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 Santa
paid an early visit Dec. 4 to one of his North Pole workshops
--- the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Conference Center
-- which Catholic Charities of Los Angeles had transformed
for the annual Cardinal's Christmas Party for Children.
 When
Santa arrived, he found his elves busy making balloons into
animal shapes, painting faces on the 300 children, and helping
them create frames for their soon-to-be-taken portraits with
Santa. Children also watched a video on the Nativity and the
true spirit of Christmas, were entertained by marionettes
and "Rick the Magician," and went home with a bag of Christmas
goodies. From the looks on their faces, this was one of the
nicest Christmases they have ever experienced.
 A
tradition since 1949, the Cardinal's Christmas Party for Children
raises funds to help provide toys and food for nearly 20,000
needy children and their families each year. For the past
26 years Santa (a.k.a. Sergio Arredondo) has helped Catholic
Charities with the party.
 "When
I walk in here, I see all these children and I thank God for
all my blessings!" said Arredondo, a St. Philip the Apostle
(Pasadena) parishioner. "These children give me inspiration
and I say, 'I can give them a little pleasure for a few minutes.'
I thank the cardinal for having us here; having this event
at the Cathedral is very meaningful."
 The
adult volunteers who helped make the Cardinal's Christmas
Party for Children such a success were also beneficiaries.
"This is so very heartwarming," said Sandi Arnold, Catholic
Charities director of Resource Development. "Sometimes the
children say they want to take their presents home and give
them to a sister or brother." Many children held up their
Polaroids of Santa so others could admire them, saying they
were giving them to their parents as presents.
 "Every
year," observed Msgr. Gregory Cox, Catholic Charities executive
director, "the adults come up to me and say, 'This is more
beneficial for me than it is for the children.' Many feel
that it is a reminder, a religious experience about the meaning
of the season."
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