The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest and most culturally diverse in the United States, will celebrate an archdiocesan Migration Mass and Festival of Cultures Sept. 22 to raise awareness of the plight of immigrants in America.
Sponsored by the Archdiocesan Office of Ethnic Ministry, the event --- first celebrated in the 1970s in Los Angeles, and established as an annual celebration by the U.S. bishops in 1980 to recognize the immigrant heritage of American culture --- will begin at 10 a.m. with Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Cardinal Roger Mahony, auxiliary bishops and clergy will concelebrate.
Immediately following the liturgy, the outdoor Festival of Cultures will take place until 4 p.m. at the Los Angeles County Mall, located adjacent to the Cathedral with pedestrian entrances on Hill Street between Temple and First Streets.
According to Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis, archdiocesan vicar for the Office of Ethnic Ministry, the day's theme, "Welcoming Christ in the Migrant," symbolized by the image of the Holy Family's flight to Egypt, underscores "the Christian tradition of seeing Christ in every person we meet.
"I think it is a positive way of recognizing the value of immigrants in our society," said Bishop Solis. "They are not to be feared, but welcomed and embraced, not simply because of what they can contribute to our society, but basically because of who they are as members of God's family."
Opening ceremonies for the Migration Mass will include a welcome by local Native Americans who will bless the congregation and invoke blessings on the celebration. The entrance procession, led by Mayan liturgical dancers, will include representatives of the archdiocese's various ethnic groups in native dress who will enter the sanctuary from different parts of the Cathedral symbolizing their migration from different continents.
Liturgical prayers will be recited in several languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, German, Tagalog and French. The multi-lingual liturgy will also be reflected in the songs sung by the multi-ethnic choir conducted by John Flaherty, LMU's director of liturgy and music who directed last year's January migration day choristers. Each January, the USCCB Committee of Migration observes National Migration Month.
This year's local Migration Day celebration has been moved up to September since inclement weather last year cancelled the Festival of Cultures. In another change, archdiocesan ethnic communities' Migration Day organizers decided to hold the Festival of Cultures in a public, as opposed to parish, venue.
"We are experimenting on opening it up to the public at the L.A. County Mall," said Bishop Solis. Festival committee organizers have rented 20 booths, a stage, sound system and portable toilets to accommodate guests from five archdiocesan regions and the downtown Los Angeles neighborhood. Invitations have been mailed to all archdiocesan parishes.
International restaurants, serving food from Italy, France, Croatia, Indonesia, Thailand, Polynesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, will sell a variety of drinks and meals. Entertainment will be provided by several groups, including Lithuanian and Aztec dancers, Korean drummers, a German brass band, and Samoan singers, among others.
Many of the volunteer organizers are members of the new archdiocesan ethnic communities' community council, which holds a monthly general assembly at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in Los Angeles drawing representatives from the 41 different language groups in the five pastoral regions. Last spring, community council members elected an executive board, including Valentine Ivankovich, president; Father Tovia Lui, vice-president; German Geraldez, treasurer; and Marija Newsom, secretary.
One of the community council board's first actions was to issue a mission statement affirming the group's goal to build inclusive communities. After acknowledging that the L.A. Archdiocese is the largest and most diverse culturally in the United States, the mission statement declares: "Our Ethnic Ministry indicates the continued commitment of our church to welcome the strangers among us by providing pastoral care and social outreach to the growing number of migrants from varied ethnic backgrounds.
"We welcome, respect, affirm and celebrate cultural diversity in Word and Sacrament. Through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we hope to bring about a new Pentecost so that people of various races, cultures and languages can live in unity and solidarity as one church, the Body of Christ."
"We are culturally diverse. Irrespective of our diversity, we can still be one family," said Bishop Solis. "It's so nice to celebrate a day together respectful of each other's cultural identity."
For more information on Migration Day, call the archdiocesan Office of Ethnic Ministry at (213) 637-7356. |