The bishop of El Paso, Texas, and a local prenatal health care advocate are among the speakers set to headline this year’s OneLife LA celebration Jan. 24.
OneLife is an annual event started by Archbishop José H. Gomez and organized by the Archdiocese of LA to promote a culture that honors human dignity from conception to natural death. The day’s main event will begin at 2 p.m at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Following remarks by pro-life speakers and a set of performances, visitors will participate in a “Walk for Life” through the streets of downtown LA before returning to the cathedral for the annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn at 5 p.m.
In the days leading up to OneLife LA, Catholics can also participate in a two-day National Prayer Vigil for Life instituted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to call for an end to abortion and respect for all human life. Christ the King Church in Hollywood will participate locally with a Holy Hour from 7 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 23.
Issac Cuevas, the senior director of the archdiocese’s Office of Life, Justice, and Peace, believes having the event at the cathedral, the “home of the church in Los Angeles,” is important in light of the unrest that is happening in LA and elsewhere nationwide.
“Everything is starting and stopping there, and how meaningful that is right now in the middle of all these protests,” Cuevas said. “We still get to lift up life and showcase why it’s more important now than ever to be Catholic and to be grounded in our faith.”
This year’s guest speaker, Bishop Mark Seitz, has long been a vocal advocate for the dignity of immigrants and the unborn. In 2021, he was elected by his brother bishops to lead the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ migration committee.
At the U.S. bishops’ fall plenary assembly last fall, Seitz urged Catholic leaders to do more to accompany and support immigrants at risk amid the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policy targeting undocumented immigrants.
“Statements alone are not enough,” Seitz said in November.
In October, Seitz shared personal letters from immigrants in the U.S. with Pope Leo XIV during a meeting in Rome.
OneLife LA will also include remarks from Nora Yesenia, a pro-life, prenatal health care advocate who also hosted “Buenos Días LA” on Catholic radio and Sofia Alatorre Gonzalez, who found inner strength after her grandmother died in a fire when she was 8 years old.
Other speakers include Father Matt Wheeler, pastor at Our Savior Church and the USC Caruso Catholic Center at the University of Southern California; Daniela Verástegui, a Mexican-born entrepreneur, influencer, and mother who promotes pro-life values; Miriam Solis, a Mexican singer who shares her faith through her music; and Francis Cabildo, a singer-songwriter and worship leader from Southern California.
During the event, the Knights of Columbus will also receive the $10,000 Dr. Tirso del Junco Grant, funding that has been awarded at OneLife LA since 2020 to a community partner that reflects the event’s mission of cherishing and protecting life.
The 2026 OneLife LA event will also return to the LA cathedral after being moved there in 2025 due to the wildfires that consumed the area in January.
For more information or to register for OneLife LA 2026, visit onelifela.org.
