Archbishop José H. Gomez led prayers for those “hurting” in the wake of ongoing federal immigration sweeps and clashes between protestors and law enforcement in Los Angeles and other cities at a special Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Tuesday.
The noon Mass was part of a designated “Day of Prayer for Peace and Unity” on June 11, in which parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles were asked to offer daily Mass “to pray for our nation, and especially for our immigrant and local community during this tumultuous time.”
In his homily, Archbishop Gomez acknowledged “we are facing a challenging moment in our city and many of our neighbors are frightened.”
“There is too much tension, too much uncertainty and violence,” said the archbishop, who called for prayers for “our neighbors who are hurting, good-hardworking men and women, people of faith” as well as for police and civic leaders.
Some 150 people attended the Mass, despite longer travel times due to ramp closures along freeways around downtown LA, where a nightly curfew had been established the night before by LA Mayor Karen Bass. The next morning, the increased presence of police around government buildings was noticeable.
Among those who made the trek were Mark and Martha Carbajal from Whittier. While “not the protesting type,” they felt frustrated watching local TV news reports from home of the sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and felt the need to “do something.”
On Wednesday, driving to the Cathedral felt like the answer.
“We just need a lot of prayer, a lot of intercession from Our Lady and everybody just has to stop this,” said Mark. The wave of recent arrests and deportations, he said, is “cruel, it’s unjust, it’s not what Jesus taught.”
“With everything going on in the world, in Gaza, in Ukraine…it’s 2025, and it just doesn’t make sense that we’re going through this,” added Mark.
Astrid Molina came to the Mass with her one-year-old daughter and her husband during their lunch break from Lynwood, a heavily Latino suburb southeast of downtown LA. The family noticed streets in the area have been noticeably emptier since the protests began.
“I couldn't help but think that my neighbors weren't going out because of fear of not coming home to their family members,” said Molina, who saw the Mass as an answer to a pervasive “feeling of hopelessness” since the raids began last week.
“I myself come from an immigrant family, I'm a naturalized citizen as well,” said Molina. “So I know the fear [undocumented immigrants] could probably be feeling, the anxiety, the helplessness.
“So, what better to do than to pray to God for help, to pray to the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts, to give us a new heart, especially those in legislation who are making the laws?”
Joining Archbishop Gomez at the altar were some LA priests and Bishop Kevin Vann of Orange, whose diocese has also seen both immigration raids and anti-enforcement protests in cities, especially Santa Ana.
The day before, Bishop Vann and the diocese’s two auxiliary bishops had issued a statement calling for enforcement that “does not invoke our worst instincts, that does not spread crippling fear and anxieties upon the hard-working, everyday faithful among us.”
At the Wednesday Mass, Archbishop Gomez said that God’s plan of salvation was “not just for some of us” but for “every man and woman who was ever born or ever will be born. No matter what countries we come from, or the language that we speak.”
He also invoked the example of the day’s saint, Barnabas, who helped spread Christianity alongside Saint Paul and whose name translates to “son of encouragement,” as an appropriate patron for LA’s tough times.
“Like St. Barnabas, we want to go out and console our neighbors and strengthen their hearts and encourage them to keep the faith,” said the archbishop. “Through our love and compassion, we want to let them know: Jesus is with them. Always.”
