Angelus News | May 17, 2024 | Vol. 9 No. 10

LOCAL
Processing for prevention — Parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Church in South LA processed
through the neighborhood with a statue of the Virgin Mary to raise awareness for April’s Child Abuse
Prevention Month. Following the procession, first Communion and confirmation students at the parish
formed into a circle to lead a rosary in the church parking lot. | ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
■ Free delivery: Prayer
petitions for Guadalupe
pilgrimage
LA Catholics can submit prayer petitions
to be blessed and offered before the tilma
image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
This year’s archdiocesan pilgrimage to
the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in
Mexico City will take place July 4-9, with a
special Mass celebrated by Archbishop José
H. Gomez at the basilica July 5.
Petitions will be collected at the Chapel of
the Relic of the Tilma of St. Juan Diego inside
the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
through Father’s Day, June 16. Faithful can
also submit prayer petitions online that will
be printed out and taken to the basilica.
Prayer petitions will be blessed and placed
on the altar during the Mass on July 5.
Add a petition or join a pilgrimage group at
lacatholics.org/pilgrimage.
■ LA kicks off Popeinspired
‘ball of rags’
program
Local high school students gathered
at Norwalk Youth Center Park for
Scholas Occurrentes’ inaugural Pelota
de Trapo (“Ball of Rags”) event on
May 4-5.
The event, created by the Los Angeles
chapter of Scholas Occurrentes
— a program created by Pope Francis
to bring together young people of
different backgrounds — assembled
students to foster teamwork and outside-the-box
thinking.
On the first day, students were required
to create and play recreational
games from recycled materials, similar
to the ball of rags that Pope Francis
used as a soccer ball growing up. The
second day was focused on service, as
students led sports and recreational
workshops for children and families in
the community.
Additionally, Bridget Nunez, a sophomore
at Sacred Heart High School
in Los Angeles, was chosen to go to
Rome at the end of May to be part of
a Scholas educational summit with
Pope Francis.
■ Serra’s ‘Space Team’ recognized in Sacramento
Members of Junipero Serra High School in Gardena’s National Society of Black
Engineers Space Team were honored April 22 by the California State Assembly
at the State Capitol.
The students were recognized for their ground-breaking engineering work,
which most recently involved NASA’s International Space Station Program. The
students engineered experiments that would be sent into orbit, analyzed, and
studied for potential future uses.
In 2023, the team sent into space an experiment involving getting a seed to germinate
and grow, while in 2024 the project examined the different properties of
3D printing
in microgravity.
Serra students
are also
participating
in SpaceX’s
XPrize science
competition,
where
its experiment
involves
carbon
capture and
storage. Serra
High said
they are only
the third high
school in the
world invited
to participate.
Serra’s Space Team honorees pose with State Sen. Steven Bradford inside the Senate Chamber
in Sacramento. | STATEHOUSE STAFF
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6 • ANGELUS • May 17, 2024