Archbishop José H. Gomez has asked all parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to hold a special Mass for peace and unity on Wednesday as immigration-related protests continue in the LA area.
“On Wednesday, June 11, we invite all Catholics and people of goodwill to pray for our nation, and especially for our immigrant and local community during this tumultuous time,” read an announcement sent to local parishes Tuesday.
As part of the "June 11 “Day of Prayer for Peace and Unity," Archbishop Gomez was scheduled to celebrate the daily 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Wednesday.
Guidance released by the archdiocese’s Office of Worship suggested different ways LA Catholics can pray for their city “in this time of unrest and uncertainty,” including Eucharistic Adoration, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, praying the rosary as a family, reading Scripture, and fasting.
The guidance also invited priests to use special prayers in the Roman Missal specified “For the Preservation of Peace and Justice” or “For Refugees and Exiles” during daily Mass on Wednesday, in place of the memorial of St. Barnabas.
The announcement comes as demonstrations protesting the federal raids conducted by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the LA area since June 6 continued. While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, some have grown violent as more federal armed personnel arrived in the area.
At least 1,700 National Guard troops were in Los Angeles as of Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported. Additionally, 700 U.S. Marines stationed in Twentynine Palms, California, had been ordered by the federal government to deploy to Los Angeles.
Over the weekend, Archbishop Gomez prayed for “restraint and calm” following the mass raids, while calling on Congress to fix an immigration system “that leads so many to seek to cross our borders illegally.”
The Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights (CHIRLA) estimates that more than 300 people have been detained by ICE in the LA area since the raids began on June 6.
