Angelus News | October 25, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 36

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Parishioners from St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood built a community prayer altar at Calvary Cemetery this year for migrant children who lost their lives crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. PILAR MARRERO 10 • ANGELUS • October 25, 2019
A feast for the departed How a Mexican cultural tradition has become a way to bring Angelenos closer to God BY PILAR MARRERO / ANGELUS PILAR MARRERO For the second year in a row, 28-year-old Jeannette Vasquez, her siblings, mother, and other family members will come together at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard to create a traditional Day of the Dead altar in honor of her father, Rafael, who died Oct. 2, 2015. On the altar, along with pictures of their loved one, they will place the traditional sugar skulls, several pieces of special sweet bread or “pan de muerto” (“bread of the dead”), bottles of the Mexican soda he loved and the exact brand of hot chiles he preferred to eat. A few weeks ago, they had a Mass in his honor to mark the anniversary of his passing. For this Southern California family of Mexican origin, the point of the Day of the Dead (more commonly known as “Día de los Muertos” in Spanish) celebration is to honor the memory of their loved one. But now that they’ve immersed themselves in the altar-making as well as joined other families doing the same at Calvary Cemetery in East LA, they feel they are also celebrating his life. “We knew of this tradition, but we had never physically created an altar for anyone,” Vasquez said. “We did it last year and loved the event so much we decided to do it again. It is true that there is sadness in this remembrance, but this allows us to also feel the happiness.” ingrained in Mexican culture, and to a lesser extent, in those of other Latin American countries. According to Ernesto Vega, who oversees Adult Faith Formation in Spanish for the archdiocese, the version of the Day of the Dead celebrated in Southern California and all over Mexico has its roots in pre-Hispanic cultural traditions blended with the traditional Catholic festivities of All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2). “For the Anahuac (pre-Hispanic) cultures, the indigenous had a concept of life after death in Accompanied by her children, a woman visits the grave at Calvary Cemetery of the great-aunt who raised her. Like the Vasquez family, thousands of others are expected to participate in the Day of the Dead celebrations in two Catholic cemeteries in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles: Oct. 26 at Santa Clara Cemetery in Oxnard, and Nov. 2 at Calvary Cemetery in East LA. It’s only the sixth year that “Día de los Muertos”-themed events are taking place in LA’s Catholic cemeteries. But they draw from traditions deeply which fulfillment depends on the virtues you have practiced during your physical life. The level or degree of light you will have in the afterlife would be according to the goodness and the integrity that you practiced,” explained Vega. “That concept is not different from the Catholic-Christian belief that a person will manifest their faith through good deeds and virtues that will be practiced in the image of Jesus Christ. These will represent the fullness of life once resurrected.” PILAR MARRERO October 25, 2019 • ANGELUS • 11
Page 1 and 2: ANGELUS RECLAIMING ‘DÍA DE LOS M
Page 3 and 4: ON THE COVER Young dancers from Bal
Page 5 and 6: NEW WORLD OF FAITH BY ARCHBISHOP JO
Page 7 and 8: NATION ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC Beto
Page 9 and 10: LA Catholic Events Items for LA Cat
Page 11: IN EXILE BY FATHER RONALD ROLHEISER
Page 15 and 16: Holy Land w/ Petra May 20 - 31, 202
Page 17 and 18: ALL SOULS DAY MASS Saturday, Novemb
Page 19 and 20: the family 100 percent when they do
Page 21 and 22: October 25, 2019 • ANGELUS • 19
Page 23 and 24: Above and below: More than 3,000 st
Page 25 and 26: Other protagonists at the Vatican
Page 27 and 28: But if God can make something good
Page 29 and 30: Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, left
Page 31 and 32: linking sound with pictures. “I t

Angelus News | October 25, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 36

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