Angelus News | June 26, 2026

ANGELUS

MIRACLE’S

STORY

She survived a shooting

while in her mother’s womb.

Today, she’s headed to college.

June 26, 2026 Vol. 11 No. 13

June 26, 2026

Vol. 11 • No. 13

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ANGELUS

Publisher

ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ

Vice Chancellor for Communications

DAVID SCOTT

Editor-in-Chief

PABLO KAY

pkay@angelusnews.com

Associate Editor

MIKE CISNEROS

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TAMARA LONG GARCÍA

Production Artist

ARACELI CHAVEZ

Managing Editor

RICHARD G. BEEMER

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HANNAH SWENSON

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ON THE COVER

EVAN LISETTE/DEBRAVO MEDIA

Nineteen years after her mother was gravely wounded

in a drive-by shooting in Watts while pregnant with her,

Miracle Tisdale graduated with honors last month from

Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro. On Page

10, Editor-in-Chief Pablo Kay tells the incredible story

of survival, determination, and triumph that led to an

authentic “Miracle moment.”

THIS PAGE

MIKE GOULDING

Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke of Ekwulobia, Nigeria,

blesses women at the offertory during a special May 31

Mass at St. Eugene Church in South LA. The cardinal

visited LA as part of a tour visiting Nigerian Catholics

living in the U.S. To see more pictures and read our

interview with the cardinal, visit AngelusNews.com

CONTENTS

Pope Watch............................................... 4

Archbishop Gomez................................. 5

World, Nation, and Local News...... 6-8

In Other Words........................................ 9

Father Rolheiser..................................... 10

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

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

16

18

21

24

26

28

30

LA Cathedral High graduate ready to take on the Ivy League

New permanent deacons called to ‘love the people you serve’

How the LA Archdiocese celebrated the U.S. Sacred Heart consecration

Did Pope Leo’s visit just reawaken Spanish Catholicism?

Robert Brennan on the gifts that popes and presidents trade

Nate Bargatze’s ‘The Breadwinner’: A clean comedy missing the comedy

Heather King on a nature oasis along LA’s Metro E Line tracks

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 3

POPE WATCH

Does God abandon us?

The following is adapted from the Holy

Father’s responses to questions from

young people at a June 9 prayer vigil in

Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium during his

apostolic voyage to Spain June 6-12.

Many young people and adults

are rediscovering the Christian

faith, sometimes after

having drifted away from God. This is a

significant step: everything we gradually

discover, embrace, and experience

along the way contributes to our growth

and maturity and creates space for

interior life.

But at the same time, amid life’s joys,

successes, and defeats, we realize that

we need a different kind of water to

quench our deepest thirst. This restlessness

is a gift that God himself gives:

We are made for the infinite, and that

is why every finite horizon, every step,

every achievement — while satisfying

us — also propels us forward and invites

us to keep searching, to search as we

move forward, but above all, to search

by “going inward.”

We must cultivate a healthy sense of

restlessness. In our societies, the idolatry

of profit and performance, the drive to

always produce and win, as well as the

cult of self-image, are nothing more

than anesthetics designed to numb our

conscience and mold it to a certain

vision of society.

It is in this world that we must cultivate

restlessness, not in another. It is within

this society that you and so many others

have discovered the value of a more human

and fulfilling life, open to encountering

God and to the joy of faith. This

means that, despite the difficulties, the

place where God makes himself present

and where we must find his footprints is

always in our current reality. We believe

that the Holy Spirit acts and works silently

in all situations of life and history,

even the most difficult ones.

There are moments of darkness and

suffering that our society silences

because certain cultural norms demand

that we always be victorious and perfect.

In these moments, we may instinctively

think that God has abandoned us. But

the cross of Jesus tells us that God does

not abandon us, that he is at our side,

crucified with us in moments of pain

and extreme loneliness, that he gathers

not only our tears but also the cry of our

suffering that others do not hear — a cry

that Jesus made his own on the cross,

saying, “My God, my God, why have

you forsaken me?”

In the face of the most difficult and

painful situations, when God seems absent,

we must entrust to him once again

the burdens we carry in our hearts, even

crying out to him, even protesting like

Job, confident that in some way he is

present and near even when he appears

to be silent.

When it comes to forgiveness, we must

learn to see it as part of a process and a

journey. If we read the Gospel as a book

of instructions, commandments, and

duties, we risk becoming greatly discouraged

and frustrated because Jesus invites

us to forgive, yet we find ourselves

unable to do so. But that is not the case.

Above all, we must seek forgiveness

from the Lord. We must continually ask

the Lord to expand the space of love

within us, precisely where we have been

wounded, that he can help us reconcile

with ourselves and with that part of our

past that has been marked by suffering,

so that he may slowly transform resentment

into mercy and compassion.

Papal Prayer Intention for June: Let us pray that sports be

an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among

cultures and nations, and that they promote values such as

respect, solidarity, and personal growth.

4 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

NEW WORLD OF FAITH

ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ

The Sacred Heart and the American dream

On June 11 at our mid-year

meeting in Orlando, the U.S.

Catholic bishops consecrated

our nation to the Most Sacred Heart

of Jesus. The next day, here in Los

Angeles, we offered our prayers for this

consecration with a special Mass at the

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

As Catholics, we make this consecration

in spiritual observance of

the 250th anniversary of our nation’s

founding.

The American story, of course, begins

long before the Declaration of Independence

was signed in Philadelphia

on July 4, 1776.

I would say it begins with Our Lady

of Guadalupe’s appearances at Tepeyac

in 1531.

Within a decade of Our Lady’s coming,

millions of native peoples were

baptized and Mexico had become the

spiritual capital of the New World,

sending out missionaries for the evangelization

of the Americas, Asia, and

Oceania.

Already in the early 1500s, missionaries

from Spain were proclaiming the

Gospel in our country, from present

day Georgia and Florida to Texas and

California. The first Mass in our land

was celebrated in 1565 in St. Augustine,

Florida. In these same years,

French missionaries were active from

the Great Lakes down to the Gulf of

Mexico.

In consecrating the nation to the

Sacred Heart, we remember that our

country’s founding was a chapter in salvation

history, part of the great mission

that Jesus entrusted to his Church —

to proclaim his saving love and make

disciples of all nations, to the ends of

the earth.

We recognize, too, that America’s

founding is exceptional in the history

of nations. The Declaration of

Independence is not only a political

document, it is also a profound spiritual

testament and inheritance.

America’s founders conceived of a

nation under God and declared that

every human being was created with

dignity and equality and made to live

in freedom. They dedicated themselves

to forming a government that

would serve men and women and

promote and protect their God-given

rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of

happiness.

We take these ideas for granted today.

But no nation before had ever made

such commitments.

The founders’ ideas were rooted in

the Enlightenment thinking of their times.

But this thinking was rooted even

more deeply in the ancient faiths of

the Jewish and Christian peoples, especially

their belief in a personal God

— a God who creates and directs the

course of history and the life of every

soul according to his loving purposes.

America’s founders believed that the

form of government they were establishing

could only be maintained by a

people shaped by religious and moral

commitments.

This is important for us to remember

as American society becomes more secularized

with each passing year, and

religious believers and their viewpoints

become more marginalized. This is

also why our consecration of the nation

to the Sacred Heart is so important.

My prayer is that this consecration

will lead to a national spiritual and

moral renewal, and that all of us, along

with our neighbors, will rediscover the

religious foundations of our nation.

I also pray that we will be renewed in

our commitments to pursue the sacred

task of promoting human dignity and

freedom.

Our history has not been pure. It has

been filled with tragedy and violent

betrayals of our deepest values. From

the original sins of slavery and the

cruel mistreatment of native peoples,

to our struggles today with racism and

a revived nativism — the American

dream is still a work in progress.

America’s founders, and the missionaries

who came before them, understood

that all human life is sacred, that

all men and women were born with a

dignity and a transcendent destiny that

can never be denied, no matter who

they are or where they come from.

Three years before the Declaration

of Independence, the great missionary

and founder of the Church in Los Angeles,

St. Junípero Serra, wrote a “bill

of rights” for California’s indigenous

peoples.

As Catholics and Americans, we are

the heirs to this long and noble tradition

in defense of human dignity.

Our commitments as Catholics are

rooted in the love that Jesus showed in

giving his life on the cross for us. Our

Lord’s Sacred Heart is a heart that was

pierced for love.

Jesus’ love is a priceless gift. It is also a

sacred obligation.

So let us love our God, our families,

our neighbors, and our country with

all our heart and all our strength. And

by our love, may we help this great

country recover the promise of its

founding.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

We entrust our nation to his Sacred

Heart, and to the Immaculate Heart

of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was

there, at the foot of the cross, when

her Son’s heart was pierced. May she

always help us to believe in the power

of his love.


WORLD

■ It’s time

to build your

own Sagrada

Família

LEGO announced

a miniature

version of the

Sagrada Família

basilica, the largest

set by piece count

in the company’s

history.

The 12,060 piece

LEGO set was

announced this

month to commemorate

the

100th anniversary

of the death of

Venerable Antoni

Gaudí, the Spanish

architect who

designed Barcelona’s

Basilica of the

Holy Family, or Sagrada Família. The church has been under

construction since 1882 and its tallest tower was blessed by Pope

Leo XIV June 10 during his visit to Spain.

LEGO designer Rok Žgalin Kobe said the model balances

scale and precision “while remaining faithful to a living monument

that has been evolving for more than a century.”

“We felt an immense responsibility to do justice to the Sagrada

Família through this design,” said Žgalin.

Buyers can preorder the set, to be released Nov. 1, for $799.99.

■ Food insecurity in Cuba

pushes the hungry to church

A section of the LEGO version of the Sagrada Família basilica.

| COURTESY THE LEGO GROUP

The president of the Cuban Bishops’ Conference told Aid to

the Church in Need that people are showing up at the country’s

churches having “gone days without eating.”

“There are people showing up [at the parishes] saying they’ve

gone days without eating and don’t know where to turn,” Bishop

Marcelo González Amador of Santa Clara said. “Food can’t

be kept fresh due to the lack of electricity, and recently people

have been frequently fainting in church because many of them

haven’t eaten.”

Food instability is one feature of deteriorating infrastructure on

the island nation amid a U.S. fuel embargo. While parishes are

attempting to keep up with requests for aid, lack of resources,

fuel, or electricity can limit priests’ ability to serve, especially in

more rural locations.

“Although many people are leaving the island, the Church

remains; the people recognize and appreciate this choice,”

González said.

■ Paper apologizes for ‘failure of

journalism’ on Kamloops coverage

Canada’s most widely read newspaper announced

that it had committed a “failure of journalism” in its

2021 reporting of mass graves at the Kamloops Indian

Residential School.

A May 30 editorial from The Globe and Mail referenced

coverage by the paper which reported that

the remains of 215 children were found buried in an

unmarked grave at the site of a once Catholic-operated

residential school. Later investigations cast doubt over

the existence of such graves, ultimately leading coverage

to reference “possible or probable graves.”

“The media, including The Globe and Mail, did not

initially scrutinize, much less challenge, that assertion,”

the editorial said.

The media’s reporting of the graves sparked enduring

political pressure. On June 1, the Senate Standing

Committee on Human Rights voted for an amendment

that would criminalize “residential school denialism,”

which was rejected by the full Senate June 3.

Safe in her arms — Celine, of the Congolese office in Bunia for the protection

of children in social matters, carries a child cleared of Ebola from

St. Nicholas orphanage June 9, at the Centre Medical Evangelique, which

is within the secured Ebola response zone. Aid agencies are intensifying

efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak, involving the Bundibugyo strain, in

Hoho commune of Bunia town in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri

province. | OSV NEWS/GRADEL MUYISA MUMBERE, REUTERS


NATION

■ Why the ACLU doesn’t like a

Massachusetts mayor’s saint statues

A New England mayor is being sued over plans

to install a pair of saint statues on city property.

Mayor Thomas Koch of Quincy, south of

Boston, commissioned an artist in Italy to create

bronze statues of St. Michael and St. Florian,

patron saints of emergency responders, at the

entrance of the city’s new police and fire headquarters.

But Koch didn’t seek approval from voters for

the $850,000 project. Soon, some residents and

religious leaders voiced their concerns, arguing

that the statues elevated one religion in a publicly

funded facility.

Now, the American Civil Liberties Union is

backing a lawsuit filed by a dozen residents. Koch,

a Catholic who left the Democratic Party in 2018 The proposed statues of St. Florian, left, and St. Michael. | OFFICE OF MAYOR THOMAS KOCH

over its support for abortion rights, is being defended

by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which argues that the statues are not primarily religious symbols because

of their historic association with police and firefighters.

“I’m Catholic, but it’s not about religion,” Quincy resident Margaret Notrangelo told The New York Times June 10. “It’s

about what the statues represent to the police and firemen.”

■ Mexican-American

named to lead Vatican

communications

Montse Alvarado

in 2024. | OSV

NEWS/BOB

ROLLER

In a surprise move, Pope Leo XIV

named Maria Montserrat “Montse”

Alvarado, the president and CEO of

EWTN News, as prefect of the Vatican’s

Dicastery for Communications.

Born in Mexico City and educated in

Florida and Washington, D.C., Alvarado

spent 14 years at the Becket Fund

for Religious Liberty. After spending

two years hosting EWTN’s News In-

Depth show, she was named to lead

their news division.

Replacing Italian layman Paolo

Ruffini, Alvarado will be the first nonreligious

laywoman to oversee a major

Vatican department. Most dicasteries

are led by cardinals.

During the pontificate of Pope Francis, EWTN drew attention for occasional

criticisms of Francis by some of its personalities. Since Alvarado’s arrival, the

network has worked to balance coverage while strengthening digital engagement.

Observers believe the June 2 appointment is less about ideology and more

about Alvarado’s experience leading a global media operation.

“ The Church is a global institution of 1.4 billion members spread around the

world, and the internationalization of Vatican communications is an important

goal,” Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public

Life at Georgetown University, told Religion News Service.

■ Black Catholic leaders

champion papal apology

for slavery

American Black Catholic leaders

welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s historic

apology for the role the Church

played in the slave trade.

“It is impossible not to feel deep

sorrow when contemplating the

immense suffering and humiliation

endured by so many in stark contrast

to their immeasurable dignity as

persons infinitely loved by the Lord,”

Leo wrote in Magnifica Humanitas,

released May 25. “For this, in the

name of the Church, I sincerely ask

for pardon.”

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Roy E.

Campbell Jr. of Washington, D.C.,

president of the National Black

Catholic Congress, said the apology

was “only proper and just.”

Christopher Pichon Sr., Supreme

Knight of the Knights of Peter Claver

— the Church’s largest black Catholic

lay group — praised Leo’s words for

reflecting “a spirit of humility, truth,

and pastoral leadership” that is “essential

for healing and reconciliation.”


LOCAL

■ American

Martyrs honors

longtime pastor with

celebration

Msgr. John Barry, 89, the pastor

at American Martyrs Church

in Manhattan Beach for more

than 40 years, celebrated the

65th anniversary of his ordination

to the priesthood during

a Mass and celebration at the

parish on June 13.

A native of Ireland, Barry was

ordained in 1961 before coming

to Los Angeles, where he eventually

became the director in

1973 of what was renamed the

Office of Religious Education

in the Archdiocese of LA. Under

his watch, the Confraternity of

Catholic Doctrine Congress was

renamed the Religious Education

Congress and the event

grew.

In 1983, Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson

became the religious education

director, and Barry became

the pastor at American Martyrs.

At American Martyrs, ministries

have expanded, including

outreach with the Diocese

of Santa Rosa in Guatemala,

where Barry and parishioners

have overseen food distribution,

built housing, and painted a

chapel.

Fútbol break — Teachers at St. Matthias Dual Language Catholic School in Huntington Park joined students for a viewing

party to watch Mexico’s soccer 2026 World Cup win over South Africa on June 11 for the opening match of the tournament.

Huntington Park is one of the cities with the highest concentration of Mexican natives (over 75%) in Southern

California. This year’s tournament is being hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, and eight of the matches are being

played in Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium. | ST. MATTHIAS CATHOLIC SCHOOL

■ San Jose bishop leads plans

for Guadalupe commemoration

San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantú unveiled a three-phase plan to the U.S. bishops to celebrate

the 500th anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance to St. Juan Diego.

Cantú, who chairs the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic

and Latino Affairs, told bishops at the conference’s annual June meeting that the first

phase would see each U.S. diocese receive a third-class relic of the Guadalupe tilma and

culminate with a National Eucharistic Congress in 2029.

Phase two would offer pilgrimages of the tilma replica from 2029 until the 2031 anniversary.

The final phase would focus on two jubilees: the 500th anniversary of Our Lady of

Guadalupe’s appearance in 2031 and the celebration of 2,000 years since Jesus’ death and

resurrection in 2033.

U.S. bishops also discussed joining the Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena, a nineyear

novena called for by Pope Francis in 2022 that anticipates the fifth centennial of the

apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2031.

■ Los Feliz’s Lithuanian parish celebrates anniversary

St. Casimir Church in Los Feliz celebrated the

13th-century Lithuanian tradition of “Atlaidai” — a

cultural event to celebrate a sacred occasion — in

commemorating the parish’s 85th anniversary of

its founding as well as the 75th anniversary of the

church’s dedication.

About 400 parishioners, many dressed in traditional

Lithuanian clothing, took part in a Eucharistic procession,

Mass, and music, followed by “Šaltibarščiai”

festival featuring Lithuania’s signature chilled

beet soup.

St. Casimir was founded by Lithuanians fleeing

Soviet forces during World War II and settled in the

Los Angeles area. Their first Mass was held in 1941

and St. Casimir was built and dedicated in 1951.

Youngsters dressed in traditional Lithuanian attire for St. Casimir Church in

Los Feliz’s May 31 “Atlaidai” anniversary celebration. | PETER LOBATO


V

IN OTHER WORDS...

Letters to the Editor

An outdated assessment

The lavish praise of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in Father Ron

Rolheiser’s column in the June 12 issue, “Science and Christian faith:

Friends not foes,” felt like a rehash of so many bad pieces written in the ’70s and

’80s.

Rolheiser makes no reference to how Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict

XVI) rehabilitated Teilhard’s reputation and how Pope Francis practically

elevated him to Doctor of the Church status. If this were written today, it would

have seized on those validations.

The column’s opening line reads like a tired boomer Catholic stereotype, and

is easily falsifiable: “During most of the 2,000 years that Christianity has existed,

it has not been friends with science, and science has not been friends with it.”

His presentation of Teilhard’s thought goes beyond what Ratzinger’s cautious,

prudent rehabilitation would permit us to accept as Catholics. This is delusional

boomer tripe and confusing to readers.

— Kenneth Lewis, San Diego

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.

Their priesthood begins

“Nuns are awesome. They

be chilling.”

~ Katie Rettig, a renter, in a June 11 Wall Street

Journal article on how the rent is so high in New

York, many are living with nuns in boarding houses.

“The pope is for all teams,

but Prevost is for Real

Madrid.”

~ Pope Leo XIV, on the papal plane to Spain on June

6 when asked if he was a fan of Spanish soccer rivals

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, referring to his name

before becoming pope.

“A hug for when you don’t

have the words to pray.”

~ Sarah-Elizabeth Pilato, a Catholic author and

mother, in a June 14 EWTN News article on her

miscarriage experience that led her to write the

book, “H.U.G.”

“The rules of golf are the

rules of life — you know,

the ethics, the etiquette,

having to do things right

when nobody’s watching.”

~ Tim Thrasher, former superintendent at Cedar

Creek Corrections Center in Washington, in a June

5 Good Morning America article on a golf program

for prison inmates.

The three newly ordained priests in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles — Father Jerick Alenton, left, Father David Zamora,

center, and Father Shengda “Martin” Zhu, right — celebrated their first Masses on May 31. | JOE GARCIA III/KATIE

TREJO/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.

“Like they’re the first person

to pick up an 80,000-yearold

tooth or something like

that.”

~ Zoe Crouch, a member of the 4-H Geology Club

in Kansas, in a June 8 FOX article on a sixth-grader

finding an 85-million-year-old fossil on a field trip.


IN EXILE

FATHER RONALD ROLHEISER, OMI

Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father

Ronald Rolheiser is a spiritual

writer; ronrolheiser.com

The struggle to be sincere

Who are we really? Who are

we when we are stripped

naked in soul: stripped of

ego, stripped of the image we have of

ourselves, stripped of the hype, fads,

and ideologies that we unconsciously

inhale and which color our thinking,

stripped of the trauma we carry from

our wounds, and stripped of our

habitual unconscious posturing?

When are we sincere?

In a popular understanding, the

word sincere comes from two Latin

words: sine (meaning without) and

cera (meaning wax). To be sincere is

to be without wax, that is, to be who

we truly are beneath all the levels of

ego, self-image, ideology, trauma, and

unconscious posturing that beset us.

It’s not easy to be sincere, given the

baffling complexities of our minds

and hearts. It’s hard to dig beneath it

all to touch who we really are.

So, when are we sincere? I offer two

stories in response.

The first comes from Ruth Burrows,

one of the deep mystical writers of recent

times. She tells this story of how,

one day, all the wax was stripped away

and she found herself naked in soul.

She grew up in England and both

she and her family were not particularly

religious. Her parents sent her

to an all-girls private school run by

an order of nuns, not for religious

reasons but because the education

there was superior to that of the local

public schools.

She did her high school years there,

never really immersing herself in

her faith. Then, in preparation for

their graduation, the nuns took the

students to a renewal center for a retreat.

Ruth and one of her classmates

did not take the retreat seriously, but

giggled, snickered, and passed notes

to each other during the conferences

given by the retreat director. So, at a

point, the nuns pulled Ruth and her

friend out of the group and, while her

classmates were listening to a lecture,

Ruth and her friend had to sit silently

in the chapel for those hours, under

the watchful eye of a nun. Initially,

Ruth confessed, she and her friend

still fought being serious; they still

giggled and winked at each other.

But the hours were long! And

during one particularly long period of

silence, she had a moment of grace,

of clarity, of sincerity, of nakedness of

soul. In the moment, she saw herself

for who she really was — a young

woman, air-headed, not thinking

straight, caught up in ego and hype,

but also, underneath it all, a good,

loving person loved warmly by

God. The single moment of clarity

changed her life.

This graced moment came to Ruth

seemingly unbidden, though no

doubt at the deeper levels her mind

and heart were inviting that graced

visitation.

My second story is more earthy, but

powerful precisely because of that.

Some years ago, I had a close friend,

only 54 years of age, dying of cancer.

When he entered hospice, I brought

him Thérèse of Lisieux’s book, “The

Story of a Soul.” Some days later, as

we talked on the phone, he shared

this: “Thank you for the book by

Thérèse of Lisieux, it’s the only thing

I can still read. When you’re dying, it

cuts away all the bull****. You know

what’s real and what’s not.” The dying

process was his mystical moment; it

brought him to sincerity.

So, how do we get there? How do

we cut through all that sits between

us and sincerity, between us and

nakedness of soul?

We need to consciously take that to

daily prayer. Indeed, during the second

half of life our basic struggle in

our prayer is precisely to try to bring

ourselves to nakedness of soul, to be

before God and ourselves without

wax. We need to take our struggle to

God. This is the very essence of contemplative

prayer, of contemplation.

Thomas Merton once said: “With

God, a little sincerity goes a long,

long way.” We can take consolation

in knowing that God understands

that the struggle is hard, and that

most of the time we have at least a

little sincerity. And we can touch

our sincerity through an intention

that transcends the struggle with our

feelings.

Here’s an example from Thomas

Merton on how to express that intention

to prayer.

“My Lord God, I believe that the desire

to please you does in fact please

you. And I hope that I will never do

anything apart from that desire. And I

know that if I do this you will lead me

by the right road though I may know

nothing about it.”

However, when we get to sincerity

and nakedness of soul, the effect may

surprise us. As Merton puts it: “Let no

one hope to find in contemplation an

escape from conflict, from anguish,

or from doubt. On the contrary, the

deep certitude of contemplative experience

awakens a tragic anguish and

opens many questions in the depth

of the heart like wounds that cannot

stop bleeding.”

But always remember: “With God, a

little sincerity goes a long, long way.”

10 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

Eighteen-year-old Miracle

Tisdale sits for an interview

inside the library of

Mary Star of the Sea High

School in San Pedro. |

EVAN LIRETTE

‘HE’S ALWAYS

BEEN THERE’

Nineteen years ago, she barely survived

a shooting while in her mother’s womb.

Today, Miracle Tisdale is celebrating an

unlikely triumph.

BY PABLO KAY

12 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

The first miracle of Miracle Tisdale’s

life took place before she

was even born.

The day was May 27, 2007. Her father

and pregnant mother, Rose, were bringing

groceries for a Memorial Day barbecue

into their home in the Nickerson

Gardens housing projects in Watts.

A gunman drove by and opened fire.

Running from the hail of bullets, Rose

reached for the door of the house,

where her two children were inside.

Four bullets hit her: one in the spine,

another in the jaw, and two in her left

arm.

When Rose was rushed to the hospital,

the doctors didn’t know that their

patient was three months pregnant. In

fact, not even her family knew.

The bullet to the spine would leave

Rose paralyzed from the waist down.

“I remember that the doctor came in

and told me that I would never walk

again,” said Rose. “I thought my life

would be over because no one ever

knew that I was actually three months

pregnant.”

Before the surgery to repair her

A veteran of traveling cheer teams, Miracle

became a standout member of Mary Star of

the Sea’s squad. | ROSE SMITH

shattered jaw, the

doctor told her the

child inside her

had a 50% chance

of surviving. When

she awoke, Rose

received the news:

there was a heartbeat.

Six months later,

there was no question

about what to

name the baby girl.

“It was obvious,

self-explanatory,”

said Rose. “Both

of us are miracles.

And God has

seen us through,

because she has no

ailment, no disability,

no ailment,

nothing wrong with her.”

Almost 19 years later to the day after

the shooting, a smiling young woman

named Miracle was called to the stage

at Mary Star of the Sea High School’s

graduation ceremony. A four-year

Principal’s Honor Roll scholar and a

star cheerleader, it’s safe to say Miracle

hadn’t just survived. She triumphed.

“I took this and made something better

out of it,” said Miracle

in an interview before her

graduation. “You can’t let

one thing stop you. Keep

going, never give up.”

Miracle’s unlikely

path to Mary

Star of the Sea

began with an officer

who’d responded that day

of the shooting and stayed

in touch with Rose and

her family over the years.

He introduced them to

Operation Progress, a

partnership with the LAPD

that offers mentoring and

scholarships to inner-city

youth. Thanks to her

strong grades, Miracle was

selected for the program in

the eighth grade.

Starting freshman year,

every morning at 7 a.m.,

Rose would drive Miracle

from their home in the

Miracle speaks at an April 2026 fundraiser for

the Silver Lining of Hope Crusade, a local faithbased

community organization that advocates

against violence and crime. | ROSE SMITH

Westmont area of South LA to the

offices of Strive, an organization that

partners with Operation Progress to

transport scholarship students from

Watts to their high schools. From there,

two vans would take Miracle and a

handful of others to Mary Star of the

Sea, a small Catholic high school in a

leafy corner of San Pedro.

The transition from South LA public

school to a private school in the South

Bay wasn’t easy at first. A talented

cheerleader who had competed with

travel teams, Miracle was starting from

zero.

“When she got here, she was intimidated,”

recalled Rick Ibarra, a longtime

sports coach and librarian at Mary Star

— and one of Miracle’s bus drivers.

“She was always one of the quieter

ones.”

Besides not knowing anyone, the academic

level was higher than anything

Miracle was used to. Principal Rita

Dever remembered her being overwhelmed

at first. But her determination

quickly paid off. By the time Miracle

received the Principal’s Honor Roll for

the first time, something had changed.

“To be awarded that with all the top

students in front of her class, I think she

started to feel like, ‘I am really fitting in,

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 13

I’m at the top of my class,’ ” said Dever.

A few years into high school, Miracle

was persuaded to join Mary Star’s

cheerleading squad, bringing veteran

experience to a school not known as an

athletic powerhouse.

“She’s done everything she can to

put herself in a position for success,

with her work ethic and with her study

habits,” said Ibarra.

In middle school, Miracle had struggled

through long stretches of isolation

and remote learning during the

COVID-19 lockdown. At Mary Star,

she found motivation.

“It’s the people in my corner, my supporters,

I didn’t want to let them down,”

Miracle told Angelus. “I don’t want to

let myself down, and I just know how I

want my future to look.”

That future included a career in

nursing. Miracle had always been a fan

of nursing TV shows, and comes from a

family of nurses, including her grandmother

and two aunts.

Meanwhile, few people on campus

knew her story. Even as she became

friends with Ibarra riding shotgun in the

Strive van, the conversations were more

often about Miracle’s cheerleading

competitions.

Ibarra had no idea until one day he

saw Rose — who drives with the help of

a specially modified car — dropping off

her daughter. He asked Miracle about

her handicap.

“When she told me her story, I was

in amazement,” said Ibarra. “I could

have never guessed. She always had it

together, she had goals, she had plans,

she was organized, she seemed like she

always got her stuff done.”

Raised Baptist, Miracle has also come

to appreciate the school’s Catholic

faith life, with its daily prayer schedule,

religion classes, and retreats. She credits

her relationship with God with helping

her get through a particularly stressful

period brought on by a demanding

level of classwork.

“I talked to God a lot, I had plenty of

conversations, I prayed, I cried,” said

Miracle. “God was always in my life,

He’s always been there.”

As she watched her daughter take

the graduation stage last month,

Rose’s mind raced through the

miracles of the last 19 years.

“That moment let me know that God

is real, and he will see us through,” said

Rose, who still suffers from bouts of

pain and illness related to the shooting.

Now that Miracle has graduated with

a 4.3 GPA, she has her sights on a nursing

career. This fall, she’ll attend Cal

State Fullerton before possibly transferring

to a larger university. Hers is another

success story attributed to programs

like Strive, created to give students like

Miracle a sense of community, a safer

high school experience, and a shot at a

better future.

“I think this school was great for Miracle,

and I think Miracle was great for

our school,” said Ibarra.

Among those who graduated with

Miracle at Mary Star last month was a

fellow Strive student who lost a parent

to a gang-related murder. Their tuition

is covered by a combination of scholarships

from Mary Star, Strive, and

the Catholic Education Foundation

(CEF), which provides millions of

dollars in scholarships for students in

more than 200 Catholic schools in the

Archdiocese of LA.

Dever believes that partnerships with

organizations like Strive — and stories

like Miracle’s — reflect the deeper

mission of Catholic education.

“I think it’s what we’re called to do; it

ties in beautifully,” said Dever. “We’re

giving opportunity to kids who want

a Catholic education. Miracle is not

Catholic, but she has very strong faith

and a very deep love for God, and that’s

been nurtured here.”

Over the years, Rose and Miracle have

teamed to visit different churches and

community events to tell their story

and advocate against gun violence.

Rose admits that her youngest daughter

going off to college will not be easy for

her, but trusts that God will keep her

safe and guide her decisions.

“She took a major step out on faith,

going to a Catholic school away from

her friends, where she didn’t know

anyone,” said Rose. “When I saw that

she completed that, it just goes to show

she’s determined, she has perseverance,

she’s resilient, and she’s gonna keep

going.”

Pablo Kay is the editor-in-chief of

Angelus.

Miracle and her mother, Rose, at Mary

Star of the Sea High School’s May 29

graduation ceremony. | ROSE SMITH

14 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

Franco Blancaflor speaks

as the valedictorian during

Cathedral High School’s

graduation ceremony on

May 22. | SUBMITTED

PHOTO

A DEEP TALENT

POOL

A valedictorian and swimmer at Cathedral

High School, this graduate is ready to make

a splash at Brown University.

BY GREG HARDESTY

The last time Franco Blancaflor

and his older brother, Angelo,

attended the same school, Franco

was in kindergarten and Angelo was

an eighth-grader at Incarnation Parish

School in Glendale.

But this fall, the two will be reunited

again academically — this time

at Brown University, the Ivy League

research college in Providence, Rhode

Island.

Franco will double major in applied

math and computer sciences as his

brother begins his fourth year at the

Warren Alpert Medical School at

Brown.

Blancaflor’s new life on the East Coast

is a fitting next step after four sterling

years at Cathedral High School, the

private Catholic all-boys school in the

shadow of Dodger Stadium in Los

Angeles.

At Cathedral, Blancaflor was not only

the senior class’ valedictorian with a

4.68 GPA and recipient of the school’s

highest academic honor, the De La

Salle General Academic Excellence

Award, but he was also a four-year varsity

swimmer, earning multiple CIF-SS

Division IV podium finishes and helping

Cathedral to its highest-ever team

finish — third place, in 2025 — as well

as back-to-back league championships.

He also holds seven school swimming

records.

As a member of the Rose Bowl Aquatics

Center, Blancaflor woke up early

countless mornings to drive from his

home in the San Fernando Valley to

Pasadena for morning practice before

6 a.m. Then he went to Cathedral

16 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

High to tackle one of the most rigorous

course loads before returning to the

Rose Bowl for evening practice.

Blancaflor points to his parents and

his older brother for instilling in him a

work ethic and discipline that allowed

him to excel at such a high level in

athletics and studies.

“The number one thing is how supportive

they were,” he said of his father,

Bennett, a banker, and his mother,

Rosa (“Lala” to her friends and loved

ones), a nurse. “They never forced me

to do anything and encouraged me to

try a lot of new things. Having that freedom

and flexibility helped me develop

a strong work ethic. There was never

any pressure to be a high achiever.

“And my brother obviously was an

influence. I thought, ‘If he can get

accepted into an Ivy League medical

school, why can’t I also be an excellent

student, too?’ ”

Blancaflor grew up in North Hollywood

and began taking swimming lessons

when he was 5. Golf was his main

sport and he also played basketball,

but by age 11, he realized his talent in

the pool and locked into swimming,

specializing in freestyle.

“I started improving a lot and qualifying

at high-level meets, so I decided

to continue with swimming every day,”

he said. “It became kind of a love-hate

relationship. Most of my closest friends

I met while swimming, but it was a lot

of work. It was like going to war.”

Blancaflor said swimming for the

Phantoms taught him how to be super

disciplined and how to best manage

his time, which helped a lot with his

high school course load. He entered

Cathedral High as part of the Onward

Scholars program, which covered 75%

of his tuition and provided academic

development, mentorship, and a customized

path to college.

As a junior, Blancaflor was selected

to Founding Forward, a competitive

cohort of 50 students from around the

country who met for three months to

discuss different civil and social issues

regarding the constitution and current

global conflicts.

Susan Pennington, chair of the English

Department at Cathedral High,

took Blancaflor and three other students

to Philadelphia and Valley Forge

as part of a Spirit of America program

during his junior year.

“Again, he showed leadership skills

by encouraging others to engage in

discussions,” she said. “He was part of

a group that planned a vespers service

on the final night of the program where

he offered a heartfelt speech on his

experience.”

This past year, Pennington taught

Blancaflor in AP English Literature.

“Of course, he remained an excellent

student and leader in the class,” she

said. “Franco will go far in life because

he understands the value of hard work

for success.”

In his valedictorian speech, Blancaflor

said Cathedral High continues to shine

through excellence, resilience, and the

unmatched spirit of its students.

“But beyond the glamour of our academic

and athletic accomplishments

is the strong and unique community

here — the brotherhood that teachers,

alumni, and upperclassmen constantly

harped on when I was a freshman,” he

said.

“At first, I cringed at this ‘so-called’

brotherhood. When alumni gave talks

during assemblies about how meaningful

their experience here was, I thought,

‘These are just people who peaked in

high school and are trying way too hard

to romanticize it. Therefore, I will take

a nap.’

“But as I grew older here, I began to

understand what they meant. I saw

how supportive Cathedral truly is, and

I’m sure many of us eventually felt that

same sense of belonging, too.”

Blancaflor said his career goal is to

become a quantitative trader, a person

who applies mathematical models, data

analysis, and computer code to execute

systematic trading strategies in financial

markets.

He won’t be swimming competitively

at Brown University, but he won’t give

up pool time.

Seems that making a splash is a lifelong

goal for him.

Greg Hardesty was a journalist for the

Orange County Register for 17 years,

and is a longtime contributing writer to

the Orange County Catholic newspaper.

Franco Blancaflor with his father, Bennett, at the Rose

Bowl Aquatics Center, where he often drove from his

San Fernando home in the early mornings before going

to class at Cathedral High. | SUBMITTED PHOTO

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 17

SERVICE MADE PERMANENT

For the seven men ordained as

permanent deacons in the LA

Archdiocese, the call to serve their

communities was loud and clear.

Archbishop José H. Gomez lays

his hands on Ruben Quezada as

part of the permanent deacons

ordination Mass.

STORY BY MIKE CISNEROS /

PHOTOGRAPHY BY PETER LOBATO

As a kid in Mexico, Ruben Quezada was already learning

what it took to serve others, being the errand boy

for the family. If anyone needed anything, be it milk or

tortillas, Quezada went off to get it and bring it back.

“I liked it,” Quezada said of his errands as a youth. “They

were not paying me or anything, but I liked to serve.”

That experience helped prepare Quezada for another kind

of service years in the future. On Saturday, June 6, he and six

other men — Anton Trang Dang, Edgar Rafael Jimenez, Jose

de Jesus Martin, Eduardo Martinez Rivero, Enrique Mota

Hernandez, and Paulinus Osy Ufondu — were ordained

as permanent deacons at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the

Angels.

18 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

The seven men to be ordained as permanent

deacons stand on the side of the altar

to begin the ordination Mass on June 6.

For Quezada, once the ordination

Mass was over, he could

hardly contain himself.

“Oh, my heart doesn’t feel like

it’s in my chest; it’s like trying to

explode,” he said. “I can really

feel God, his presence in all this.

He was with us the whole way

since the beginning.

“I just want to be humble and

put myself in God’s hands to

follow him and to listen to his

voice, whatever he wants to send

me. I’ll be there.”

In his homily, Archbishop José

H. Gomez called on the new

deacons to be a sign to those

whose hearts are “divided” and

who have “stopped believing that

love is possible.”

“Deacons are called to live as

the personification of goodness,

and friends of God,” Archbishop

Gomez said. “Jesus sent you out

to bear fruits of love in this world, where love has gone

cold.

“Love the people you serve. Love them as Jesus loves

Newly ordained as a permanent deacon,

Anton Trang Dang receives the Book of

Gospels from Archbishop José H. Gomez.

The deacons-to-be kneel on the altar before

prostrating themselves on the altar during

the ordination Mass.

them. And through your love, help

them to see the beautiful reality that

God is with us.”

At the Saturday morning Mass, the

deacons were accompanied by their

wives and cheered by family, friends,

and parishioners. After the Rite of

Ordination — which includes a

series of promises, prayers, and the

imposition of hands by the bishop on

each deacon candidate — the men

were helped into their new stoles and

dalmatics by their wives, who at the

end of the Mass were recognized for

their participation and support in the

five-year formation process.

For Maria Guadalupe “Lupita,” married

to Deacon Quezada, and Cindy

Dao, married to Deacon Dang, both

spoke of having been wary of the diaconate

process because they weren’t

native English speakers.

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 19

Dao said she struggled through the formation, but her

four children came to her rescue by helping to translate

many of the formation materials.

“I think that’s a blessing for us because it’s not only about

us, for me, and for Cindy, but for our children as well,”

said Dang, a CT scan technologist who decided to become

a deacon after the COVID-19 pandemic. “It seemed like it

was a whole-family formation.”

Lupita also said she had trouble, but knew she needed to

support her husband’s calling, especially after two years had

passed since he initially told her about it.

Edgar Jimenez gets called

up to the altar from the

pews during the diaconate

ordination Mass.

“I finally told him, ‘Well, it’s like

God has spoken to you in several

ways, what more do you want? Do

you want him to come and talk to

you [directly]?’ ” she said, laughing.

Deacon Jimenez’s wife, Michelle,

said she discovered through the formation that there was a

higher purpose for both her and her husband.

“I discovered that God shows you what he wants for you

in this ministry,” she said. “The gifts that he gives to us as a

woman, I discovered that. It’s to pray for them, to be there

for them, and I love the journey. It made us stronger and

more united, and just know that his walk is not only his, it’s

ours. It’s mine too.”

Following the Mass, the hundreds in attendance lined up

at the cathedral’s outdoor plaza for first blessings from the

newly ordained deacons, who had to occasionally pause for

a drink of water or an impromptu selfie.

Deacon Jimenez, a chaplain at Men’s Central Jail in

downtown Los Angeles, was asked to describe his feelings

that morning. His one-word answer: “Grace.”

“God’s grace is active and alive when we open our hearts,”

he said. “When I see people’s joy and desire to receive a

blessing, God is present.”

Ufondu was assured of his ministry decision when he

heard the Mass’ entrance song, “Here I Am, Lord,” which

he said was the song playing at his parish that prompted

him to finally turn in his paperwork to become a deacon.

“That song was playing, and that was like, here I am,

Lord, I come to do your will,” he said.

“I know (the ordination is) not the end in a way, it’s the

beginning. Looking at the people that lined up to say congratulations,

that brings my spirit to a new level, knowing

that my prayer has to take a different tongue, asking God

for the source of all those graces to minister to his people,

to reach out to his people, to be that voice for the voiceless.”

Mike Cisneros is the associate editor of Angelus.

To learn more about the diaconate, go to lacatholics.org/

diaconate-formation.

The ADLA Permanent Deacon

Class of 2026

• Anton Trang Dang and Cindy Cuc Dao at Maria Regina Church in Gardena

• Edgar Rafael Jimenez and Gabriela Michelle Jimenez at St. Gregory the Great Church in Whittier

• Jose de Jesus Martin and Elvira Martin at Holy Family Church in Wilmington

• Eduardo Martinez Rivero and Sofia Martinez Escalante at Santa Teresita Church in Los Angeles

• Enrique Mota Hernandez and Ofelia Mota Hernandez at St. Marcellinus Church in Commerce

• Ruben Quezada and Maria Guadalupe Ramirez de Quezada at Immaculate Conception Church in Monrovia

• Paulinus Osy Ufondu and Stella Nneka Ufondu at St. Eugene Church in South Los Angeles

20 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

A CITY AFTER

HIS OWN

HEART

Faithful prayed before a statue of the

Sacred Heart of Jesus in the sanctuary of

the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

June 12. | ISABEL CACHO

Church bells, novenas,

and a ‘speakeasy’ Mass:

How LA joined in

this month’s national

consecration to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus.

BY PABLO KAY

You could say they were struck to

the heart.

Inside the Cathedral of Our

Lady of the Angels on Friday, June 12,

some 500 Massgoers did something unusual

after the Prayers of the Faithful:

they knelt for a special prayer consecrating

the United States to the Sacred

Heart of Jesus.

“Your heart burns with a love for all

people to return to a right relationship

with you,” prayed cathedral pastor Father

David Gallardo as he knelt before

a statue of Jesus Christ and his Sacred

Heart.

“May our hearts be united to yours,

so that our families and communities

enjoy peace and happiness; may broken

relationships be reconciled, injustices

repaired, and the wounds of our land

be healed.”

The prayer — recited that day in

churches around the country — was

distributed by the country’s Catholic

bishops, who themselves had consecrated

the country to the Sacred Heart

of Jesus the day before in Orlando,

Florida.

For the bishops, the consecration was

a special way to pray for the country

ahead of next month’s 250th anniversary

of the signing of the Declaration of

Independence.

For those at the cathedral Mass —

among them law-enforcement officers,

families, religious sisters, and office

workers on their lunch break — it was

a chance to do their part, and to reunite

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 21

A clergyman swings a censer near a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as

U.S. Catholic bishops consecrated the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

at the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Universe in Orlando, Florida, June 11,

during their spring plenary assembly. | OSV NEWS/BOB ROLLER

with a trusted source of help.

“Ever since I started praying to the

Sacred Heart as a child, my prayers

have always been heard, and I’ve always

been saved,” said cathedral parishioner

Mimi Lopez, who came with her husband,

Lino. “He will always find me.”

Lopez’s devotion to the Sacred Heart

began during childhood in the Philippines,

when she prayed for help finding

a ring from her mother that seemed impossibly

lost. When she found the ring,

it was the start of a lifelong relationship

that guided her through marriage,

motherhood, and a new life in the U.S.

At the cathedral, Lopez prayed for

her children and for Lino, with whom

she’ll be celebrating 50 years of marriage

this year. “And for our country,”

she told Angelus. “I think it’s very

Sisters from the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Los

Angeles were among the hundreds at the June

12 cathedral Mass. | ISABEL CACHO

important.”

In his homily, Gallardo acknowledged

that as a devotion, the Sacred Heart of

Jesus can be difficult to understand.

The words of Christ in the day’s Gospel

from John, the priest said, explain it

best: “Come to me all of you who labor

and are burdened, and I will give you

rest.”

“We come here with our own burdens

… our own tiredness, and yet Jesus

invites us to come rest in him, to rest in

his Sacred Heart,” said Gallardo. “Like

the people of Israel [in the Old Testament],

we are here today not because

of any great merits. We are here solely

because God loves us.”

The consecration was a call to recognize

the need we have “in our own

individual lives, in our Church, and

in our nation to renew ourselves in the

love and mercy of God, especially in

light of many modern-day anxieties and

fears,” Gallardo said.

Sitting in the second row at the cathedral

were several sisters of the Lovers of

the Holy Cross of Los Angeles, the local

branch of a religious order founded

in Vietnam by a French bishop in

the 1670s, the same time that French

mystic St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

received the visions of Christ’s Sacred

Heart that inspired the devotion.

22 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

Father John Hopkins, LC, celebrates a late-night “speakeasy”

Mass June 12 with some 100 young Catholics at

Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center’s outdoor amphitheatre.

| JESSICA CASTILLO/ST. PHILIP THE APOSTLE PARISH

The nuns, who came from Gardena,

had just finished a nine-day novena to

the Sacred Heart of Jesus, praying for

world peace, more zealous vocations,

and the reconciliation of divisions in

the U.S. and within families.

Sister Cecilia Nguyen explained that

while “devotion” describes something

good directed toward God, the Sacred

Heart of Jesus should also be understood

the other way around.

“It’s God’s devotion to us from himself,”

said Nguyen, a native of Vietnam.

“That even though we’re not perfect, he

devotes himself to us. The Sacred Heart

of Jesus is his own devotion to humanity,

his unfailing love.”

Beyond the cathedral, parishes across

the archdiocese celebrated similar

Masses on June 12. The day before, at

Archbishop José H. Gomez’s request,

parishes rang their church bells at 3

p.m., known as “the hour of divine

mercy.”

In Pasadena, young Catholics from

St. Philip the Apostle Church had a

head start on the festivities. Inspired by

their experience at the 2024 National

Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis

and a local Eucharistic revival a

year later, they had asked Archbishop

Gomez and Auxiliary Bishop Brian

Nunes last year for a local consecration

to the Sacred Heart. A few months

later, the bishops of the U.S. voted to

consecrate the entire country.

A prelate venerates a reliquary containing

the relics of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

before the consecration of the country to

the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Orlando June

11. | OSV NEWS/BOB ROLLER

“The abundance of the Lord is unmatched,

and our bishops had a much

grander plan,” said Ana Raptis, board

chair of the Newman Center Pasadena,

based at St. Philip’s.

To prepare for the consecration, youth

from the Newman Center organized

a First Friday Mass and social event

at a different area parish each month

beginning last October. This month,

the group — many of whom study at

nearby Caltech and Pasadena Community

College — organized a parish

novena to the Sacred Heart June 3-11,

an evening Holy Hour and Consecration

Mass on July 11, and a “speakeasy”

late-night Mass and social the evening

of July 12 at a location revealed through

clues shared on social media.

Despite coinciding with the USA-Paraguay

soccer World Cup match a few

miles away in Inglewood, the Mass

drew youth from as far as LA’s Westside

to Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center’s

outdoor amphitheatre.

“I mean, a hundred young adults on

the night of the World Cup is pretty

crazy to me. I was worried,” said Krista

Corbello, director of the Newman

Center.

Corbello believes the initiative’s success

owes something to the late Bishop

David O’Connell and his consecration

of Southern California to the Immaculate

Heart of Mary in 2017, while

serving in the San Gabriel Pastoral

Region.

“That was a young adult initiative,”

said Corbello of the Marian consecration.

“And now, almost 10 years later,

it’s a new generation of young adults

who are doing this. It was a profoundly

moving experience.”

In the weeks leading up to the

country’s July 4 birthday, the bishops

also invited parishes to contribute to a

collective 250 hours of adoration and

250 works of mercy. At St. Philip’s, staff

created a “Works of Mercy wall” where

parishioners can prayerfully tie pieces

of cut ribbon representing their works.

Raptis said the parish’s Sacred Heart

activities have given the young people

“a safe place, a loving place for people

to practice their values.”

“The most important point is to see

the young Catholic Church at work,”

said Raptis. “They are back, they are

here, and they are so filled with love

for our Lord.”

Pablo Kay is the editor-in-chief of

Angelus.

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 23

Fireworks explode during the inauguration

of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the

Basilica of the Sagrada Familia during

Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey

in Barcelona, Spain, June 10. | OSV

NEWS/NACHO DOCE, REUTERS

The awakening of

Catholic Spain

In a country that seems

intent on forgetting its

Christian foundations,

Pope Leo XIV’s visit

left a surprising mark.

BY JOVEL ÁLVAREZ

During the six days spent covering

Pope Leo XIV’s June 6-12

apostolic journey to Spain, I

lost count of the moments that gave me

a lump in the throat.

There was a sense that I was witnessing

a rare event in today’s world: an

expression of genuine affection toward

a person who, for believers, represents

a connection with the divine. For those

who do not believe, he is a herald of

universal values and humanism.

Even for us journalists who traveled

with Leo aboard the papal plane, the

pope remains a mystery to be unraveled.

We come from very diverse backgrounds.

There were Catholics, of

course — some practicing, others not

as much. Others were atheists and

agnostics, and for them, the Vatican is

just another beat. Instead of covering

sports or general news, fate has them

covering the smallest country in the

world.

But everyone had to admit that what

we witnessed in Spain far exceeded

the expectations of both locals and

outsiders. This is a country where — as

in much of Western Europe — Catholicism

is largely ignored or mocked

thanks to criticism over the historical

ties to Francisco Franco’s dictatorship

and clerical sexual abuse scandals.

In other words, the affection shown

by Spaniards (and Latin American immigrants)

in the streets was astonishing

for a society in which Catholicism has

largely been cast aside as a relic of the

Middle Ages.

The media, the country’s royal household,

and even local governments

were all on Team Leo. The streets had

spoken: it was possible to be Catholic

again in Spain.

Unforgettable moments

In Madrid, the Greek goddess Cybele

(Cibeles in Spanish) stands tall as a

popular tourist attraction over Madrid’s

most famous square. But on the

morning of Corpus Christi Sunday, she

seemed to have vanished.

24 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

The 1.2 million people in the square

had turned their gaze toward a crucified

Christ visible on the stage for

Mass.

The scenes from the pope’s tour

through the city that morning were

breathtaking. Everywhere one looked,

the streets were packed to the brim.

Catholics from all over the country —

including many immigrants from Latin

America — wanted to accompany the

pope.

The most surprising part of the trip’s

Madrid leg was perhaps his appearance

at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

(home of the Real Madrid soccer

team), where Leo seemed to open up,

speaking impromptu in a style unfamiliar

even to us Vaticanistas. Then

legendary Spanish actor Antonio Banderas,

of all people, made an eloquent,

solemn profession of faith that captivated

everyone, starting with the pope.

The defining image of his stop in

Barcelona was undoubtedly the blessing

of the tower of Jesus Christ at the

legendary (and still unfinished) Basilica

of the Sagrada Familia. As in Madrid,

Leo was accompanied by the country’s

reigning monarchs, King Felipe and

Queen Letizia, adding a majestic feel

to the whole affair.

During his final stop in the Canary

Islands, the pope delivered a twofold

message. In the port of Arguineguín,

he heard testimonies and showed

solidarity with those who have left their

homeland under conditions of slavery:

the place is often called the “dock of

shame” in Spain, a place where recently

arrived African migrants often live in

deplorable conditions.

The next day, in Santa Cruz de

Tenerife, he called on human traffickers

to repent of their crimes against

humanity.

I would also add to the trip’s Hall

of Fame the voices of Renzo and

Valentina, two children who gave us

unforgettable moments during the stop

in Barcelona. Renzo asked the pope

a series of moving, difficult questions,

while Valentina, who is blind, offered a

magnificent explanation of a model of

the Sagrada Familia tower for Leo and

the king and queen.

A royal welcome

But there was a moment during the

trip — at the very beginning — when it

felt like I was living in a fantasy world.

For someone from a country with no

army and no monarchy, the pope’s

reception with military honors at the

Royal Palace in Madrid felt otherworldly.

The country’s royals embody an

institution historically linked to the

Catholic faith, even if the current royal

family is not known for being particularly

devout.

But their presence — along with that

of the queen emerita Sofia — lent

the trip’s most important moments a

particular dignity. And the monarchs

themselves seemed to find their most

solemn purpose walking alongside the

Vicar of Christ.

Felipe’s father, King Juan Carlos I,

had the chance to welcome both St.

Pope John Paul II during his five visits

to Spain, and Pope Benedict XVI

during his three visits. But this was

all new to King Felipe given that the

beginning of his reign coincided with

the pontificate of Pope Francis, who

turned down repeated invitations to

visit the Iberian country. (Coincidentally,

Queen Letizia publicly distanced

herself from religious practice during

the same period.)

But finally, 12 years after their coronation,

Felipe and Letizia got their

moment: a chance to showcase their

institutional and historical weight by

welcoming the bishop of Rome.

Those of us who were present at the

events watched as Catholics gave the

monarchs and the pontiff rousing

ovations, while directing boos toward

politicians.

The display made it clear that Catholics

remain the monarchy’s staunchest

supporters: not simply a silent majority,

but a demographic that can mobilize

en masse when summoned by the Holy

Father.

For all the historical symbolism in

their welcome of the pope, it was an

unscripted moment that gave us the

biggest evidence that a genuine friendship

had been forged: when Leo’s papal

plane broke down right before leaving

the Canary Islands, Felipe stepped in

by sending his own royal plane to give

Leo a ride home to Rome.

Jovel Álvarez is a Rome-based correspondent

who reports for various

Spanish-language outlets. Originally

from Costa Rica, he spent years living

and working in the Holy Land.

Pope Leo XIV waves as he stands with Spain’s King

Felipe VI and Queen Letizia during a welcoming

ceremony at the Royal Palace of Madrid June 6. |

OSV NEWS/ELISABETTA TREVISAN, VATICAN MEDIA

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 25

AD REM

ROBERT BRENNAN

Popes, presidents, and presents

Pope Leo XIV exchanges gifts with U.S. Secretary

of State Marco Rubio during a private

audience at the Vatican May 7. | OSV NEWS/

MATTEO PERNASELCI, VATICAN NEWS

I

am grateful the dust seems to

have wafted back to Earth after

the much-publicized war of words

between President Trump and Pope

Leo XIV. Still, the headlines were a

reminder that the relationship between

Rome and Washington, D.C., has not

always been an easy one.

What I have learned in my research

is the connection between presidents

and popes goes back further than I

knew. Presidents Martin Van Buren,

Millard Fillmore, and Ulysses S. Grant

had met popes as former presidents

doing European tours.

The first sitting U.S. president to

meet face-to-face with a pope was

Woodrow Wilson, who met with Pope

Benedict XV in 1919, in the aftermath

of the cataclysmic “Great War.” It

would be 40 more years before another

president, Dwight Eisenhower, met St.

Pope John XXIII in Vatican City. Even

then, the U.S. had not yet formally

recognized the Vatican, but Eisenhower’s

visit began an unbroken tradition

of every U.S. president meeting the

Roman pontiff either in Rome or on

U.S. soil.

And with every meeting, a weird

balance of statecraft and religion is

achieved with the help of protocols

and formalities. One of them, the

traditional exchange of mementos,

has remained constant, regardless of

how syncopated or disjointed Vatican/

America relations may be. When

heads of state make any official visit

to a foreign land, they usually bring

something grown or made back home,

and their host usually reciprocates in

kind. Those gifts then find themselves

either in the Vatican Archives or some

Presidential Library inventory, where

they sit mostly unnoticed.

Some of the gifts exchanged were elegant.

When John F. Kennedy visited

Rome in July of 1963, he presented a

beautiful desk set with both presidential

and papal seals engraved on it. At

the time, Kennedy had to delicately

navigate his novel status as the first

Catholic president in a country where

anti-Catholicism, though much

diminished, was still an active agent in

the political lifeblood of America. He

could give the pope a gift, but President

Kennedy could not recognize

26 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

Robert Brennan writes from Los Angeles, where

he has worked in the entertainment industry,

Catholic journalism, and the nonprofit sector.

the Vatican in any official capacity

without serious political repercussions.

It would take a Protestant, Ronald

Reagan, to do that nearly 20 years later.

Even then, the move did not come

without some political fallout.

When St. Pope Paul VI came to New

York in 1965, it was a special time for

American Catholics. He was the first

pope to visit the “New World” while

holding the Petrine Office. President

Lyndon Baines Johnson, a man whose

every fiber of being had a political

agenda attached to it, sought out Paul

while he was in New York and — you

guessed it, they exchanged gifts. LBJ

and Paul met on other occasions as

well and yes, they exchanged more

gifts. And if a gift tells us anything

about the giver, on one of these exchanges,

Paul gave Johnson a medieval

work of art.

The President of the United States

gave the pope a bronze bust of himself.

Besides being a symbol of friendship,

gifts are often useful tools to show penitence,

or they can be helpful for mending

bruised friendships. Like LBJ, our

current president may be tempted to

send the pope a golden bust of himself.

So far, he has resisted that urge.

Instead, he did recently send the Secretary

of State to the Vatican. Whether

it was to send a peace offering or not,

sending a man like Marco Rubio,

who, by his own public statements, has

rediscovered his Catholic faith, was

a good start toward starting over in a

relationship that is unprecedented in

its volatility — at least from this side of

the Atlantic.

For that visit, Secretary Rubio’s gift

was a simple crystal football. It looked

like a paperweight, and it was refreshing

to see a gesture that did not seem

to have any overt political agenda

attached to it. The pope graciously

accepted it, even uttering a modest

“wow” upon seeing it.

Then it was the pope’s turn, and he

presented the Secretary of State with a

pen made of olive wood. The message

could not have been clearer, even

though presented in the gentle but

firm style that seems to be an integral

part of Leo’s style. Made from the

wood that comes from the tree that has

long been associated with peace, let us

hope Leo has given the gift that truly

does keep on giving.

NOW PLAYING THE BREADWINNER

IN SEARCH OF GOOD DAD JOKES

The humor in ‘The Breadwinner’ is family-friendly.

But does that make it worth watching?

Nate Bargatze and Mandy Moore

star in a scene from the movie

“The Breadwinner.” | OSV NEWS/

FRANK MASI, SONY

BY JOSEPH JOYCE

On paper, Nate Bargatze is bigger

than U.S. Steel.

The highest-grossing stand-up

comedian of 2025, he earned roughly

$70 million on 1.2 million tickets sold,

which makes him a bigger draw than

U2, Coldplay, or indeed the cumulative

efforts of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He’s

so rich that he’s breaking ground on his

own amusement park this year.

Bargatze reached this stratosphere

thanks to a revolutionary mathematical

discovery: families buy tickets, too.

While cursing and more vulgar topics

might earn you a loyal audience of

comedy purists and depressive movie

critics, Nate keeps his comedy clean

and thus expands his audience fivefold.

Yet his primary constituency remains

below the Mason-Dixon line; despite

hosting “Saturday Night Live” twice

and the Emmys once, Nate might be

the most famous person in America

where a good 60% of the commonwealth

doesn’t know his name.

He’s hoping to change that with his

debut starring feature film “The Breadwinner,”

in theaters since May 29. Nate

plays a man named Nate (keeping

things simple for the slower among us),

a top salesman at a car dealership and

the main provider for his wife (Mandy

Moore) and three daughters.

He defers all domestic duties to his

stay-at-home wife, bringing home

the proverbial bacon so that she can

proverbially cook it. The natural order

of things is upended when a product

she’s developed on the side is picked up

on “Shark Tank,” sending her to South

Korea for two weeks and him back

home to watch the kids. And wouldn’t

you know it, hijinks ensue.

Nate, it seems, has no clue on how to

run a household, or even the name of

28 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

his kids’ school. Under his stewardship,

dinner is Doordashed and laundry piles

up (and is eventually spritzed with perfume

as a makeshift compromise). This

would all be easier if he had three boys,

but with three girls comes interiority

and a mess of drama that whole embassies

would have trouble settling. Nate

learns over repeated sleepovers that a

girl slumber party is not a cozy time in,

but rather a grenade with no pin that

you must somehow defuse.

If you feel profound déjà vu at this

recap, then you’ve probably seen 1983’s

“Mr. Mom,” or ever watched a sitcom

where the husband and wife are almost

separate species in attractiveness. “Dad

has to play mom” is one of the urmyths

of the western canon, like the

flood tales or inviting two girls to the

same prom, repeated ad nauseam and

in eternal recurrence. I wouldn’t be

shocked if there’s a gnostic gospel out

there somewhere with Mary in the carpenter

shop and Joseph flailing about

trying to intercede for souls, with “I’m

Walking on Sunshine” playing over the

montage.

“The Breadwinner” is that oddest of

films: a failure that achieves everything

it wants. It’s broadly humorous, and

with cynical sentimentality deployed

to warm the cockles of those among us

who still possess hearts. It is a film so

scared of offending that its cowardice

infects even the cinematography, shot

in that affable grainless digital sheen,

sunny and suffocating.

It reminds me of nothing more than

a Hallmark movie; if they simply killed

the wife to make him an eligible widower

and added a Christmas tree farm,

it would air today. “The Breadwinner”

aims to please everybody, but there’s

nothing less endearing than someone

or something that begs your affection.

Despite its deliberate lack of offense, it

managed to offend me on two levels:

as a man and as a fan of Bargatze’s

comedy.

The old trope of the man hapless

at domesticity particularly irks me as

a man who is quite bad at it, but not

because of my Y chromosome. In

college, when I slept in a sleeping bag

for six months to avoid washing sheets,

or when I called my dad asking for the

instructions on how to boil water, these

were personal failings that shouldn’t be

extrapolated to my whole sex. I could

call my father for tips because he himself

was a single father of four children

who had to master home economics

on the fly, and ultimately with aplomb.

Whatever the many demerits of Man,

I do hold him in high enough esteem

to separate the colors and whites in the

wash.

I also feel the betrayal of the jilted, as

someone who has been a proponent

of Bargatze’s comedy for some time.

Whenever I’m back home visiting my

dad, he will, when not reminding me

how to boil the water, play me Nate’s

SNL skit about George Washington

inventing units of measurement. He’s

shown me this probably a dozen times

now, and I never remind him because

it’s just that good.

His true novelty as a comedian wasn’t

that he was clean — there are hundreds

of clean comedians, most of them

about as entertaining as a biopsy. No,

Nate’s strength lay in being so funny

you forgot he was clean. My personal

favorite of his routines is about the

speculated logistics in disposing of a

dead horse. It feels like you’re getting

away with something, yet when you

read back the transcript there’s nothing

to convict.

Nate was always a funny comic who

happened to be clean; “The Breadwinner”

shows that Nate feels he’s a clean

comic who happens to be funny, a fatal

syllogism. You feel him pulling punches

that never would have connected

anyway, reforging himself into what

he imagines Middle America wants

of him. I still think there’s a future in

film for him yet; we can only hope the

likes of “The Breadwinner” is a misstep

rather than a destination.

Joseph Joyce is a screenwriter and freelance

critic based in Sherman Oaks.

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 29

DESIRE LINES

HEATHER KING

Free weeds at the Greenway, pick your own

A great blue heron in Westwood Greenway’s

natural plant habitat. | COURTESY WESTWOOD

GREENWAY

Everyone knows about the revitalization

of the LA River.

Less well known, but also compelling,

is the Westwood Greenway, a

two-acre ecological oasis providing an

island of native habitat for birds, butterflies,

and other animals next to one

of the nation’s busiest light rail lines.

The Greenway is in West Los

Angeles, alongside the Metro E Line

between Westwood Boulevard and

Overland Avenue. You can hop off

at the Westwood/Rancho Park Metro

Station, and the site is also easily

accessible by car, bike, or foot.

Through its innovative and thoughtful

design, the Greenway cleans water

while offering walking paths and

native plant habitats, making for an

altogether tranquil retreat amid LA’s

urban hubbub.

In 1944, when developers laid out the

Westwood Gardens subdivision, they

gave the City of Los Angeles 50-footwide

parcels north and south of the

railroad’s 100-foot wide right of way for

sewers and future streets.

The concept of a green corridor that

involved restoring habitat, diverting

the Overland storm drain, and creating

an artificial stream that would run

next to the train was almost 30 years

in the making. You can read about the

history and creation of the project, and

the many community members who

offered their blood, sweat, and tears, at

the Greenway’s website.

Suffice it to say that “parks, not

parking,” was the rallying cry of the

neighborhood homeowners and activists

who spearheaded the project.

Construction began on Sept. 24,

2019, and was substantially completed

in October 2020.

Through the iNaturalist Project,

visitors can join in documenting and

celebrating the unique wildlife to

be found in the Greenway, which

includes great blue herons, egrets,

hummingbirds, Wilson’s Snipe,

Marine Blue butterflies, Three-Lined

Potato Beetles, native Buckwheats, and

so much more.

Docent-led tours for individuals or

groups are available by reservation.

Mary Bomba, longtime Angelus supporter,

volunteers at the Greenway.

30 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

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

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

Tell a bit about yourself, and what

drew you to volunteer.

I’m a resident of West Los Angeles

and a member of St. Paul the Apostle

Catholic Community. Three years ago,

a parishioner who’s a Master Gardener

told me about the Westwood Greenway

and mentioned that they were looking

for volunteers to help keep down the

weeds. I’ve been volunteering ever

since.

What makes the Westwood Greenway

so unique? That area is so busy, with

UCLA nearby — could people easily

drive by and miss it? Can you see it

from Westwood Boulevard?

Good question. The Greenway is

tucked beside the Metro E Line tracks

between Westwood Boulevard and

Overland Avenue. You could easily

drive by and miss the pedestrian gates

at either end, on the north side of the

tracks, but they’re unlocked and open

to the public seven days a week, from 8

a.m. to 6 p.m.

What can people expect to find there?

What walks can they take?

The first thing you experience when

you pass through the gate is a feeling of

wildness. A decomposed granite path

takes you alongside a stream whose

source is the storm drain below. Water

from the storm drain is cleansed by

the action of sunlight, soil, and native

plants, first on one side of the E Line

tracks and then on the other; then it

returns underground and flows to the

ocean. The information panels along

the path tell you how it works — and

introduce you to some of the native

flora and fauna you’ll be seeing along

the way.

What do you like best about volunteering

there? What do your duties

consist of?

Weeding at the Greenway takes place

from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the second

Saturday and the fourth Sunday of the

month. First thing I do when I arrive is

to check in with the volunteer coordinator

and her husband. They volunteer

much of their own time to weeding

and to supervising the students — from

middle school to university — who

earn service hours at the Greenway.

Then I settle down to a patch of

weeds, usually by myself because I

enjoy the solitude and quiet, but sometimes

in the company of other volunteers.

If I’m weeding Bermuda grass

out of a cluster of milkweed, I might be

rewarded by the visit of a Monarch butterfly.

Or I’ll brush up against the leaves

of a sage and get a whiff of its startlingly

beautiful fragrance. Or I’ll look up from

trying to get a dandelion out by its root

and see a California sycamore, planted

as a sapling but now well on its way to

reaching a hundred feet tall.

Tell an anecdote about the delight/

surprise experienced by visitors.

When I first started volunteering at the

Greenway I would often see an elderly

woman with a walker coming along

the path. I learned that she lived in the

neighborhood and was very grateful

for the Greenway and its volunteers.

Later I thought about how limited the

opportunities are for older people to be

in nature and how blessed this woman

was to live near the Greenway.

Is there a spiritual component to

volunteering at the Westwood Greenway?

Yes, definitely! Quite apart from the

experience of being in nature, weeding

at the Greenway is an exercise in

patience and hope. We need more

volunteers, and sometimes the weeds

seem out of control. But inspired by the

coordinators, we keep at it and gradually

there appear areas where the native

plants are weed-free, able to spread

their roots and take in the sun and do

their amazing work of cleaning the

water and delighting the visitors. Now

that’s spiritual.

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 31

LETTER AND SPIRIT

SCOTT HAHN

Scott Hahn is founder of the

St. Paul Center for Biblical

Theology; stpaulcenter.com.

Feasts of fire

The feasts come in quick succession

at the end of June. The

Church remembers the first

martyrs of the city of Rome. Then, the

very next day, she honors Sts. Peter

and Paul. Tradition tells us they all

died in the same terror, unleashed by

the emperor Nero after the great fire

of Rome in A.D. 64.

The catastrophe devastated the

capital. Ancient historians describe

whole neighborhoods consumed in

flames. Rumors spread quickly that

Nero himself had ordered the fire. He

needed someone else to blame. So

he turned against the Christians — a

small, misunderstood minority already

viewed with suspicion by their pagan

neighbors.

The Roman historian Tacitus preserved

the grisly details in his Annals.

Christians were arrested in large numbers.

Some were wrapped in animal

skins and torn apart by dogs. Some

were crucified. Others were covered

in pitch and burned alive to light up

Nero’s gardens at night.

It was the first great persecution of

Christians by the Roman state, and

it established a precedent that would

haunt the Church for the next twoand-a-half

centuries. Rome learned

that Christians could serve as convenient

scapegoats in moments of public

crisis.

Yet something in the story deserves

closer attention. Why did these Christians

endure such horrors without

renouncing Christ? What fortified

ordinary men and women to face torture,

public humiliation, and death?

Part of the answer may lie in a text

they had heard proclaimed aloud in

their liturgy: St. Paul’s Letter to the

Romans.

“Nero Views the Burning of Rome,”

by Karl von Piloty, 1826-1886,

German. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Only a few years earlier, the apostle

had written his great letter to the

Christians in Rome. By the year 64

they would have known many of its

words by heart. They had heard them

repeatedly in worship. They prayed

them. They measured their lives

against them.

And perhaps, in the hour of trial, one

passage especially returned to them:

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren,

by the mercies of God, to present

your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy

and acceptable to God, which is your

spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

That line must have sounded strange

in pagan Rome, where sacrifice

usually meant slaughtered animals

offered before stone idols. But Paul

taught something radically different.

The Christian’s own body, offered in

union with Christ, became a sacrifice

pleasing to God.

The martyrs of Rome took those

words literally. As the flames rose

around them, as the crowds mocked,

as the beasts approached, they understood

that they were uniting themselves

to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ

— the sacrifice he made on the cross

— the sacrifice re-presented in the

Mass. Their suffering was not meaningless.

Their deaths were not defeat.

Their bodies themselves had become

an act of worship.

The Roman authorities hoped

terror would extinguish the Church.

Instead, the blood of the martyrs became

the seed of Christian Rome.

The city that once illumined its

nights with burning Christians would

eventually fill its basilicas with their

relics and celebrate their feast days on

the calendar of the universal Church.

32 • ANGELUS • June 26, 2026

■ FRIDAY, JUNE 19

Summer Workshop for Catechists: Santa Barbara Region.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 500 N. Juanita Ave.,

Oxnard, 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.

Young Professionals Faith & Work Retreat. Mater Dolorosa

Retreat Center, 700 N. Sunnyside Ave., Sierra Madre,

7 p.m.-Sat., June 20, 6 p.m. Catholic Association for Latino

Leadership (CALL) is hosting a retreat for professionals

aged 21-39 on navigating faith in the workplace, live with

purpose in a career, and build meaningful community.

Includes talks, prayer, networking, food, hospitality, and

private rooms. $80 registration. Register today at 213-637-

7408.

■ SATURDAY, JUNE 20

Summer Workshop for Catechists: San Fernando Region.

Divine Saviour Church, 610 Cypress Ave., Los Angeles, 9

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

children in your ministry. Workshops held in Spanish and

English. Visit lacatholics.org/events.

The Art and Soul of Journaling. Holy Spirit Retreat Center,

4316 Lanai Rd., Encino, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. With Chantel Zimmerman.

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

The Life Beyond the Veil of Death. St. Angela Merici

Church, 585 S. Walnut St., Brea, 12:45-4:30 p.m. With

Dominic Berardino. Topics include: What Happens When

We Die? and Death Bed Visions and After Death Visitations.

Cost: $15/person through June 16, $20/person at the door.

Register at events.scrc.org or call 818-771-1361 or email

spirit@scrc.org.

Father’s Day Rosary Prayer Service. All Catholic Cemeteries

& Mortuaries locations, 2 p.m. Also available online at

catholiccm.org or facebook.com/lacatholics.

Summer Workshop for Catechists: OLA Region. Holy

Name of Jesus Church, 1955 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles,

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

children in your ministry. Workshops held in Spanish and

English. Visit lacatholics.org/events.

■ SUNDAY, JUNE 21

Eight-Day Intensive & Post Intensive Centering Prayer

Retreat. Holy Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Rd., Encino,

4:30 p.m.-Sun., 1 p.m. With Sister Chris Machado, SSS, and

the Centering Prayer Retreat Team. Visit hsrcenter.com or

call 818-784-4515.

Father’s Day Mass in Samoa. St. Cornelius Church, 5500

E. Wardlow Rd., Long Beach, 2-5 p.m. Celebrant: Father

Spa Silvia. Featuring choirs from St. Cornelius Church, St.

Philomena Church, and St. Joseph Church.

■ MONDAY, JUNE 22

Bereavement Training Workshop. St. Brendan Church,

310 S. Van Ness Ave., Los Angeles, 5-7 p.m. Eight-week

sessions will provide training to Catholic clergy, religious,

hospital, hospice, and laypeople. The program is not

designed for those who have recently lost a loved one. Cost:

$95/person. Call MaryAnn McAdams at 213-637-7838 or

email mamcadams@catholiccm.org.

Summer Workshop for Catechists: Virtual. Zoom, 7-9

p.m. Learn creative ideas to practice prayer with the children

in your ministry. Workshops held in Spanish and English.

Visit lacatholics.org/events.

■ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24

Disability Symposium. Vanguard University, 55 Fair Dr.,

Costa Mesa, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Leaders, advocates, educators,

and community members are gathering for conversations

about disability inclusion and accessibility. Register at vanguard.edu/school-of-education/disability-symposium.

Call

Jasmine Allen at 714-556-3610.

■ SATURDAY, JUNE 27

Pista Sa Nayon. St. Barnabas Church, 3955 Orange Ave.,

Long Beach, 6-11 p.m. Dinner, dance, and raffles, hosted by

Servants of the Eucharist. Cost: $60/person donation. Visit

stbarnabaslb.org.

Misa Azteca, presented by the Cathedral Choirs. Cathedral

of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 7

p.m. Visit olacathedral.org.

■ SUNDAY, JUNE 28

Kontrapunktus presents “CON FUOCO: An Italian Opus.”

St. Andrew Church, 311 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, 7:30

p.m. Featuring soloist Aubree Oliverson. Tickets: $20-$25/

person. Visit kontrapunktusmusic.org/tickets.

■ WEDNESDAY, JULY 1

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, JULY 2

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, JULY 3

Mass for the Nation. Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels,

555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 12:10 p.m. Celebrant:

Archbishop José H. Gomez. Arrive early for a patriotic celebration

in the Cathedral Plaza at 11 a.m., featuring music and

fellowship. Visit lacatholics.org/america.

■ SATURDAY, JULY 11

Hearing God’s Voice in a Loud World. Mary & Joseph Retreat

Center, 5300 Crest Rd., Rancho Palos Verdes, 9 a.m.-4

p.m. Called LA presents a women’s discernment retreat for

single women ages 18-39. Includes lunch. RSVP by July 1 to

calledla@la-archdiocese.org.

Doorways, Portals, and Prayer Using Sacred Collage. Holy

Spirit Retreat Center, 4316 Lanai Road, Encino, 9:30 a.m.-4

p.m. With Chantel Zimmerman. Visit hsrcenter.com or call

818-784-4515.

■ SUNDAY, JULY 12

Diaconate Virtual Information Day. Zoom, 2-4 p.m.

Presentation in English and Spanish. Register by sending

your name, parish, and pastor’s name to Natalia Dubon at

NGDubon@la-archdiocese.org.

■ TUESDAY, JULY 14

Memorial Mass. San Fernando Mission, 15151 San Fernando

Mission Blvd., Mission Hills, 11 a.m. Mass is open to the

public. Limited seating. RSVP to outreach@catholiccm.org

or call 213-637-7810. Livestream available at CathoicCM.

org or Facebook.com/lacatholics.

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.

June 26, 2026 • ANGELUS • 33

Angelus News | June 26, 2026 | Vol. 11 No. 13

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Angelus News | June 26, 2026 | Vol. 11 No. 13

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