Archbishop José H. Gomez will celebrate a historic Mass to honor our Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, on Monday, May 21 at 11:50 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.
The Archbishop will be joined by more than 1,000 students (K-12) from Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese, and hundreds of faithful at the new feast decreed by Pope Francis in February, which will be celebrated worldwide for the first time ever on the Monday after Pentecost. Mass will be livestreamed at http://archla.org/live.
“The image of Mary as the mother of the Church helps us to see that the family is essential to God’s plan for creation. It also helps us to see our own importance — every one of us — in the loving eyes of God,” said Archbishop Gomez. “As disciples, we are called to take Mary into our homes — and into our lives and into our hearts.”
To commemorate the new feast, Archbishop Gomez will offer a special gift through AngelusNews.com. He will be blessing and offering an image of our Blessed Mother for every family in the Archdiocese who would like to receive one.
The students will bring written prayer intentions for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary that will be delivered to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City in July during the Archdiocesan pilgrimage with Archbishop Gomez. Faithful attending the Mass will also have the opportunity to write prayer intentions for delivery to the Basilica before or after Mass.
Representatives from each school attending the Mass will offer flowers to Our Blessed Mother and students from Precious Blood School will partake in the coronation ceremony.
For more information, please visit http://www.la-archdiocese.org/Pages/Mary-Feast-Day.aspx, and to receive a blessed image of our Blessed Mother visit http://marian.angelusnews.com/.
