Angelus News | April 21, 2023 | Vol. 8 No

LOCAL
■ Students, teachers
honored with
Christian Service
Awards
Sixty-nine high school students and
10 teachers were recognized at the
annual Christian Service Awards
Mass on March 28 at the Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels.
The awards recognize students and
teachers from each of the 50 Catholic
high schools in the archdiocese
who exemplify an outstanding commitment
to Christian service in the
community. The annual Mass has
been organized by the Archdiocese
of Los Angeles Department of Catholic
Schools since the mid-1970s.
According to the archdiocese, the
upcoming graduating high school
students dedicated more than
20,000 hours in diverse Christian
service throughout Los Angeles with
organizations such as Project Angel
Food, Guide Dogs of America, Habitat
for Humanity, and Heal the Bay.
■ Bishop O’Connell’s
former residence
burglarized
An empty tabernacle belonging
to the late Auxiliary Bishop David
O’Connell was stolen from his Hacienda
Heights home.
Someone broke a window and
entered the empty residence the
weekend of March 24-26, according
to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department investigators. Only the
tabernacle, which did not contain the
Blessed Sacrament at the time, was
stolen.
“There is no relation between the
murder of Bishop O’Connell and the
recent burglary that took place,” LA
Sheriff’s homicide investigator Lt.
Michael Modica told Angelus. “This
was a crime of opportunity.”
Detectives from the LA Sheriff’s
Industry Station said there was no
suspect description so far.
Ann McElaney-Johnson, president
of Mount Saint Mary’s University
in Los Angeles, was named a “chevalier,”
or knight, by the French
government for her “dedication to
fostering an appreciation of French
language and culture.”
The induction into the “Ordre des
Palmes Académiques,” considered
one of France’s highest educational
honors, took place March 21 at
the residence of the French consul
general in Los Angeles.
McElaney-Johnson leads annual
pilgrimages to France for faculty,
Left to right, wearing
light blue sweaters: St.
Gregory students Christian
Palencia, Natalie
Baserga, Jude Palencia,
Andrew Garcia, and
Joaquin Varela pose after
winning at the regional
SeaPerch competition
in March. | SUBMITTED
PHOTO
■ St. Gregory the Great students to
compete at international robotics event
A group of Catholic school students from Whittier is set to compete in an
international underwater robotics competition next month.
The middle-schoolers from St. Gregory the Great School’s “Krushin’ Kraken”
team earned their place at the 2023 International SeaPerch Challenge after
winning a regional competition in March.
The SeaPerch Challenge involves students building remotely operated vehicles
from a kit with low-cost, easily accessible parts. The competition consists
of two underwater sections — an obstacle course and the “Mission course,”
in which the vehicle maps an area, removes marine life from an underwater
station, and retrieves samples in an underwater environment.
The international competition will be held at the University of Maryland on
May 13. St. Gregory’s will be the only Catholic school present.
■ Mount Saint Mary’s president named knight by
French government
Ann McElaney-Johnson (left) at the March 21 ceremony
with French Consul General Julie Duhaut-Bedos. | MOUNT
SAINT MARY’S/WATCHARA PHOMICINDA
students, and staff, and Mount Saint Mary’s recently purchased and preserved the
Bas-en-Basset, France, birthplace of Mother St. John Fontbonne, a central figure
in the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
“The language, culture, and history of France provided the foundation for everything
I have achieved in my educational career,” McElaney-Johnson said, “and
I am so fortunate to have such a direct professional and spiritual connection to
France through Mount Saint Mary’s.”
Y
6 • ANGELUS • April 21, 2023