clay, and are our potter;

we are all the work of your hand (Isaiah 64:8).

In this home stretch — as we approach Holy Week — God

is still working and reworking us, and we try our best to be

docile and pliable. We went into Ash Wednesday with good

intentions, and perhaps we stumbled, and then we got up

again; and we still repeat the cycle. “And the vessel he was

making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked

it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter

to do” (Jeremiah 18:4).

It is a mercy to live as you and I do. It is a mercy to have

the traditions we have received from the apostles through

the saints. It is a mercy that we can go often to the sacrament

of confession. It is a mercy that we can live Lent and Holy

Week together every year.

God never tires of forgiving us; it’s we who get tired of

asking for forgiveness.

So let’s not tire as we head into the home stretch of our

Lent, and as we enter Holy Week and the Triduum. God

will give us the grace to finish well, even if we’ve stumbled

often.

Why? Because that’s his purpose throughout the story we’re

remembering this month. He came to save us — save us

from our sins! But that’s just a prelude. He forgives our sins

and heals us so that we can live a life that’s divine, sharing his

own nature with us even as he shares ours (see 2 Peter 1:4).

Lent is the time when the potter takes his clay and works it

into another vessel — a vessel of honor and of divinity — a

vessel of holiness and grace. God created us to be saints;

and when we fell he called us again to be saints. Only saints

will live in heaven; and you and I want to be in that number

when the saints go marching in.

Lent has been forming us for the task

— molding clay into lamps — molding

sinners into saints. As the month ends,

we’ll have so many reasons to celebrate

God’s mercy.

Lourdes, Haute

Pyrénées, France:

Pilgrims praying and

confessing by the roadside.

Wood engraving. |

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS


■ FRIDAY, MARCH 13

Fish Fry Torrance. Nativity Church, 1415 Engracia Ave.,

Torrance, 5-7 p.m. Baked or deep-fried fish, baked potato

or french fries, coleslaw, roll, and cake. Adults: $17/person,

seniors: $12/person, children under 12: $10/person.

Indoor seating and take-out service available.

“World Famous” Lenten Fish Dinners. St. Cornelius

Church, 5500 E. Wardlow Rd., Long Beach, 5-7 p.m. Held

Fridays in Lent, except March 20. All meals served with

side dishes, dessert, and beverage. Adults: $15, ages 13-

17: $10, kids under 13: $5. Visit angelusnews.com/events

for full menu.

K of C Fish “Fry-Days.” St. Barnabas Church, 3955

Orange Ave., Long Beach, 6:15-8:30 p.m. Stations of the

Cross, 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m. Mass. Visit StBarnabasLB.org.

Taize Prayer. Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd.,

Encino, 7 p.m. Led by Sister Chris Machado, SSS, and

Sister Marie Lindemann, SSS. Visit hsrcenter.com or call

818-784-4515.

■ SATURDAY, MARCH 14

San Pedro Council of Catholic Women 2026 Lenten

Retreat. American Martyrs Church, 700 15th St., Manhattan

Beach, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Anne Hansen, executive director

of Ignatians West, will guide participants through the Four

Foundational Models of Ignatian Spirituality. Cost: $50/

person, includes continental breakfast and boxed lunch.

RSVP by Feb. 27 to sanpedroccw@gmail.com or call Sheila

C. at 310-863-0812.

Help with Heart: Trauma Awareness Symposium. Christ

Cathedral Campus, 13280 Chapman Ave., Garden Grove,

8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Cross-training opportunity for leaders,

ministers, to support others in a trauma-informed way.

Visit rcbo.org/help-with-heart/.

Marriage Preparation Session. St. Anthony Church, 1901

S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel, 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m. Engaged

couples and those already in a civil union are welcome to

attend. All sessions require in-person attendance of both

bride and groom for the full eight-hour session. Cost:

$150/couple. Visit familylife.lacatholics.org.

Lenten Silent Saturday. Holy Spirit Retreat Center,

4316 Lanai Rd., Encino, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. With Sister Chris

Machado, SSS and the Silent Saturday Team. Visit hsrcenter.com

or call 818-784-4515.

Healing: God’s Restoration — Body, Mind, and Spirit.

St. Finbar Church, 2010 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, 10 a.m.-4

p.m. With Father Bill Delaney, SJ, Dr. Elizabeth Kim, Maria

Velasquez, LMFT, and Dominic Berardino. Teachings,

healing prayer, and Mass. Includes individual prayer blessing

by clergy. Cost: $25/person through March 10, $30/

person at the door. Visit events.scrc.org.

Bilingual Mass for St. Oscar Romero. St. Mary Church,

1600 E. Ave. R-4, Palmdale, 2:30 p.m.

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner. St. Margaret Mary Church,

25511 Eshelman Ave., Lomita, 5 p.m. Includes complete

corn beef and cabbage dinner. Call Michael Valdovinos at

310-210-7872.

University of Notre Dame Glee Club and Flintridge

Sacred Heart Academy Concert. St. Bede the Venerable

Church, 215 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge, 7 p.m.

Call 818-949-4300.

■ SUNDAY, MARCH 15

Barnabas Bazaar Craft Faire Marketplace. St. Barnabas

Church, 3955 Orange Ave., Long Beach, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Artisans,

craft makers, boutique retailers, food and beverage

vendors. Visit StBarnabasLB.org.

Family Workshop: Eucharist: Heart and Soul of the Family.

St. Bede the Venerable Church, 215 Foothill Blvd., La

Cañada Flintridge, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Speaker: Claire Fratzer

Yzaguirre, licensed marriage and family therapist. Suggested

donation: $20/family. Call 818-949-4300.

■ THURSDAY, MARCH 19

St. Joseph Feast Day Mass. St. Barnabas Church, 3955 Orange

Ave., Long Beach, 6:30 p.m. Bring images and statues

to be blessed.

Native American Spirituality: A Theological Overview.

Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Dr., Los Angeles,

7 p.m. Presenter Cheryl Bear, Ph.D., will explore Native

American spirituality. Register to attend by March 15 at

bellarmine.lmu.edu/theologicalstudies/initiatives/milligan/.

■ FRIDAY, MARCH 20

Fish Fry Dinner: Fish Tacos. St. Margaret Mary Church,

25511 Eshelman Ave., Lomita, 5-7 p.m. Fish fry featuring

tacos, fried or baked fish, and dessert. Takeout available.

Call Michael Valdovinos at 310-210-7872.

Teen Stations of the Cross. St. Bede the Venerable Church,

215 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge, 6 p.m. Call 818-

949-4300.

■ SATURDAY, MARCH 21

Free Lenten Retreat Talk: The Healing Love of God. St.

Barnabas Church, 3955 Orange Ave., Long Beach, 10

a.m.-12 p.m. Guest speaker: Sister Lieu Nguyen, LHC. Talk,

Q&A, and prayer experience. Refreshments and snacks

provided. Visit StBarnabasLB.org.

Open House. St. John’s Seminary, 5012 Seminary Rd.,

Camarillo, 1-4 p.m. Call Office of Development at 805-482-

2755, ext. 1016 or email development@stjohnsem.edu.

54th Annual St. Joseph Table. Holy Angels Church, 370

Campus Dr., Arcadia, 5 p.m. Hosted by the Italian Catholic

Federation, the community is welcome March 21-22 for a

free meatless pasta meal and a gathering in gratitude and

faith. Visit holyangelsarcadia.org or call 626-447-1671.

80 Years of Excellence: A Derby Soiree. Los Angeles

County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin

Ave., Arcadia, 5:30 p.m. Holy Angels School gala will

support education programs, facility enhancements, and

scholarship opportunities. Email auction@holyangelsarcadia.org

or call 626-447-6312.

■ SUNDAY, MARCH 22

Catholic Singles Network Dinner Party. Marie Callender

Restaurant, 1560 Albatross Rd., City of Industry, 5-8 pm.

Mingling will be maximized at the dinner by having attendees

rotate to different tables. Call Celeste at 661-916-2727

or visit CatholicSinglesNetwork.com.

■ TUESDAY, MARCH 24

Penance and Pasta. St. Bede the Venerable Church, 215

Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge, 6 p.m. communal penance

service, followed by pasta dinner. Hosted by St. Bede

Confirmation. Call 818-949-4300.

Items for the calendar of events are due four weeks prior to the date of the event. They may be emailed to calendar@angelusnews.com.

All calendar items must include the name, date, time, address of the event, and a phone number for additional information.



Angelus News | March 20, 2026 | Vol. 11 No. 6

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Angelus News | March 20, 2026 | Vol. 11 No. 6

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