A Mass in honor of President Ronald Reagan, who died June 5, will be celebrated June 11 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, the archdiocese announced June 8.

Cardinal Roger Mahony will preside at the 12:10 p.m. Mass, to be held on what President George W. Bush has declared as the National Day of Mourning. Cardinal Mahony's statement on President Reagan follows.

Ronald Reagan:
A man of courage
and faith

By Cardinal Roger Mahony

As Americans and Angelenos, we all mourn the death of President Ronald Reagan. On behalf of all the members of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, I extend both prayers and sympathy to his beloved and devoted wife, Nancy, as well as to the members of their family.

We thank God for Ronald Reagan's gifts of wisdom, courage, strength, and for his commitment to a vision of a world and a nation in which all people enjoy full freedom and individual opportunity.

When President Reagan concluded his first Oath of Office as President, he exclaimed: "So help me God!" And he meant it. He was a man of faith, and he truly believed that our Creator had endowed individual people, not governments, with dignity and equality.

President Reagan admired Pope John Paul II for his unflagging promotion of the dignity of each human person, and these two world leaders were surely God's instruments in helping Communism crumble beneath its own deceitful premises.

While our special prayers accompany Nancy Reagan and the family, we are all in admiration of her devoted and personal care of the President these past difficult years of his illness. She was always at his service and at his side. She has continued to inspire us all.

May Ronald Reagan now enjoy forever the light and peace of God's Kingdom.