Angelus News | May 29, 2026

ANGELUS

OPERATION

SACRED HEART

The special plan to

consecrate the US for

its 250th birthday

May 29, 2026 Vol. 11 No. 11

May 29, 2026

Vol. 11 • No. 11

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ON THE COVER

MARIA RATTA/SHUTTERSTOCK

On June 11, the Catholic bishops of the United States will formally

consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ahead of its 250th

birthday a month later. Why are they doing it, and what does such a

consecration mean? On Page 10, Mike Aquilina finds answers in the

Gospels and the history of the Church to help it all make sense.

THIS PAGE

KATIE TREJO

Two young girls lay flowers at the feet

of the Virgin Mary statue during a May

crowning event at Sacred Heart Church in

Lancaster on May 3.

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Always Forward - newsletter.angelusnews.com

CONTENTS

Pope Watch............................................... 2

Archbishop Gomez................................. 3

World, Nation, and Local News...... 4-6

In Other Words........................................ 7

Father Rolheiser....................................... 8

Scott Hahn.............................................. 32

Events Calendar..................................... 33

14

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

As others forget the wildfires, LA Catholics keep up the support

The local Catholic restoring Bob Hope’s famous Nativity set

LA Archdiocese announces new pastor, administrator assignments

Guadalupe travels to Catalina Island on a Cinco de Mayo to remember

Elise Ureneck on the Catholic art of ‘training the tongue’

Greg Erlandson: Israel, the Holocaust, and the pains of history

The surprising Christianity of ‘The Sheep Detectives’

Heather King: Through burns and pain, ‘Napalm Girl’ found Christianity

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 1

POPE WATCH

The case for reading books

The following is a speech given by the

Holy Father during a May 7 encounter

at the Vatican with members of the

editorial offices of the Vatican Publishing

House (LEV), which is responsible

for publishing official documents of

the Roman Catholic Church, including

papal bulls, event records, and

encyclicals, as well as certain Secret

Archive documents.

Today we are gathered to mark

what might be described as

a “family” anniversary: the

centenary of our publishing house,

the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

It was in fact in 1926 that it became

independent from the long-established

Vatican Printing House, founded

way back in 1587. Over these 100

years, the Libreria Editrice Vaticana

has served nine popes, spreading their

magisterium as a contribution to the

dissemination of the Gospel throughout

the world.

I would like to share with you three

brief reflections on this anniversary,

which I know you will also be celebrating

at a number of international

events dedicated to books.

The book is an opportunity to think.

In the digital age, the physicality

of the book reminds us of the role

of thought, reflection, and study.

Reading nourishes the mind; it helps

to foster a conscious and well-formed

critical sense, guarding us against fundamentalism

and ideological shortcuts.

For this reason, I urge everyone

to read books, as an antidote to

closed-mindedness, which is reflected

in rigid attitudes and reductive views

of reality.

Then, the book is an opportunity

for encounter. When we hold a book

in our hands, we ideally encounter

its author. But at the same time, we

meet those who have read it before

us, or who are reading it now or will

read it in the future. And increasingly,

there are occasions when writers

and readers come together to talk and

listen to one another. Pope Francis

has taught us to practice the culture

of encounter: a book is a bridge to

others, a source of dialogue that

enriches us, a stimulus to expand our

own perspective.

Finally, for us Christians, the book

is an opportunity to proclaim Christ.

We know well how reading a saint’s

biography or a well-written spiritual

reflection can touch the heart. The

Virgin Mary is often depicted, in the

Annunciation, intent on reading the

holy Scriptures. St. Anthony of Padua

holds the open Book of the Gospels,

upon which the Infant Jesus stands.

We often see St. Augustine seated

at a desk before a large book and, at

times, holding a heart in his hand:

truth and charity. At the school of

Mary and the saints, let us nourish

ourselves with the Word of God, so

that it may shape our way of thinking

and acting.

Dear friends, I echo the words that

St. Pope Paul VI addressed to your

colleagues of that time when, in

1976, he met them on the occasion

of the 50th anniversary of the Libreria

Editrice Vaticana: he urged them to

“look ahead, to refine ideas and plans

for the future.” I thank you for your

work, which I hope you will carry out

with dedication and passion.

Papal Prayer Intention for May: Let us pray that everyone,

from large producers to small consumers, be committed to

avoid wasting food, and to ensure that everyone has access

to quality food.

2 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

NEW WORLD OF FAITH

ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ

The difference the Holy Spirit makes

On Sunday, May 17, the solemnity

of the Ascension of the Lord, Archbishop

José H. Gomez administered the

sacrament of confirmation on 23 young

people at the Cathedral of Our Lady

of the Angels. The following is adapted

from his homily.

The solemnity of the Ascension

is a very special moment in the

life of the Church every year.

Our Lord is now seated at the right

hand of the Father, and this is where

he calls us to follow and to be with

him.

As he rises to heaven, Jesus gives his

Church its mission on earth: “Go …

and make disciples of all nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have

commanded you.”

It is also very special to celebrate the

sacrament of confirmation today, because

confirmation is the sacrament of

mission, the sacrament in which Jesus

puts his seal on our hearts and makes

us his own.

So, my dear confirmandi, today Jesus

claims you today for his mission. And

you proclaim your commitment to be

his disciples — to follow him, to share

in his life and to share in the responsibility

for his mission.

Jesus did not come to create an institution.

He came to create a family, the

family of God, the kingdom of God.

Jesus came to make one family out of

all the nations of the world, to invite

every man and woman to enter into

his kingdom, to be sons and daughters

of God, baptized in the name of the

Holy Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy

Spirit.

Each one of us in the Church, as

baptized and confirmed Catholics, has

a part to play in building up the family

of God here on earth. We have an

amazing call and a beautiful vocation!

So, Jesus speaks to each one of us in

the first reading of today’s Mass when

he says: “You will be my witnesses … to

the ends of the earth.”

A witness is one who testifies, not just

in words but in our deeds. In the way

we treat other people, in the way we

love, we witness to the difference that

Jesus makes in our lives. And in that

way, we can help the people in our

lives to discover Jesus’ love.

And in the same first reading of

today’s Mass, Jesus tells his disciples

“not to depart from Jerusalem, but to

wait for the promise” of the Holy Spirit

on Pentecost.

The first Christians did just what

Jesus told them to do and went back to

Jerusalem with Mary, Jesus’ Mother,

and devoted themselves to praying

together, celebrating the breaking of

the bread, and living by the apostles’

teaching. And they awaited for the gift

of the Holy Spirit that he promised to

them.

For us, those first Christians continue

to be our model, as disciples and as

the Church. And something that is

good to reflect on is how we need to

stay close to our Blessed Mother Mary,

and we also need to stay close to Jesus

in the Eucharist.

Jesus goes to heaven, but he does not

leave us alone on earth. He goes away,

but he will never leave us behind. We

heard his promise today in the Gospel:

“Behold, I am with you always, until

the end of the age.”

Let us ask Jesus for the grace to love

and follow him more closely. Let us

ask him to deepen our awareness of

his presence in our lives and in the

world around us.

Jesus came down from heaven to

share in our human life, in all our

sufferings and joys. Today he ascends

into heaven.

Now, every step we take in our

human lives becomes a pathway to

heaven because we are walking in the

footsteps of Jesus.

My dear confirmandi, never forget

that from now on you have the gifts

of the Holy Spirit. And the gifts of the

Holy Spirit are going to help you make

With an active faith and the gifts of the Holy Spirit,

you will be able to respond to Christ’s call to

you, and you will have a beautiful and happy life.

the right decisions in life. The seven

gifts of the Holy Spirit — wisdom, understanding,

right judgment, courage,

knowledge, piety, and reverence.

So, with an active faith and the gifts

of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to

respond to Christ’s call to you, and

you will have a beautiful and happy

life.

As we await the power of the Holy

Spirit on Pentecost, let us all ask for

the intercession of our Blessed Mother,

Our Lady of the Angels, Mother

of the Church.

May she help us to carry out the

mission of our lives — to be witnesses

to the love of her Son, Our Lord Jesus

Christ, to all the nations.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 3

WORLD

■ Filipino priest changes his

mind on becoming a bishop

A priest in the Philippines surprised many

by announcing he would not accept episcopal

ordination.

Father Gerardo F. Saco Jr. has been serving

as diocesan administrator of the Diocese

of Tagbilaran since October 2025, and

Pope Leo XIV appointed him bishop of the

same diocese March 25. Despite initially

accepting the position, Saco announced

May 5 that he will not proceed with the

ordination, scheduled for May 26.

The decision to decline an episcopal ordination

is rare, leading to significant surprise

throughout the diocese.

“I sincerely ask for your understanding

regarding this change of heart. It comes

from a deep awareness of my own human

limitations and inadequacies,” Saco said

in the statement. He has declined further

interviews.

■ Canada: Hospitalized

priest offered euthanasia —

twice

A Canadian Catholic priest was twice

offered euthanasia while being treated for a

hip fracture.

Father Larry Holland, 79, from Vancouver,

did not have a terminal illness when

a doctor first raised the topic of assisted

suicide. “I think I was very shocked. It is

such a sensitive subject,” Holland later

recounted. He then told the doctor he was

morally opposed to the practice.

A few weeks later, a nurse again raised

the topic of assisted suicide with Holland.

According to the priest, she appeared

uncomfortable raising the topic.

“This must surely be among the most

appalling examples of Canada’s coercive

and insensitive euthanasia regime,” Father

Larry Lynn, pro-life chaplain for the Archdiocese

of Vancouver, told the Catholic

Herald.

“Staff may consider bringing up MAID

[medical assistance in dying] based on

their clinical judgment, provided they possess

the necessary knowledge and skills to

do so,” a spokesman for Vancouver Coastal

Health, the regional health authority, said

in response to the controversy.

■ Will Holy Land become ‘Christian Disneyland’?

A Benedictine

priest from the

Holy Land has

warned the

region could

become a

“Christian Disneyland”

where

monks maintain

sacred sites

while native

Christian populations

dwindle.

“If you think

this is an El

Dorado of

Christianity,

the reality is different,”

Father

A mostly empty pizza restaurant in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter in February 2024,

during the Israel-Hamas war. | PABLO KAY

Nikodemus Schnabel, abbot of Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, told Aid to

the Church in Need April 24. “All Christians together are less than 2%.”

“People leave because they don’t see a future,” he said, noting a rise in anti-Christian

vandalism, arson, and other attacks. In 2023, the U.S. State Department

reported that Christian clergy and pilgrims have faced rising harassment,

including by ultra-Orthodox extremists.

A fight for life — A mother holds her measles-infected child at the Children’s Hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh,

May 8. Catholic Charity Caritas Bangladesh and Church-run health centers are building awareness

among the rural people while the country grapples with a deadly outbreak of measles that has left more

than 336 children dead since mid-March. | OSV NEWS/STEPHAN UTTOM ROZARIO

4 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

NATION

■ White House announces website for

pregnant moms on Mother’s Day

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

launched a website promoting pro-life pregnancy resources

on Mother’s Day.

The site, Moms.gov, directs expectant mothers to pro-life

pregnancy resource centers and contains information on

nutritional recommendations for expectant mothers and

information on fertility awareness-based methods.

The site does not directly promote contraception, sterilization,

or abortion, but links to other websites that may

promote those practices. It also links to sites promoting in

vitro fertilization (IVF), a practice that involves the discarding

of human embryos and is opposed by the Catholic Church.

On the same day, the U.S. Department of Labor announced

a proposed rule change that would encourage employers to

provide coverage for IVF.

■ Las Cruces in eminent

domain fight over border wall

The Diocese of Las Cruces is fighting a federal eminent

domain order that would seize land from a pilgrimage site to

build a portion of a border wall.

The diocese had previously rejected attempts from the Department

of Justice to access Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland

Park, New Mexico, to build a 1.3-mile wall section along the

southern mountain side. At the mountain’s peak is a 29-foot

limestone statue of Christ that has served as a pilgrimage

destination for nearly a century.

The construction of the wall “through or along this holy site

could irreparably damage its religious and cultural sanctity,

obstruct pilgrimage routes, and transfer sacred space into a

symbol of division,” the diocese said in June 2025 when plans

for a wall were first announced.

The federal government filed for eminent domain seizure in

exchange for $183,071 in fair market value on May 7, leading

to the diocese to counter sue May 8 that the seizure would

“substantially burden the free exercise of religion” by those

“who seek to commune with God on diocesan property.”

A man prays with a child in front

of an image of Our Lady at Mount

Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New

Mexico, during a pilgrimage Nov.

23, 2024, for the feast of Christ

the King. | OSV NEWS/JOSE LUIS

GONZALEZ, REUTERS

Gratitude for a native pope — Augustinian sisters wait before bringing the

offertory gifts to the altar at a Mass of thanksgiving for the first anniversary of

Pope Leo XIV’s election at St. Jude Church in New Lenox, Illinois, May 8. | OSV

NEWS/SIMONE ORENDAIN

■ Illinois: A shrine for first Black

Catholic priest at parish that once

rejected him

The Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, announced plans for a

national shrine for Venerable Augustus Tolton, the first publicly

recognized Black Catholic priest in the United States.

The shrine will be located in Quincy, where Father Tolton

was raised, ministered, and is buried. A $5 million renovation

is needed to repair St. Boniface Church, which has been

vacant since 2020, with up to $7 million needed to include

additional landmarks from Tolton’s life.

As a child, Tolton attended St. Boniface School for a month,

until white parents threatened to remove their children and

he transferred to St. Peter’s Parish.

Because no U.S. seminary would accept a Black vocation,

he was sent to study in Rome. He was ordained at St. John

Lateran Basilica in 1886 and returned to Chicago and Quincy

to minister to Black Catholics.

“It’s something of a roundabout to see the shrine, established

as the place that kind of rejected him as a school

child,” Bishop Joseph Perry, retired auxiliary bishop of

Chicago and vice postulator of Tolton’s cause, told OSV

News.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 5

LOCAL

■ California announces plan to

provide free diapers to newborns

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a first-in-thenation

program on May 8 to provide 400 free diapers to every

newborn in the state.

California, he said, will partner with Baby2Baby, a nonprofit

organization that provides diapers and other essential

children’s items to low-income families or those impacted by

emergencies such as domestic violence or natural disasters.

The program will give every newborn delivered in a participating

California hospital 400 diapers at no cost to the family

upon discharge.

Newsom, a Catholic, cast the effort as part of a broader

affordability strategy. His office said the program would leverage

the “bulk purchasing power of the state” to challenge

“high prices from major brands.”

“Diapers are some of the most expensive essential items

families have to pay for their baby,” said Molly Sheahan, associate

director for healthy families at the California Catholic

Conference. “Helping families

cover this cost for the first

few weeks of life is a crucial

step toward parity for mothers

welcoming their children.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, center,

packs diapers into a box with Baby2Baby

leaders after a press conference in

San Francisco on May 8. | OSV NEWS/

MANUEL ORBEGOZO, REUTERS

City of Angels — Father Marinello Saguin, pastor at Our Lady of Grace Church

in Encino, with Paul Escala, superintendent of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’

Department of Catholic Schools, on May 6 after earning one of the department’s

second annual Angel Awards given for outstanding service to Catholic education.

The other two Angel Awards winners were Cristina Gonzalez, a teacher at Our

Lady of Lourdes School in East LA, and Katy Kruska, principal at St. Bernardine

of Siena School in Woodland Hills. | RACHEL RUFUS

■ RECongress moving from

Anaheim to Long Beach in 2028

After being held in Anaheim since 1970, the LA Religious

Education Congress will move to the Long Beach Convention

Center in 2028.

The change in venue for the annual gathering was announced

May 20 by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Office

of Religious Education.

“The heart of RECongress is the people who fill the space

and we look forward to bringing that same spirit of encounter

and community to Long Beach,” said Sister Rosalia Meza,

VDMF, senior director of the Office of Religious Education.”

Next year’s RECongress, the final one held at the Anaheim

Convention Center, will take place April 22-25, 2027, organizers

said.

■ Mount St. Mary’s University launches

new partnership with Catholic schools

Twelve LA Catholic high schools are partnering with

Mount St. Mary’s University to offer eligible students guaranteed

admission into the all-women Catholic college.

The “College Promise” program, announced May 6, will

guarantee admission into Mount St. Mary’s for female

students who attend participating schools and earn at least

a 3.0 weighted GPA and participate in service and faithbased

activities.

The partnership with Mount St. Mary’s is the second one

for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, having entered into

a similar agreement with Loyola Marymount University

in June 2025 for both male and female students. Both

programs are for five years, with the option of adjusting and

extending them further after that.

Mount St. Mary’s partnership will take effect beginning

with the 2026-27 school year, while the six high schools

participating in LMU’s program are currently in the admissions

process.

6 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

V

IN OTHER WORDS...

Letters to the Editor

‘Just war’ and Iran

In your timeline and its cited sources on the debate about the American-Israeli

war against Iran (“Americans at odds,” May 1 issue of Angelus),

Church officials offer generalities about peace and dialogue, and assert the

“thousand-year tradition” of warfare being moral only “in self-defense, once all

peace efforts have failed.” They make no specific application of the “just war” doctrine’s

criteria (CCC 2309) to the governments’ asserted rationale.

Is this ancient doctrine, so conceived, adequate for the nuclear age?

The two allies seek primarily “to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat” of a

terrorist regime bent on “death to America” and “death to Israel.” They seek also to

stifle its long-range missile capabilities and its proxy terrorism and wars. These goals

seem consistent with the Church’s “principle of non-proliferation of nuclear arms”

and its absolute “condemnation of terrorism.”

In a Vatican II-era moral theology manual (“The Law of Christ”), Father Bernard

Häring said: “Every offensive war in the strict sense of that term must be characterized

as unlawful and immoral. However, to anticipate an unjust attack of a hostile

power which has been certainly agreed upon, prepared, and organized, is not aggressive

war, for the hostile purpose and plan is thwarted by a preventive but clearly

defensive act.” Thus, the Church has contemplated the legitimacy of pre-emptive

self-defense.

Please tell us: Can nations justly wage a last-practical-resort, preventive-defensive

war to deny nuclear arms (for extortion or use) to a 47-year terrorist adversary that

has been able to enrich uranium to near weapons-grade levels?

— Steve Serra, Mission Viejo

Y

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The month of Mary

View more photos

from this gallery at

AngelusNews.com/photos-videos

Catechism students and

members of the Catholic

Daughters of America at

Sacred Heart Church in

Lancaster participated in a

May crowning event May

3. Several parishes and

schools across the Archdiocese

of Los Angeles held

May crowning festivities in

May. | KATIE TREJO

Do you have photos or a story from your parish that you’d

like to share? Please send to editorial@angelusnews.com.

“If we spent but a fraction

of what we spend on

screens looking at the faces

of our family members.”

~ Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard

Hebda, in a May 12 pastoral letter on Catholic

families, titled “Only One Thing Is Necessary.”

“In 2026, we do not merely

tolerate dishonor but

increasingly redefine it as

virtue.”

~ Greg Schaller, director of the Centennial Institute,

in a May 13 Providence commentary on how

Western civilization has forgotten honesty, courage,

and fidelity.

“We are a desire, not an

algorithm.”

~ Pope Leo XIV, in a May 14 address to students

and faculty at Sapienza University of Rome.

“They’re not just loafing

around and buying T-bone

steaks and living life high on

the hog.”

~ Monika Spencer, a former Arizona Department of

Economic Security worker, in a May 11 NBC News

article on families going hungry because of federal

food-stamp cuts.

“The devil abuses you. But

God never abuses you.”

~ Father Guillaume Bruté de Rémur, rector of the

Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Beirut, in “Is

It Possible to Love the Enemy?” a new Spanishlanguage

documentary on the war in Lebanon.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 7

IN EXILE

FATHER RONALD ROLHEISER, OMI

Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father

Ronald Rolheiser is a spiritual

writer; ronrolheiser.com

A mini treason

Thomas Merton once said that

what he feared in his own life

was not so much a massive

betrayal of his vocation, but a series of

mini treasons that lead to a different

kind of death. And that’s the peril that I

fear too, for myself and for our culture.

Sixty years ago Kay Cronin wrote

a book entitled “Cross in the Wilderness”

(Mitchell Press Limited,

$137.98), chronicling how, in 1847, a

small band of Oblate Missionaries of

Mary Immaculate came from France

to the American Pacific Northwest and,

after some bitter setbacks in Washington

state and Oregon, moved up the

coast into Canada and helped found

the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in

Vancouver and the Roman Catholic

Church in significant parts of British

Columbia’s mainland.

She describes these men, no doubt

with some over-idealization and hagiography,

as tough, totally dedicated,

and completely without concern for

their own comfort and health. They

left their beloved France while still

young, knew they would probably

never see their loved ones again, and

accepted to live constantly in danger

both from the harsh elements of their

frontier environment and from the

threat of death from various Native

tribes, various government forces, and

mercenary soldiers who distrusted

them.

They were threatened many times,

chased out of various missions, some

were kidnapped for periods of time,

and a number of their houses and

missions were burnt down. They lived

perennially on the edge of danger,

never secure, never free from threat.

Moreover, they had very little in terms

of creature comforts. They lived in log

or mud hovels and ate bad food. They

had virtually no access to doctors, little

access to what might make for good hygiene,

and often, while travelling, had

to sleep outside without proper shelter

from rain and cold, causing many of

them to develop rheumatism and other

such illnesses at an early age. As well,

they were never able to sink roots, to

get comfortable at any place, to make

the kinds of friends and contacts who

could be a comfort and support to

them. They had faith in God and each

other, and little else.

But they were able to take all of this

in stride without undue self-pity or

complaint. They wrote positive and

idealistic letters to their motherhouse

in France and to their families and

kept journals in which they expressed

mostly joy about their modest successes

in the ministry, seldom uttering a complaint

about the bad housing, bad food,

and instability in their lives.

As an Oblate missionary myself, as a

member of the same religious family, I

am proud of what these men did, and

rightly so. They were selfless to the

point of death.

However, that being said, reading

their story is also humbling. Looking

at their radical sacrifice of all comfort

is for me a mirror that I peer into with

considerable trepidation and shame.

I look at my own life and see far too

much in the way of an addiction to

comfort and safety. I don’t want what

they had: I want healthy food, clean

water, proper hygiene, regular rest,

access to good doctors, access to news

and information, access to travel,

regular contact with family and friends,

opportunities for retreats and vacations,

access to ongoing education, and, not

least, I want safety. I want to be a good

missionary, but I want to be comfortable

and safe.

I take some consolation in the fact

that today times are much different

than they were when these French

missionaries landed in the Pacific

Northwest. I couldn’t do the work I do

today, at least not for very long, without

proper housing, proper food, proper

hygiene, access to education and

information, regular rest, and healthy

recreational outlets. My life and my

ministry are a marathon, not a sprint,

and proper self-care is a virtue, not a

vice.

Still, it’s easy to rationalize and

become addicted to comfort and safety.

St. Paul, reflecting upon his own

missionary life, once wrote that he was

comfortable with whatever was dealt to

him — much or little. I like to believe

that too for my own life; but, and this

is true for most of us, the more we live

with plenty, the more we tend to protect

ourselves inside that cocoon.

As children of our culture, I believe

we can easily become addicted to comfort

and safety. Once we have grown

used to safety, good food, clean water,

proper hygiene, access to good doctors

and proper medicine, access to constant

entertainment, access to instant

information, regular connection with

our loved ones, boundless educational

and recreational opportunities, and

wonderful creature comforts of all

sorts, the danger looms large that we

will not easily, or at all, be able to let go

of any of these.

Consequently, we can end up as good

people, no big betrayals, though no

big self-sacrifices either, good but not

great, admiring the greatness of others

from the comfort and safety of a snug

armchair.

8 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

Detail of a painting of the Sacred

Heart of Jesus at the Monastery of

The Visitation at Thonon-les-Bains,

France. | SHUTTERSTOCK

THE HEART OF

THE MATTER

The country’s bishops

are about to dedicate

the US to the Sacred

Heart of Jesus for its

250th birthday. What

does that mean?

BY MIKE AQUILINA

There will be fireworks, of course,

but more importantly there will

be grace.

The approaching 250th anniversary of

the United States will bring many civic

ceremonies, historical retrospectives,

and patriotic observances. Yet among

the most striking commemorations

will be a profoundly religious act: the

planned consecration of the nation to

the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the bishops

of the United States. The initiative,

announced by the United States Con-

Detail of the crucifixion mosaic in the dome of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the Basilica of the National

Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. It shows blood and water pouring from Jesus’ side. |

BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

10 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

“The Altar of the Sacred Heart” depicts a vision

of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. Margaret

Mary Alacoque at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome,

Italy, by Carlo Muccioli, 1857-1931, Italian. |

MARK LAURANCE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

ference of Catholic Bishops, will take

place in 2026, the semiquincentennial

year of American independence.

To modern ears, the word “consecration”

may sound exotic or archaic.

Yet the concept is deeply biblical and

profoundly human. To consecrate

something is to set it apart for God —

to dedicate it formally to divine service,

protection, and blessing. In Scripture,

people, places, objects, and even entire

nations are consecrated. Moses consecrated

Aaron and his sons for priestly

service (Exodus 28:41). Solomon

consecrated the Temple in Jerusalem

(1 Kings 8). The prophet Joel called

upon the people to “consecrate a fast”

and assemble the nation before the

Lord (Joel 1:14).

When Catholics consecrate themselves

to the Sacred Heart, they place

their lives under the lordship and

mercy of Christ. When bishops consecrate

a country, they are not creating a

political establishment or baptizing a

constitution. Rather, they are publicly

entrusting a people to Christ’s care and

calling the nation to conversion. Such

acts acknowledge that no society can

flourish apart from the source of all

charity, justice, and truth.

The choice of the Sacred Heart is

especially significant. Few images

are more immediately recognizable

as Catholic than the image of Christ

pointing to his exposed Heart — burning

with love, crowned with thorns,

wounded yet radiant. The image is

sentimental only to those who have

not understood it. In reality, it is one of

Christianity’s boldest theological statements.

The Sacred Heart proclaims

that God has loved humanity not

abstractly, but with a human Heart.

The roots of the devotion lie deep in

the New Testament, especially in the

Gospel according to John. Again and

again, John directs the reader’s attention

to the side and Heart of Christ.

At the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus cries

out, “He who believes in me, as the

Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart

shall flow rivers of living water’ ” (John

7:38). The Church Fathers saw in this

saying a prophecy of the life of grace

that would pour forth from Christ for

the salvation of the world.

That prophecy reaches fulfillment

on Calvary. John records with unusual

solemnity: “One of the soldiers pierced

his side with a spear, and at once there

came out blood and water” (John

19:34). The evangelist immediately

insists on the eyewitness character of

the event, almost as though he fears

readers might miss its importance.

Christians from the earliest centuries

interpreted the blood and water sacramentally

— signs of the Eucharist and

baptism, the life of the Church flowing

from the wounded side of Christ as

Eve once came from the side of sleeping

Adam.

Then, after the resurrection, Jesus

invites doubting Thomas into the

mystery of that wound: “Put out your

hand, and place it in my side; do

not be faithless, but believing” (John

20:27). Faith, in John’s Gospel, comes

through entering the opened side of

Christ. The wound remains even in

glory. The Heart of Jesus is not merely

a symbol; it is the enduring revelation

of divine love.

The devotion itself unfolded gradually

across Christian history. The

early Fathers meditated often on the

wound in Christ’s side. St. Augustine of

Hippo wrote that the evangelist chose

the word “opened” rather than merely

“struck,” because in that opening “the

gate of life was thrown open.” Medieval

monks and mystics deepened this meditation.

Figures such as St. Bernard

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 11

of Clairvaux and St. Bonaventure

contemplated the Heart of Christ as

the refuge of sinners and the fountain

of divine charity.

The devotion took on its modern

form in the 17th century through the

visions of Margaret Mary Alacoque

at Paray-le-Monial in France. Christ

revealed his Heart as “so much in love”

with humanity and lamented human

indifference and ingratitude. The

revelations coincided with a period of

religious rigorism and fear. Against this

coldness, the Sacred Heart appeared as

a declaration of mercy.

The Church gradually embraced

the devotion. In 1856, Pope Pius IX

extended the feast of the Sacred Heart

to the universal Church. In 1899, Pope

Leo XIII consecrated the entire human

race to the Sacred Heart, calling the

act “the greatest act” of his (astonishing

and lengthy) pontificate. Later popes

repeatedly reaffirmed the devotion,

A painting of the Sacred Heart

of Jesus during Mass at Sacred

Heart Church in Prescott, Arizona.

| OSV NEWS/BOB ROLLER

SACRED HEART CONSECRATION:

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS

On Thursday, June 11, the bishops

of the United States will

formally dedicate the country

to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during

their spring gathering in Orlando, the

first such formal consecration of the

country to Christ’s heart.

The national consecration will take

place at Mary, Queen of the Universe

Basilica in Orlando and will be livestreamed

via the homepage of the

United States Conference of Catholic

Bishops (usccb.org).

But that doesn’t mean the consecration

is only for bishops.

To encourage dioceses, parishes, and

families to hold their own celebrations

of the consecration at the local level,

the USCCB has released several

resources on its website, including:

prayers and readings for Mass that day;

a special June 3-11 novena to the Sacred

Heart of Jesus with daily devotions

from the Litany of the Sacred Heart; a

printable guide on how to “enthrone”

the Sacred Heart of Jesus in your

home; materials from the Knights of

Columbus and the Pope’s Prayer Network;

and the “We Hold These Truths

— America 250” article and video

series, which feature the contributions

of Catholics to the United States.

Another resource from the USCCB’s

Secretariat of Justice and Peace invites

Catholics to do “250 hours of adoration

and 250 works of mercy” in preparation

for America’s special birthday on

July 4.

“It’s that connection back to charity

and justice that our Church calls us

to — to pray for all the things in our

world that need healing — that we can

do in front of the Blessed Sacrament,”

Emily Schumacher-Novak, the office’s

associate director of Education and

Outreach, told OSV News.

OSV News contributed to this report.

12 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

A banner featuring an image of the Sacred Heart of

Jesus during a Eucharistic procession through the

Midtown Manhattan section of New York City Oct.

14, 2025. | OSV NEWS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ

especially Pope Pius XII in his 1956

encyclical Haurietis Aquas (“You Shall

Draw Waters”), whose title itself comes

from Isaiah’s prophecy of drawing water

joyfully from the wells of salvation.

Over time, the image spread everywhere

Catholics lived: in churches,

homes, schools, hospitals, holy cards,

stained-glass windows, statues, and

family enthronements. The Sacred

Heart became not only an object of

devotion, but almost a visual shorthand

for Catholic civilization itself.

That is why the bishops’ planned

consecration carries such symbolic

power. In an age marked by polarization,

loneliness, violence, and spiritual

exhaustion, the Church proposes not

a political program but a Heart —

wounded, living, and burning with divine

love. The act reminds Americans

that nations, like individuals, require

repentance and grace. It recalls the

truth at the center of Christianity: that

history itself is finally governed not by

power, wealth, or ideology, but by the

merciful Heart of Jesus Christ.

Mike Aquilina is a contributing editor

to Angelus and author of many books,

including “History’s Queen: Exploring

Mary’s Pivotal Role from Age to Age”

(Ave Maria Press, $16.95).

SERVING DOSES OF JOY

More than a year after the Palisades and

Eaton Fires, Catholic organizations are still

helping survivors on the road to recovery.

BY NATALIE ROMANO

The utility bills keep going

up, the washing machine is

breaking down, and every night

someone sleeps on the couch.

That’s what happens when your

household instantly doubles.

With nothing more than a generous

heart, Ramona Villegas welcomed in

a co-worker and her three daughters

after they lost their Altadena home

in the Southern California wildfires

in 2025. After more than a year of

financial strain, Villegas just received

her first monthly stipend from Catholic

Charities, which, along with the

Red Cross, is providing much-needed

funds to lighten the load for those like

Villegas who have taken in wildfire

survivors.

“It’s going to help a lot. I’m so

relieved,” said Villegas, who lives

in Pasadena. “We did have to make

a lot of accommodations, but I was

very blessed to be so close to the fire

and have my house still standing. I

couldn’t say ‘Well I’m good’ and turn

my back on others who weren’t.”

The Disaster Aid for Host Families

program is just one of several Catholic-run

relief resources still operating

even as the wildfires have faded from

the headlines. Catholic organizations

across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Dave de Csepel, bottom

left, poses with St.

Vincent de Paul staff

and volunteers during an

Altadena wildfire relief

event in June 2025. |

DAVE DE CSEPEL

14 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

When Louise, bottom right, lost her house in the wildfires,

her co-worker, Ramona Villegas, top left, took her

and her three daughters into her home. Also pictured:

Ramona’s niece, Olivia, back center, Ramona’s daughter,

Alondra, back right, and one of Louise’s daughters,

Brianna, bottom left. | RAMONA VILLEGAS

and beyond say their support is more

needed than ever as other relief sources

begin to dwindle.

“People are surprised that we’re still

around because a lot of agencies have

left already,” said Nicole Ybarra, associate

program director for Catholic

Charities of Los Angeles’ (CCLA) San

Gabriel region.

Ybarra’s team has visited parishes and

even posted flyers in coffee shops in

affected neighborhoods.

“It’s hard to find these resources, so

when they find us, people are very

grateful.”

For its disaster relief programs, CCLA

received more than $2 million from

its national organization, along with

donations from individuals, parish

collections, and the Catholic Community

Foundation of Los Angeles.

While CCLA is the LA Archdiocese’s

primary relief organization, lay orders

also provide aid to wildfire victims.

One of the most active parish-based

groups is the Society of St. Vincent de

Paul (SVdP). Guided by a belief in

“person-to-person service,” the organization

initially supplied fire victims

with basics such as food, clothing,

and pastoral care. They now do home

visitations to assess needs firsthand,

then assist accordingly.

“I think more than anything, it’s helping

with rent because they’re working

less,” said Dave de Csepel, president

of SVdP’s St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Catholic Church Conference. “When

you have [thousands] of structures

burned down, whether it’s a country

club, a restaurant, or even a home, a

lot of jobs go away too.

“People are squeezing into smaller

apartments or just living in their cars.”

Felisa Wright of Altadena was devastated

when the Eaton Fire destroyed

her home, which was also the site of

her private daycare business. Wright

says SVdP covered several months of

her rent and utilities, enabling her

to relaunch the business at a new

location.

“St. Vincent came through; they

helped me tremendously,” Wright

said. “Once I am making income like

how it used to be, I want to give back

and donate to the charity so that they

can help someone else.”

To date, SVdP has raised $950,000

for wildfire victims, thanks in large

part to contributions from the Annenberg

Foundation and the Pasadena

Community Foundation. Additionally,

SVdP, the Knights of Columbus, parish

priests, and staff helped connect

victims to assistance from the Orange

Catholic Foundation.

The latter, with donations from the

Diocese of Orange and its parishioners,

raised $1.2 million for its Help LA

Fund. Fire victims, regardless of religious

affiliation, applied for assistance

at eight locations, including Sacred

Heart and St. Elizabeth churches,

both in hard-hit Altadena. Individual

grants ranged from $300 to $2,500.

According to Orange Catholic Foundation

Executive Vice President Kathleen

Hurtt, Catholics from around the

country pitched in.

“I think this is the beauty of the

Church, when a part of us hurts, all

parts hurt,” Hurtt said. “And being

a tourist destination, we can expose

people in a unique way to what

the Church can be. Visitors to our

parishes were so inspired by the fact

that we created this fund … [and they]

stepped forward.”

Grant recipients, like the Neiman

family of Pacific Palisades, said that

generosity provided not only material

goods, but a little healing and hope.

When the Palisades Fire tore

through the community, it took nearly

everything the family held dear: their

children’s schools, their parish, Corpus

Christi, and their home filled with

essential medical supplies for their

daughter.

Ciaran, who lost much of her mobility

following a near-fatal infection,

relies on specialty equipment like a lift

and a rolling bathing chair. Her mother,

Shannon, said all that was left after

the fire were the charred remnants of

a wheelchair and a sense of sadness.

That changed when the grant money

came through. The first thing she

did was buy a custom bed that allows

Ciaran to comfortably sit up and eat.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 15

“That’s my daughter’s safe, happy

place,” Shannon said. “So to financially

help us with a piece of equipment

that we would not actually be able to

afford was amazing.

“Any dose of joy helps us take one

more step forward.”

As some Catholic groups tackle the

many needs of wildfire victims, others

have a singular focus. For the Order of

Malta in Los Angeles, it’s the well-being

of children, particularly displaced

students from the schools that were

forced to close at Corpus Christi and

St. Elizabeth parishes. Members

raised $100,000 in scholarship funds,

allowing more than 90 students to

continue their education at neighboring

Catholic schools.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

Mary School in Pasadena welcomed

better,” Bringas said. “More students,

more diversity, more awesome personalities.

I think these families have been

a blessing.”

Rowena Itchon, leader of the Order

of Malta’s Los Angeles region, said

providing aid during disasters, especially

to the underprivileged, is central

to its mission.

“In the Order, we call the sick and

the poor our Lords,” Itchon said. “By

serving them, we see God, we see

Christ, and this is the heart of our

work.”

Yet relief work remains challenging,

sometimes even gut-wrenching,

especially when struggling fire victims

receive another blow. De Csepel

pointed to the fear created by the

ICE deportations of undocumented

immigrants.

streets of Pasadena, Osvaldo Cosio

sees the region in recovery with large

new homes being built next to burnedout

lots. Cosio said he’s hoping his

life returns to normal after losing his

home and day job to the flames. He’s

surviving on temp work and Uber

driving, but it almost fell apart.

“If I couldn’t make this car payment,

they were going to take my car and

then I was really going to be in trouble,”

said Cosio, a father of two. “So

Dave [de Csepel] helped me make my

payment. He’s helped me out again

with rent and food.

“[Volunteers] opened their arms as if

they were friends and family.”

The Catholic organizations say

they’re in it until the work is done,

motivated by their clients and their

Catholic beliefs.

Kellan, Doug, Shannon, and Ciaran Neiman

lost their home in the Palisades Fire, including

important medical equipment for Ciaran. |

NEIMAN FAMILY

67 displaced students, the majority

from St. Elizabeth, with tuition

assistance coming from the Order of

Malta and additional donors like the

archdiocese, Christ Child Society of

Pasadena, and Catholic Charities.

Assumption Principal Robert Bringas

Jr. said the influx of students altered

the school’s character in a positive

way.

“Absolutely [we changed] for the

“These are the hardest working

families, with so much pride, and

then they come to us because they

can’t go do their jobs,” de Csepel

said. “They’re just afraid. And sadly

enough, even students … are afraid

of coming home and finding their

parents gone. It’s hard, but we try to

help because they really are the fabric

of our community.”

Driving an Uber car through the

“I want to be there for them as long

as we have money and until, really,

the community comes back,” Ybarra

said. “I believe in social justice 100%,

and this work that I do is divine because

of my faith.”

Natalie Romano is a freelance writer

for Angelus and the Inland Catholic

Byte, the news website of the Diocese of

San Bernardino.

16 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

THE

STATUE

SAVIOR

To restore LA’s most

famous Nativity

scene, cathedral staff

turned to a La Cañada

parishioner with rare

expertise.

BY JAMES BARTLETT

In the early 1950s, entertainer Bob

Hope purchased a large handcarved

Nativity set from an artisan

company in northern Italy as a gift

for his wife, Dolores, who was raised

Catholic. For decades, it was displayed

at the couple’s Toluca Lake home.

Following her death in 2011, the set

was offered to their local parish, St.

Charles Borromeo Church in North

Hollywood. Not likely having the

storage capacity to hold 17 statues

measuring up to 5 feet tall, they were

instead given to the Cathedral of Our

Lady of the Angels in downtown Los

Angeles in 2013, where they have

been displayed annually during the

Advent and Christmas season.

Age, wear, and tear on the statues

convinced cathedral staff it was time

for a restoration. They turned to

Sheila Lehman, the artist and restorer

at La Porte Vintage, a workshop she

opened about a dozen years ago in

Arcadia. While the shop specializes

in restoring vintage furnishings and

other items, Lehman has been asked

to work on religious statues over the

years.

“I had helped out with some restora-

tion work at my church, St. Bede in

La Cañada Flintridge,” Lehman said.

“Then one day the pastor came to me

with a 100-year-old, 4-foot-tall wooden

statue of Mary and Baby Jesus. It was

in a very bad state. Dry rot and more.”

Lehman has plenty of experience restoring

large statues, like a St. Agatha

replica from its namesake parish in

Los Angeles, and six statues for Holy

Angels Church in Arcadia, among

others. But the Nativity project is by

far her biggest.

“We picked up five pieces at the end

Sheila Lehman, a restorer at La Porte Vintage in

Arcadia and a parishioner at St. Bede the Venerable

Church in La Cañada Flintridge, poses with some of

the Nativity statues she’s restoring for the Cathedral

of Our Lady of the Angels. | LA PORTE VINTAGE

of January, and I set aside all my time

for the next few months,” Lehman

said, adding that one of the first pieces

she received, King Balthazar, was perhaps

the most damaged of them all.

“Over the 70 years or so, the statues

were sun and water-damaged and

faded. They were varnished repeatedly

18 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

too, so that they were more brownish

than colored, covering the original

beautiful detail. Repairs had also been

made to accidental chips, cracks, broken

fingers and even hands, and those

need to be addressed.”

Over time, the wood naturally split

and separated, so she had to stabilize

them by removing and replacing

the rotted or missing material, and

then carefully gluing everything back

together. She searched the internet to

find the right era of linden wood for

repairs, and to obtain the same glue

they would have used at the time.

“Provenance was important for this,”

Lehman said, with a contact at the

Demetz Art Studio in Italy suggesting

the Nativity set may have been a

one-of-a-kind, custom order. “They

searched their photo archives and

could not find a match to their own

historical pieces, which means I had

to do my own research.”

Wood aside, Lehman uses other

specialized techniques to meticulously

clean, sand, repair, and paint her

various projects. A glimpse around

her workshop reveals not only paints,

brushes, glues, catalogues, and reference

books, but vintage dental tools

and a series of large “mood boards”

where she notes the details of each

piece, the mixes of paints used to

create the correct color for repainting,

and more.

“The painting is the part I love the

most,” she said as she worked on the

statue of King Gaspar, whose red robe

she noticed seemed to have some

elaborate patterns — and more gold

paint — as part of the original design.

She explained the work required for

the other pieces — a donkey, cow,

camel, and others — and noted that

the angel statue was missing from the

collection that came to the cathedral.

She thinks it may have been so badly

broken over the decades that it was

discarded.

Advent begins on Nov. 29 and Lehman

admits that she could be working

right up to her self-imposed deadline

of Nov. 1 to get everything

done, even as some statues

haven’t been examined yet.

Lehman is hoping this

high-profile project will raise

awareness of the impact such

work can have at places of

worship across California. To

that end, she established a

division of La Porte Vintage,

SaveLAStatues.org, which focuses

specifically on religious

statue restorations.

“Churches might unknowingly

possess high-quality

European historical statues

that have unfortunately been

damaged, but they’re just waiting

to be brought back to life,”

Lehman said. “I’m here, and I

want to help save these works

of art. It’s more than just my

passion; it’s part of my faith.”

James Bartlett is a freelance

journalist and award-winning

true crime author who has

appeared in more than 150

publications. You can follow

him on social media: @gourmetghosts.

The statue of King Melchior shows a crack

along with weathering before being restored by

Sheila Lehman. | LA PORTE VINTAGE

The before-and-after images of the statue of

King Gaspar, part of the historical Nativity set

displayed annually at the Cathedral of Our

Lady of the Angels. | LA PORTE VINTAGE

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 19

Priests at the Cathedral of

Our Lady of the Angels help

Archbishop José H. Gomez

bless the oils during the

Chrism Mass on March 30.

| PETER LOBATO

LA Archdiocese parish leadership

assignments for 2026

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has released its “New

Pastors and Administrators” assignments for 2026.

Archbishop José H. Gomez has approved the following

priests to be appointed pastors, effective July 1, 2026.

Our Lady of the Angels Region:

Fr. Brian Chung, Visitation, Los Angeles*

Fr. Christopher Felix, St. Frances X. Cabrini, Los Angeles

Fr. Gabriel Kang, St. Gregory Nazianzen, Los Angeles

Fr. Justin Oh, Christ the King, Los Angeles

Fr. Michael Wu, St. Clement, Santa Monica

Santa Barbara Region:

Fr. Joseph J. O’Brien, Our Lady of Sorrows, Santa Barbara

San Gabriel Region:

Fr. Francis Mendoza, San Lorenzo Ruiz, Walnut*

Fr. Rufino Nava, San Francisco, Los Angeles*

San Pedro Region:

Fr. Joshua Diener, Mary Star of the Sea, San Pedro*

Fr. Ruben Rocha, St. Gertrude, Bell Gardens*

The following priests will be appointed or re-appointed

administrators:


Fr. Rene Haarpaintner, Our Lady of Malibu, Malibu

Fr. Esteban Marquez, St. Peter Italian, Los Angeles

Fr. Fidelis Omeaku, St. Eugene, Los Angeles* while

continuing as pastor of St. Anselm

Fr. Thomas Park, Cathedral Chapel of St. Vibiana, Los

Angeles*

Santa Barbara Region:

Dn. Don Huntley, Our Lady of the Assumption, Ventura*

Fr. Abel Loera, St. Anthony, Oxnard

Fr. Jude Umeobi, St. Jude the Apostle, Westlake Village

Fr. Parker Sandoval, St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo*

San Fernando Region:

Fr. Francis Aguilar, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Los Angeles*

Fr. Marco Durazo, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Santa

Clarita*

Fr. Andrew Hedstrom, St. Ferdinand, San Fernando*

Fr. Michael Mesa, St. Finbar, Burbank*

Fr. Jonathan Nestico, Holy Trinity, Los Angeles (Atwater

Village)

Fr. Gerald Osuagwu, Sacred Heart, Lancaster

Fr. Hung Tran, St. John Baptist de la Salle, Granada

Hills*

San Pedro Region:

Fr. Filiberto Cortez, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Los Angeles*

Fr. Juan Francisco Gonzalez, Holy Family, Wilmington*

Fr. Nahum Gutierrez, St. Helen, South Gate

Special Circumstances


Fr. Toshio Sato, CM, St. Francis Xavier Chapel (Japanese),

Los Angeles*

San Gabriel Region:

Fr. Alejandro Enriquez, St. Camillus Center for Pastoral

Care, Los Angeles*

San Pedro Region:

Dn. Tomas Garcia, Holy Angels Church of the Deaf,

Vernon*

*Denotes parishes that were on the Open Pastorate listing

this term.

Editor’s note: Any changes to this list or additional pastor/

administrator assignments will be included in our “Other

Archdiocese of LA clergy assignments” list in July 2026.

20 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

OUR LADY OF

THE HIGH SEAS

The Archdiocese of

Los Angeles’ pilgrim

image of Our Lady

of Guadalupe made

its way by boat to

Catalina Island on

Cinco de Mayo.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

ISABEL CACHO

Although the pilgrimage to Catalina Island was not

planned to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, many who

attended dressed up to honor the day.

The pilgrim image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

arrives on Catalina Island after traveling by

boat from the Port of Los Angeles.

Some 425 pilgrims and seven priests

from around the LA Archdiocese

took to the seas May 5 aboard

two boats for a day of prayer, procession,

and encounter with Our Lady of

Guadalupe.

Intentionally scheduled ahead of

the island’s busy summer season, the

pilgrims asked God’s blessing for those

who will live, work, and travel there in

the high summer tourism season ahead.

As the pilgrim boats arrived at Avalon’s

harbor, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

was carried ashore at Float 5 by

members of the Knights of Columbus,

volunteers, and Mark Padilla, headmaster

of Santiago Catholic Trade School

and a volunteer with the Follow Our

Lady movement.

Parishioners from St. Catherine of

Alexandria Church greeted the pilgrims

by waving mirrors that reflected light

across the waterfront — a symbolic

gesture of welcome, hope, and the light

of Christ.

Traditional dancers led the procession

through the streets of Avalon to Wrigley

Stage, where Father Dario Miranda,

pastor of St. Catherine’s, celebrated

Mass and entrusted the island to the

maternal care of Our Lady.

Following Mass, pilgrims processed to

St. Catherine Church, where the pilgrim

image remained for several hours

as visitors and residents gathered to pray

and share time together.

As evening approached, the community

made one final procession

back through Avalon to the harbor,

accompanying the image to the dock

before boarding the boats home to the

mainland.

22 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

Aztec dancers celebrate around the

image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

before traveling to Catalina Island.

Father Dario

Miranda, pastor

at St. Catherine

of Alexandria

Church on

Catalina Island,

celebrates Mass

with parishioners

and pilgrims.

Father Miranda preaches during

Mass, which was celebrated with

Avalon Bay as the backdrop.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 23

Watching your words,

shaping your heart?

A protester confronts a counter-protester

as a large crowd gathers outside

the courthouse in Prescott, Arizona,

April 5 to protest against U.S. President

Donald Trump’s administration.

| OSV NEWS/BOB ROLLER

In a world dominated

by vulgarity and

dubious claims, a

Dominican friar

proposes a radical idea:

training your tongue.

BY ELISE URENECK

A

few weeks ago, I was driving my

children to a birthday party. The

route took us down our town’s

Main Street, where a few hundred

locals were gathered for a “No Kings”

rally, holding homemade signs and

asking for a supportive honk.

My mouth fell open at the sight of

several profanity-laden posters. I prayed

that my kindergartener would not have

enough time to sound out the words.

He did, however, ask why I looked

shocked.

Not a few weeks later, he saw the same

look of horror on my face when I read

the now infamous expletive-laden social

media post that the president shared on

Easter Sunday, directed to the leadership

of Iran.

In both instances, I offered the same

lesson we use when our kids try out

potty talk: some words might get you

instant attention, but they are cheap

imitations of what’s truly funny or

meaningful.

Today’s children are accustomed to

vulgar language. It’s the ocean they

swim in. They hear it on television, at

sporting events, even from the Oval

Office and the floors of our legislative

chambers.

This is to say nothing of online influencers,

podcasters, and social media

stars — many Catholics among them

24 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

— who routinely speak poorly of others.

These individuals handily profit from

filling our feeds with gossip, detraction,

slander, and calumny — all grave and

serious sins against the Eighth Commandment.

What’s most tragic is that we are

now addicted to watching it all. The

research suggests the more we are

exposed to rudeness and profanity,

the more acceptable we believe it to

be. Our own patterns of behavior and

speech then follow.

In reality, we don’t have a language

problem. We have a heart problem.

That’s the diagnosis of Father Gregory

Pine, OP, author of “Training the

Tongue and Growing Beyond Sins of

Speech” (Emmaus Road Publishing,

$17.95 ).

This book — part memoir, part

Thomistic manual on vice and virtue

— is a pocket-ready guide for anyone

serious about changing their manner

of speaking or online posting. It’s a

suitable gift for relatives and elected

officials alike.

As a professor of Dogmatic and Moral

Theology at the Dominican House of

Studies, the assistant director of the

Thomistic Institute, and a host of the

Godsplaining podcast, Pine’s speaking

skills are worth imitating, even if he

shares plenty of anecdotes in which

he regretted saying something the

second it came out of his mouth. (As a

fellow Philadelphia native, I especially

appreciated his treatment of northeast

speech, which can be rough around the

edges. We come from a group of people

who once booed Santa Claus, after all).

For Pine, training our speech is not

just about politeness — it’s a path

to moral and spiritual growth. “The

tongue discloses our interior life, and

we can use it in all kinds of ways,” he

opens. That’s a way of paraphrasing

Jesus: “From the fullness of the heart

the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

The author recommends that we start

the practice of speaking up and speaking

well in a variety of circumstances.

He prioritizes instances in which we

should tell the truth, engage in conversation,

encourage and correct, offer

instruction, make each other laugh,

and talk to God in prayer.

Pine writes as a Dominican friar,

someone trained to help souls grow in

the spiritual life, not only by avoiding

sin and its near occasion, but by

growing in virtue. Building good habits

over time produces lasting results. One

might say that “practice makes permanent.”

He has no illusion that this is easy.

Take, for example, the fact that we

don’t know what news stories are true or

what information sources are reliable at

any given moment. Fake news, misinformation,

and AI images abound.

“Never before have we had a public

with such easy access to such a vast

amount of information and practically

no confidence in its veracity,” he

observes.

Telling the truth is imperative if we

are to arrive at an agreed-upon set of

facts, let alone a shared understanding

of them. After all, speech was designed

for communion. It was the Word who

became flesh.

While we can’t control what others

do, we can master our own truth-telling.

For Pine, that starts with refusing

to “recount something as a truth which

you know to be a lie.” If you catch

yourself embellishing or exaggerating

something, stop yourself mid-sentence

and pivot to another topic. Better to

suffer an awkward moment than to

slide into sin.

Or if you’re in an argument and find

yourself overstating or falsely characterizing

something in an effort to

win, pause, and respond with, “I don’t

know.” Pine is certain that this phrase

can be liberating for both speaker and

listener.

True speech, Pine suggests, is both

honest and loving. It seeks the good of

the listener while remaining faithful to

reality.

The same humility is required in

conversation. How often do people say,

“We need to have more conversations

about [insert subject]” when what they

really want to do is express a point of

view they have no intention of changing?

If you find your conversation partner

insufferable or boring, the author

suggests examining how good of a listener

you are. If you’d rather talk about

another subject, you can generously

respond to whatever subject is offered,

as it might reflect your interlocutor’s

expertise or comfort level.

You can practice friendliness by

asking open-ended questions or saying

something that invites more people into

a conversation. The goal of conversing

is always to connect people to one

another and to help someone feel seen

and understood. Persuasion can only

follow empathy. We should never seek

to dominate a discussion, even if there

is a chance to do so.

Pine also explores the idea that

fraternal correction is an act of charity.

We are obligated by love to correct

falsehood when we hear it. He suggests

that we ask ourselves three questions

before proceeding: “Is this a serious

fault?” “Can the person change?” “Am

I motivated by love?”

If yes, then we should offer correction

in a manner that preserves the dignity

of the person in the wrong and never

with the intention of shaming him.

Humor, encouragement, and sympathy

are all tools we can employ.

Pine’s approach is practical. He treats

virtue not as an abstract ideal but as

something trained. After all, the tongue

is just another muscle, and we train

plenty of those through consistent steps

and reps.

Virtuous speech does not emerge from

sudden bursts of inspiration but from

repeated choices. Small disciplines —

pausing before responding, resisting

gossip, choosing gentler words —

gradually form a character marked by

charity and integrity.

To train the tongue is to take seriously

the call to love others. In learning to

govern our words, we learn to shape

our hearts — and, in turn, can shape

Could honestly saying ‘I don’t know’ more often

be a sign of virtue?

the world around us. If vicious speech

can spread like a contagion, so can its

virtuous counterpart.

Elise Ureneck is a regular Angelus

contributor writing from Rhode Island.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 25

INTERSECTIONS

GREG ERLANDSON

Fear and hatred must not prevail

The “Tower of Faces”

exhibit at The United States

Holocaust Memorial Museum

in Washington, D.C. |

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The United States Holocaust

Memorial Museum in Washington,

D.C., is a relentless

immersion in the horrors of the Nazi

genocide. A visitor starts on the top

floor, beginning with the rise of Adolf

Hitler and his enablers and thugs,

then descends level by level, like

Dante’s trip into hell, down to the

homicidal madness that was the Final

Solution — the mass extermination of

the Jews and other unwanted peoples.

What is striking at the beginning is

how the Hitler regime legitimized

the hatred of the Jews, law by law,

outrage by outrage. In the museum,

a television monitor scrolls on an

endless loop the dozens of antisemitic

laws the regime implemented from its

beginning to isolate and dehumanize

Germany’s Jewish population. More

disturbing for Americans is a small

plaque nearby that notes that Germany’s

inspiration for this escalating

cruelty was our own Jim Crow laws.

The post-Reconstruction efforts by the

White South to reinstitute the cruelties

of slavery did not go unnoticed by

Adolf Hitler. While the harassment

was first intended to humiliate and

force the self-deportation of Germany’s

Jewish citizens, it eventually

escalated to concentration camps,

then extermination camps.

A trip to the Holocaust Museum

remains, I believe, a requirement for

anyone who wants to seriously discuss

the state of Israel today. It explains the

widespread support that once existed

in the West for a Jewish state in the

aftermath of the Nazi horrors.

And while the United States was rel-

26 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

Greg Erlandson is the former president and

editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service.

atively unsympathetic to the plight of

Jews seeking to flee Germany before

the war, it was an enthusiastic supporter

for the protection of the Jewish

state after the war. This support may

have peaked with the vicious attack

by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed

1,195 Israelis. Since then, the scale of

Israel’s retaliation — the systematic

destruction of Gaza and the mounting

death toll (an estimated 42,000), Israel’s

continued encroachment on the

West Bank and now the destruction in

Lebanon — has forced many to reconsider

their support. The callousness of

the government and of extremists in

Israeli society has created a backlash

of sympathy for Palestinians.

This backlash, while understandable,

can be troubling for those of

us shaped by the aftermath of the

Holocaust. The growing incidents

of antisemitic language and assaults

are also profoundly disturbing. At the

same time, support for Israel’s government

is sinking, even among American

Jews, as longtime friends of Israel

try to distinguish between support for

its citizens — Jew and non-Jew — and

condemnation of its government and

its leaders.

It is not helpful that some critics of

Israel’s military actions are accused of

being antisemitic simply for expressing

opposition to the military’s brutality.

This makes no more sense than saying

critics of the U.S. government are anti-American

because they oppose the

president’s military action against Iran.

There are signs of hope, however

rare. Hope comes from being able to

meet the other and to share the pains

of history — the Holocaust, on one

hand, the Occupation, on the other.

Such efforts to bridge the ocean of

hatred and fear dividing Israeli Jews

and Palestinians are occurring, despite

the generational seeds of hate and fear

that have been sown and continue

to be sown. For now, this is a conversation

that must happen person to

person.

There are two recent examples of

such efforts at accompaniment.

Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon both

lost relatives to the hatred. Inon’s

parents were killed during the Oct. 7

attack. Abu Sarah’s elder brother died

from torture suffered at the hands of

Israeli interrogators. Yet these two men

became friends and have authored

“The Future is Peace,” chronicling

the trauma and grief that unites rather

than divides them.

Similarly, but with a far grander

historical scope, is a brilliant novel by

Colum McCann called “Apeirogon”

(Random House, $14.29). An apeirogon

is an infinitely sided sphere,

and McCann’s multi-sided novel tells

the very real story not just of Bassam

Aramin and Rami Elhanan, but also of

both the Jews and the Palestinians and

the land and history they share.

Aramin lost his young daughter to

an Israeli soldier’s bullet just after she

had bought some candy. Elhanan lost

his young daughter to a Palestinian

suicide bomber while she was shopping

for school books. These two men

formed a friendship that ultimately

led them to share their stories around

the world. Telling the world is one

thing, however. Convincing their own

people is another.

What is most striking about their story

is that Aramin, a young, angry man

nursing his hatred in an Israeli prison,

was profoundly transformed by a documentary

he saw on the Holocaust.

Equally transforming, Elhanan sees

through his friend’s eyes the extraordinary

damage done by the punishing

and degrading isolation imposed on

Palestinians by Israeli laws and Israeli

troops.

Fear and hatred must not win out.

That friendship and empathy are

possible even across such a gulf of

experience is a sign of hope. We must

cling to that hope for now.

Pope Francis meets with two fathers who both lost their

daughters in violent conflicts, Bassam Aramin from

Palestine, right, and Rami Elhanan from Israel, before his

weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall at

the Vatican March 27, 2024. | CNS/VATICAN MEDIA

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 27

NOW PLAYING THE SHEEP DETECTIVES

SHEARS OUT

Critic favorite ‘The Sheep Detectives’ asks a surprisingly

Christian question: What makes a good shepherd?

Hugh Jackman and his

flock in the 2026 film “The

Sheep Detectives.” | AMA-

ZON MGM STUDIOS

BY JOSEPH JOYCE

For the lucky majority, our first

encounter with death comes via

the animal kingdom.

When my family pet rabbit Floppy

was no longer in its cage and my dad

informed us that Floppy had moved

to a nice farm, I was just old enough

to know this was a euphemism, and

young enough to still cry about it.

(Years later, I found out that Floppy

actually did get moved to a farm, and

that I had wasted tears on a bunny

who was currently thriving out in the

country. I wonder if Floppy wondered

what happened to us, or if he was too

preoccupied by carrots.)

For all its sunny colors and talking

CGI animals, the new hit film “The

Sheep Detectives” is preoccupied

with death. This surprised me, as it

probably surprised a young father at

my screening and certainly surprised

his toddler, who bawled her little eyes

out at one such brush with mortality.

This is for the best; animal deaths serve

as an introductory memento mori and

build character. I wouldn’t be half the

blogger I am now without “Old Yeller.”

“The Sheep Detectives” reverses

the usual dynamic, this time with

the animals getting a crash course in

mortality. The titular sheep sherlocks

are the flock of farmer George (Hugh

Jackman), a tender shepherd who raises

them only for wool and reads them

mystery stories before bed.

George seems to get along much

better with sheep than people. He

manages to sustain several feuds in his

little village, sparring with the local

butcher, a rival farmer, an ex-girlfriend,

even the vicar. So the sheep aren’t

hurting for suspects when they find

George poisoned in his field. It turns

out they listened far more intently to

those stories than George anticipated,

accidentally training them to solve his

own murder.

George’s demise comes as quite a

shock to the sheep, as they previously

assumed death was just a fictional construct

in their bedtime stories. Sheep,

it seems, have the ability to forget

bad memories at the count of three,

which is why none of them can recall

what happened to their parents. They

instead believe that at a certain age,

sheep ascend to the sky and become

clouds. Why else would those things in

the sky have wool?

The most interesting aspects of “The

Sheep Detectives” are reminiscent of

“Watership Down,” another modern

film depicting the human world seen

through an animal’s prism. The sheep

are incredibly suspicious of pavement,

as any ground that isn’t grass might as

well be lava. They also struggle with

the human conception of God, who

28 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

they are informed is somehow a shepherd,

a lamb, and bread all at once.

For all their ability to forget bad memories,

the sheep society is far from utopian.

Creatures of habit and instinct,

they reject any lamb born in the winter

outside the usual spring mating season.

The sheep love George, but don’t quite

understand why he wastes so much

time tending to the winter lambs on

the periphery; can’t he see that they’re

just … wrong?

The plot of “The Sheep Detectives”

is that of a murder mystery, but its

perspective offers hints of a Christian

worldview throughout.

For one thing, the sheep learn that

a life avoiding or ignoring suffering

is hardly a life at all. Their denial of

death and any suffering keeps them

stagnant and stupid, and it is only

when they choose to remember and

honor the dead that they begin to grow

as sheeple. The movie hints that the

sheep’s concept of the afterlife isn’t

that far off, but an afterlife without

death is missing the point entirely.

Suffering may be hard to accept, but

isn’t character made of the furrows and

channels left behind after suffering

rolls through?

Over its 110 minutes, one question

echoes through the film: what makes

a good shepherd? George of course is

our Gallant, but the film offers Goofuses

to contrast (the film’s clergyman, the

town vicar, fails George at his greatest

time of need, for example). The Bible

says a good shepherd calls his sheep by

name: George’s shepherd rival raises

lambs for the slaughter and doesn’t

even bother to name them. The flock

might end up under his “care” if the

mystery isn’t solved, giving them something

of a personal rooting interest.

As the sheep struggle to see God as

both shepherd and lamb, they also

fail to see that a sheep can also be a

shepherd, and a poor one at that. The

sheep tout the importance of the flock

while rejecting the outsiders among

them. George was a good shepherd

precisely because he cared for the winter

lambs, prioritizing that lost sheep

over the other hundred. Maturity

comes from seeing this as the virtue to

imitate, rather than a quirk to tolerate

for further bedtime stories.

The sheep are only able to crack the

case when they listen to the testimony

of the winter lamb, a creature that goes

from being scorned and rejected to being

their salvation. If the flock isn’t able

to wrap their head around the hypostatic

union of God as both shepherd and

lamb, they’re happy to baaaanefit from

it anyway.

I’m sorry, I almost managed to make

it to the end.

Joseph Joyce is a screenwriter and freelance

critic based in Sherman Oaks.

DESIRE LINES

HEATHER KING

The triumph of the ‘Napalm Girl’

In this 2013 file photo Vietnam War survivor Kim

Phuc Phan Thi shows some of the scars she still

bears from a 1972 napalm bomb attack leveled

upon innocent civilians in her Vietnamese village,

Trang Bang. Kim was only 9 years old when she

was severely burned on nearly half her body. |

CNS/MICHAEL ALEXANDER, GEORGIA BULLETIN

It may be the most iconic photograph

from the entire Vietnam

War: a naked 9-year-old girl, her

body burned by napalm, running in

agony for her life down the lane of a

Vietnamese village.

Taken on June 8, 1972, the photo

has come to be known as “The Terror

of War,” and colloquially as “Napalm

Girl.”

Hideously, the child had been hit by

“friendly fire” from the South Vietnamese

Air Force. A strike intended

for nearby North Vietnamese troops

mistakenly hit Trảng Bàng village,

where Kim and her family, in fear of

the Viet Cong, had been hiding out

for three days in a local temple.

The girl survived. And the girl has a

name: Kim Phuc Phan Thi.

She tells her story in “Fire Road: The

Napalm Girl’s Journey through the

Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness,

and Peace” (Tyndale Momentum,

$16.99).

Born April 6, 1963, Kim Phuc and

her several siblings enjoyed an idyllic

childhood. Her mother ran a highly

popular soup restaurant, and the

family lived in a comfortable two-acre

compound surrounded by flowers,

birds, and fruit trees.

But as the war crept closer, danger

loomed. Viet Cong soldiers roamed

the village at night, digging tunnels,

demanding food and supplies.

Fearful of invading troops, the family

had taken refuge, along with about 30

other villagers, in their local Caodai

Temple. On the morning of June 8,

1972, bombs began to rain down. The

order came from South Vietnamese

soldiers to get out of the temple and

run. “Seconds later I caught sight of

an airplane closing in on me … these

bombs all but floated down. There was

something sinister in those cans.”

The sinister something was napalm,

a highly flammable, sticky, petroleum-based

jelly used in flamethrowers

and other incendiary bombs to create

intense fires that cause extreme burns,

asphyxiation, and immense heat.

30 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

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

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

Nick Ut, the AP photographer

credited with taking the photo, told

NBC News in 2017: “I looked in my

camera’s viewfinder [and] I saw the

girl running from black smoke. I say,

‘Why isn’t she wearing clothes?’ And I

run and take a lot of pictures of her.”

(A 2025 documentary film, “The

Stringer,” alleges that another photographer

took the photo. AP denies

the claims.)

Kim Phuc had been severely burned

over more than 30% of her body. A

well-meaning soldier tried to douse the

flames with water, but napalm reacts

with water in such a way that the

flames were reignited.

Having taken his photographs, Ut

then transported Kim Phuc and other

children wounded in the attack to a

hospital in Saigon.

“Uncle Ut,” as Kim came to call him

later, became a lifelong friend.

What followed were decades of

untold suffering, pain, frustrated plans,

bureaucratic red tape, and family

conflict. Kim Phuc studied pharmacology

in Cuba, married a loving man

from North Vietnam named Bui Huy

Toan, defected to Canada, and after

encountering the New Testament,

gave her life to Jesus — at which point

her mother disowned her.

Today, she’s a UNESCO Goodwill

Ambassador. She’s given countless

talks and interviews. She runs Kim

Phúc Foundation International, dedicated

to providing medical and psychological

assistance to child victims

of war. Her parents and siblings have

all converted to Christianity.

Though doctors at first told her the

burns would make her infertile, she’s

also the mother of two sons. There’s

a second photograph of her with her

first baby, Thomas, a side view of her

bare back, scarred over every inch,

juxtaposed with the silky purity of her

infant’s skin. It’s a beautiful shot, taken

in 1994, a resolution of sorts. Her face

is pensive, turned inward with love.

But to get to that place of peace, and

to stay there, day after day, is a hero’s

journey. The most moving pages in

the book are those describing the

pitched, agonizing, ongoing battle to

forgive the people and institutions that

had harmed her. Every step of the way,

she has been guided by Christ.

The scars remain, as does the pain.

Of state-of-the-art laser treatments

she was undergoing in Miami while

writing the book, she wrote, “Even

the best medications can only cloak

30 percent of the pain. I feel the other

70 percent. It is as if I am placed on a

barbecue grate and grilled to within

inches of my life.”

You can witness Kim’s gentleness of

heart, class, and poise on any number

of YouTube videos. One of the best,

from the Canadian Bible Society, is

called “How Did the ‘Napalm Girl’

Find Hope in Scripture?”

“The fact is,” she writes, “we all are

children of war, whether we have

seen a single bomb fall from the sky.

A battle is being waged inside of us,

and the spoils are our souls. God was

showing me that every person knows

on some level what it is to suffer and

strive, what it is to wear scars they cannot

erase. ‘Tell them I will give them

strength to bear their pain,’ the Lord

has encouraged me daily.

I had to say goodbye to my dream

of becoming a medical doctor, but perhaps

healing the soul is as important

as healing the body. I consider it noble

work.”

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 31

LETTER AND SPIRIT

SCOTT HAHN

Scott Hahn is founder of the

St. Paul Center for Biblical

Theology; stpaulcenter.com.

The man who made room for Paul

On June 11, the Church celebrates

a saint who rarely stands

at center stage, but without

whom the story would be very different:

St. Barnabas. Scripture remembers

him simply as “a good man, full of the

Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24).

Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus —

a man of means and, above all, a man

of generosity. When the early Christian

community in Jerusalem was in need,

he sold a piece of land and laid the

proceeds at the feet of the apostles

(Acts 4:36–37). They gave him a new

name: Barnabas, “son of encouragement.”

It was not a casual nickname.

It recognized a gift — the ability to

strengthen others and bring out what

was best in them.

That gift appears most clearly in his

relationship with St. Paul the apostle.

When Paul first came to Jerusalem

after his conversion, Christians were

afraid of him. This was the former

persecutor. His change seemed too

sudden to trust.

Barnabas stepped forward.

He took Paul to the apostles, told his

story, and vouched for him (Acts 9:27).

Without Barnabas, humanly speaking,

Paul might have remained on the

margins. Instead, he was received —

and the Church gained its greatest

missionary.

Barnabas’s instinct for encouragement

shaped the next chapter as well. When

a new Christian community flourished

in Antioch, the Church sent Barnabas

to investigate. He rejoiced at what he

found — and then he went to fetch

Paul. Together they taught the growing

Church and later carried relief to Jerusalem

during a time of famine (Acts

11:25–30).

Then they went out together on

mission. Barnabas and Paul preached,

endured opposition, and helped establish

the Church among the Gentiles.

At a decisive moment, when controversy

arose over whether Gentile converts

must be circumcised, they stood

together. The apostles in Jerusalem,

led by Peter, confirmed their position

(Acts 15).

Barnabas was not only an encourager.

He was a builder of the Church.

Yet the most revealing moment in his

life may come at the

end of his story. Preparing

for another

journey, Barnabas

and Paul disagreed

about John Mark,

who had previously

left their mission.

Paul refused to take

him again. Barnabas

insisted.

And so they parted

ways (Acts 15:37–

39).

It is easy to see

only the conflict.

But notice what

Barnabas did: he

gave Mark another

chance. The same

man who had once

taken a risk on Paul

now took a risk on

Mark. He believed

in growth, in redemption,

in second

beginnings.

He was right. Years

later, Paul would

speak warmly of

Mark as “very useful”

in his ministry

(2 Timothy 4:11).

The encouragement of Barnabas bore

fruit again.

Barnabas reminds us that encouragement

is not a small thing. It is a work of

the Holy Spirit.

And it may be that the most important

thing we do is help form a Paul — or

restore a Mark — and so build up the

Church in ways we may never see.

Icon of St. Barnabas, museum, Salamis,

Cyprus. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

32 • ANGELUS • May 29, 2026

■ SATURDAY, MAY 23

‘Scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and the Christian

Life’: Catholic Bible Institute Talk Series. Zoom, 7-8:30

p.m. Presenter: Anathea Portier-Young, Ph.D., associate

professor of Old Testament at Duke University. She explores

the USCCB’s Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching.

Visit lacatholics.org/events.

Pentecost Vigil. St. John the Baptist Church, 3883 Baldwin

Park Blvd., Baldwin Park, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Inspired

teachings, healing prayer, and vigil Mass with Father Ismael

Robles. Free event. Visit events.scrc.org.

■ MONDAY, MAY 25

Memorial Day Mass. All Catholic Cemeteries & Mortuaries

locations, 10 a.m. Also available online at catholiccm.org or

facebook.com/lacatholics. Archbishop José H. Gomez will

preside at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills.

Cultural Diversity in the Church — Intercultural Competencies

Online — Asynchronous. The online course

runs weekly from May 25 to June 22. Participants will be

exposed to the “recognition of cultural diversity” that points

to the profound demographic transformation taking place in

the U.S. and in the Church. Cost: $50/person. Visit lacatholics.org/events.

■ FRIDAY, MAY 29

Notre Dame Centennial Mass and Gala. Our Lady of Sorrows

Church, 21 E. Sola St., Santa Barbara, 5 p.m. Celebrant:

Bishop Slawomir Szkredka. The gala will be held at Notre

Dame School Auditorium, 33 E. Micheltorena St., Santa

Barbara, 6:30 p.m. Dinner, dancing, auctions, dignitaries,

and guest presenters. The gala will honor Mr. and Mrs.

Nick Weber. Early bird tickets open March 1. RSVP at

notredamesb.org.

■ SATURDAY, MAY 30

New Priest Ordination. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels,

555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 9 a.m. Archbishop José

H. Gomez will ordain three men to the priesthood for the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Tickets required. Ordination

Mass will be livestreamed.

Unplug, Pause, Reset: A Women’s Wellness Retreat Day

Fundraiser for HSRC. Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316

Lanai Rd., Encino, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Coordinated by Luella

Wagner. Visit hsrcenter.com or call 818-784-4515.

■ SUNDAY, MAY 31

Atlaidai Procession and Mass. St. Casimir Church, 2718

St. George St., Los Angeles, 10 a.m. Celebrating the opening

of the St. Casimir Church Jubilee Year to commemorate the

85th anniversary of the parish founding, and 75th anniversary

of the church’s dedication. Saltibarsciai festival to follow,

featuring cold beet soup, hamburgers, hotdogs, pickles,

sweets, music, and dancing. Visit stcasimirchurchla.org.

Circle of Hope: HFS Adoption and Foster Care Annual

Fundraiser. Shakespeare Club, 171 S. Grand Ave., Pasadena,

4-10 p.m. Evening includes reception, dinner, program, and

live auction. Visit hfs.org for more information.

■ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3

Organ Concert Series: Dr. Michael Szostak. Cathedral of

Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 1

p.m. Visit olacathedral.org.

Solemn Vespers. Our Mother of Good Counsel Church,

2060 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, 7 p.m. OMGC will

hold Solemn Vespers and Benediction services with choir

and organ, chants, hymns, psalms, and canticles, on the

first Wednesday of each month. Call 323-664-2111 or visit

omgcla.org.

■ THURSDAY, JUNE 4

San Fernando Mission Guides Meeting. San Fernando

Mission Cantwell Hall, 15151 Mission Blvd., Mission Hills,

1 p.m. Meetings on the first Thursday of each month, open

to new prospective docents, performing tours mainly for

California fourth-graders. Call Kay Raylon at 818-621-7514

or email kayrd1031@gmail.com.

■ FRIDAY, JUNE 5

Summer Workshop for Catechists: San Pedro Region.

Holy Family Church, 1122 E. Robidoux St., Wilmington,

6:30-9 p.m. Learn creative ideas to practice prayer with the

children in your ministry. Workshops held in Spanish and

English. Visit lacatholics.org/events.

■ SATURDAY, JUNE 6

Discover Consecrated Life for Single Women: Father

Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata. FKM Center,

531 E. Merced Ave., West Covina, 8:30 a.m. Mass at St.

Christopher Church, 9:15 a.m.-2 p.m. event at FKM Center,

includes lunch. For women ages 18-39. Call Jillian Cooke

at 626-917-0040 or email FKMs@kolbemissionusa.org for

more information and registration.

Marriage Preparation Session. St. Maximilian Kolbe

Church, 5801 Kanan Rd., Westlake Village, 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.

Permanent Diaconate Ordination. Cathedral of Our

Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 9 a.m.

Celebrant: Archbishop José H. Gomez. Tickets required.

Ordination Mass will be livestreamed.

Summer Workshop for Catechists: San Gabriel Region.

Sacred Heart Church, 344 W. Workman St., W. Covina, 9

a.m.-12 p.m. Learn creative ideas to practice prayer with the


English. Visit lacatholics.org/events.

Bereavement Summit. St. Bruno Church, 15740 Citrustree

Rd., Whittier, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Open to bereavement ministers,

those interested in accompanying or who work with the

grieving. Topics include: Catholic Church teachings on

death and burial, mandated reporting and VIRTUS training,

funeral liturgical rites, end-of-life issues, pre-planning,

mortuary and cemetery, Spanish-speaking track, and more.

Cost: $75/person, includes all materials, supplies, resources,

continental breakfast, snacks, and lunch. Register to

bereavement.ministry@yahoo.com with name and phone

number by May 19. Payment made through Zelle to 562-

631-8844.

Free Citizenship Workshop for Permanent Residents.

Our Lady of Grace Church, 5011 White Oak Ave., Encino,

9 a.m.-1 p.m. Includes free application preparation and form

completion, and free citizenship classes. Call Our Lady of

Grace Church at 818-342-3686 or email BeACitizenNow@

gmail.com.

Summer Workshop for Catechists: San Fernando Region.

St. Catherine of Siena Church, 18115 Sherman Way, Reseda,

3-6 p.m. Learn creative ideas to practice prayer with the


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.

May 29, 2026 • ANGELUS • 33

Angelus News | May 29, 2026 | Vol. 11 No. 11

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