This yearrnmarks the 25th anniversary of Chavez’s passing and the 50th anniversary of hisrnfirst hunger strike
Californiarnfarm workers and community leaders joined the family of Cesar E. Chavez at thernCathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Sunday, April 22, for a special Mass tornhonor the legacy of the civil rights and farm labor leader who passed 25 yearsrnago on April 23. Archbishop José H. Gomez presided at the Spanish-languagernMass, now in its 18th year.
This yearrnalso marks the 50th anniversary of his first hunger strike to rededicate thernfarm workers movement to nonviolence.
Farm workersrnand members of the Chavez’s family, including his son Paul F. Chavez, presidentrnand chair of the Cesar Chavez Foundation, brought up the communion gifts duringrnthe Mass. His granddaughter Julie Chavez Rodriguez, California director forrnU.S. Senator Kamala Harris, and Arturo Rodriguez, president of the United FarmrnWorkers of America (UFW) founded by Chavez, spoke after communion.
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The annualrnMass celebrates Chavez’s commitment to the struggle for justice and dignity forrnall workers. Cesar Chavez, a lifelong Catholic and the son of a family ofrnextremely poor farm workers, founded the UFW in 1962, to advocate on behalf ofrnthe farm workers in the United States.
You can view the Mass here:
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