Angelus News | June 14, 2024 | Vol. 9 No. 12

ANGELUS
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June 14, 2024 Vol. 9 No. 12

June 14, 2024
Vol. 9 • No. 12
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ON THE COVER
CNS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ, LONG ISLAND CATHOLIC
The percentage of Americans describing themselves as “unhappy” is at
an all-time high, but are they willing to find out why? On Page 10, famed
scholar and speaker Father Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, draws from the findings
of his new book to explain what’s behind the modern “unhappiness
syndrome” and lays out the scientific case for why, in the words of St.
Augustine, our hearts will indeed be “restless” only until they rest in one
person.
THIS PAGE
CNS/LOLA GOMEZ
People walk in procession through
the streets of Rome to the Basilica
of St. Mary Major after Pope Francis
celebrated Mass for the feast of the
Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus
Christi) in the Basilica of St. John
Lateran on June 2.
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CONTENTS
Pope Watch............................................... 2
Archbishop Gomez................................. 3
World, Nation, and Local News...... 4-6
In Other Words........................................ 7
Father Rolheiser....................................... 8
Scott Hahn.............................................. 36
Events Calendar..................................... 37
14
18
22
26
28
30
32
34
Pilgrims with the Order of Malta on what they found in Lourdes
LA welcomes bumper crop of 11 new priests at cathedral ordinations
Why the Santo Niño de Atocha keeps bringing thousands to Santa Paula
John Allen: Is Pope Francis’ pontificate entering its ‘Third Age’?
Why Carlo Acutis is set to be named the first millennial saint
Greg Erlandson: We all want to be heard, but do we actually listen?
A new novel inspired by Vatican II’s famous mole is stranger than fiction
Heather King: The labyrinth facing LA’s thousands of unclaimed dead
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 1

POPE WATCH
Christ explained to kids
Always pray, and pray especially
for an end to all wars, Pope
Francis told children during
Mass concluding the first World Children’s
Day.
“We are here to pray, to pray together
and to pray to God,” the Father, who
created the world, to his Son, Jesus,
who saved humanity, and to the Holy
Spirit, “who accompanies us in life,”
he said in his homily May 26, the
solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.
About 50,000 children and adults
gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the
Mass wrapping up the two-day event,
which began in Rome’s Olympic
Stadium May 25. Francis established
the world day as a “movement of boys
and girls who want to build a world
of peace, where we are all brothers
and sisters, a world that has a future
because we want to take care of the
environment around us,” he said at
the stadium.
Girls and boys were active participants
during the Mass, ministering
as altar servers, singing in the choirs,
doing some of the readings including
the prayers of the faithful, and bringing
the offertory gifts.
The pope also took the time to
briefly and simply explain different
moments of the Mass when it was his
time to speak.
The pope did not read his prepared
homily, choosing instead to remind
the children of the meaning of the
Holy Trinity as three Persons in one
God and why it is important to pray
to them.
“God loves us so much,” he said, and
the faithful always ask him to “accompany
us in life and help us grow,”
especially by praying to our Father.
“We pray to Jesus so that he may
help us, so he may be close to us,” the
pope said. The faithful receive Christ
by taking Communion, and Jesus
forgives all sins, even the worst ones.
“Do not forget this. Jesus always
forgives everything, and we must have
the humility to ask for forgiveness,”
as well as recognize one’s mistakes
and difficulties, and one’s intention
to change course and seek help from
God, he said.
The Holy Spirit “is inside of us,”
after receiving him with baptism and
the sacraments, the pope said. The
Holy Spirit “tells us in our hearts
the good things we should do,” and
“he scolds us when we do something
bad.” He gives the faithful strength
and consolation during difficulties.
“The Holy Spirit accompanies us
in life,” he said, asking the children
often to repeat what the Holy Spirit
does.
“We are happy because we believe.
Faith makes us happy, and we believe
in God who is Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit,” he said.
Blessing the children, Francis asked
that they pray for one another so that
they all may continue to forge ahead
in life, to pray for their parents, grandparents,
and for children who are ill,
some of whom were at the Mass.
“Always pray and, above all, pray for
peace so that there will be no more
wars,” he said.
After Mass and the Angelus, the
pope shook hands and greeted dozens
of kids who went up to his chair. He
also announced that the next world
day would be in September 2026.
Papal Prayer Intention for June: We pray that migrants
fleeing from war or hunger, forced to undertake journeys full
of danger and violence, find welcome and new opportunities
in the countries that receive them.
2 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

NEW WORLD OF FAITH
ARCHBISHOP JOSÉ H. GOMEZ
Love with the heart of Jesus
On June 1, Archbishop José H. Gomez
ordained 11 men to the priesthood
at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels. The following is adapted from
his homily.
Brothers, the words of Jesus that
we just heard in the Gospel were
spoken at the Last Supper. They
were addressed to the Twelve, to his
apostles, to the men he chose to be his
first priests.
Now he has chosen you. And he
addresses these words to you. Tenderly
he tells you, “As the Father loves me, so
I also love you. Remain in my love.”
Jesus calls you his friends today,
because he has told you everything that
the Father told him.
He is entrusting to you his words of
eternal life.
He is making you co-workers in his
plan of love, what the apostles called
“the plan of the mystery hidden from
ages and generations.”
As his priests, you will be Christ’s
servants, stewards of this great mystery
of love, which the Father is working out
in salvation history.
Love is the reason God created the
universe. Love is the reason God created
you and me, and every one of us
here today. And love, my dear brothers,
is the reason for your priesthood.
One of the saints said: “The priesthood
is the love of the heart of Jesus.”
In the heart of God there is a deep
longing. The Father longs for every
man and woman to share in his love,
and to become sons and daughters
in his family, in the kingdom of love
that he is building here on earth in his
Church.
That’s why the Father sent his only
Son into the world to die for our sake
and be raised. And that’s why the Son
is now sending you into the world — to
continue his mission of love.
Remember what Jesus tells you today:
“It was not you who chose me, but I
who chose you and appointed you to go
and bear fruit that will remain.”
Your priesthood will always be fruitful
if you stay rooted in his love. “For the
love of Christ impels us,” St. Paul tells
you today.
Love your people as Jesus loves them,
with all your heart and strength. Always
be ready to lay down your life for the
flock he has entrusted to you.
If you do everything for the love of
Christ, then nothing you do will be in
vain!
This is true for all of us in the Church.
We are here to spread the love of God
wherever we find ourselves. In our
work, in our homes, in society.
The priest is ordained in persona
Christi, to be the living image of Jesus,
and he is called to be our leader in the
ways of love.
Today you will give your life to Jesus,
and in exchange, Jesus will make you
instruments of his love.
Through your lips, he will proclaim
his word of truth and pronounce his
words of forgiveness. Into your hands,
he will come down from heaven to give
his body for the life of the world; he will
pour out his blood for our salvation.
As his priests, you are going to be the
leaders of the Eucharistic revival in our
times.
I think we all recognize that there is
something happening in the world today,
something exciting. There’s a new
movement of the Spirit.
People are searching for meaning, and
they’re finding God! People are looking
for love, and they’re coming back to
Jesus!
Everywhere around us, we can see the
signs: God’s love is breaking into the
world, and into the lives of the men and
women of our times!
The Eucharist is the heart of God’s
plan, it’s the heart of the mystery of love
that moves creation and moves history.
And today, he is placing this mystery
in your hands.
He is anointing you, as he anointed
the prophet in today’s first reading: “To
announce a year of favor from the Lord,
a day of vindication by our God.”
Through your priesthood, Jesus will
come to seek and save the lost, to gather
into one all his children from the ends
of the earth.
Through you, he will stand and knock
at the door of every heart, inviting all
to share in his divinity, as he humbled
himself to share in our humanity.
What an exciting time to be a priest!
And what an exciting time for all of us
Love your people as Jesus loves them, with all your
heart and strength. Always be ready to lay down
your life for the flock he has entrusted to you.
to be alive and be Catholic! To play our
part in this great mystery of God’s love
that is breaking into the world!
Let us entrust our new priests to the
heart of the Virgin Mary, Mother of
Fair Love, and Mother of Priests.
Let us ask her intercession for all our
priests! And may she win for us many
more vocations to the priesthood and
consecrated life!
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 3

WORLD
■ Pope meets with Ghana’s
modern-day Mother Teresa
An Irish priest who has ministered to lepers in Africa for
decades fulfilled his longtime dream: a meeting with Pope
Francis.
Divine Word Missionary Father Andrew Campbell
has worked with the poor of Ghana for the last 53 years.
Inspired by St. Teresa of Calcutta, he is known for his work
with street children, especially those with disabilities such
as leprosy.
In remarks to the media afterward, Campbell said the
pope told him to “keep on going, don’t give up” after he
told him about the lepers and the approximately 100,000
children on the streets of Accra, Ghana’s capital.
“I told him I am a begging priest, always asking people
to come and help in one way or another,” said Campbell,
who was accompanied by Ghana’s president during the
audience.
■ American missionary
couple killed in Haiti
Father Andrew Campbell, SVD,
with Pope Francis on May 27. |
CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
The remains of two American missionaries killed by gangs
in Haiti have been returned to their families in the U.S.
As they were leaving a youth group service in Port-au-
Prince, Davy and Natalie Lloyd were apparently ambushed
by three trucks full of gang members who were in the midst
of a clash with another gang. A Haitian mission leader
working with the couple was also killed in the attack.
Davy, 23, and Natalie, 21, were working for Mission in
Haiti, a Christian aid group primarily helping children by
offering food, education, and spiritual guidance.
To retrieve the remains, Haitian officials had to break protocol
and remove their bodies from an active crime scene.
“The bodies could have been either desecrated or kidnapped,”
one person involved in the operation told CNN.
“So we pulled them out of a crime scene.”
■ After mistake, Spain
rediscovers Caravaggio
A lost work of Italian painter Caravaggio is now on display
at the Museo del Prado in Madrid after the 17th-century
masterpiece had been mischaracterized.
Ecce Homo (“Behold the Man”) depicts Pontius Pilate
presenting the scourged Jesus to the crowds during his
passion. It was previously owned by private collectors
who incorrectly
believed the
painting to be
the work of a
student of José de
Ribera, leading
to its sale in 2021
for just $1,600 at
auction.
The Spanish
Ministry of Culture
intervened
after suspicions
were raised that
the work was
actually by Caravaggio.
Claudio
Falcucci, a nuclear
engineer and
expert in conservation
of cultural
The newly discovered Ecce Homo on display in Madrid.
| © CLAUDIO GIUSTI/MUSEO DEL PRADO
artifacts, led an extensive investigation into the piece.
“Four of the most authoritative experts on Caravaggio and
Baroque painting … share the same passionate certainty,”
read a statement from the Museo del Prado, “that Ecce
Homo is a masterpiece by the Italian artist.”
The painting will be on display until February 2025.
Slain Christian missionaries
Davy and Natalie Lloyd. |
FACEBOOK/BEN BAKER
4 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

NATION
■ Report shows drop in
clergy abuse allegations
by minors
A new national audit of clergy abuse
cases found 17 new abuse allegations
from minors in the United States
last year, of which only three were
substantiated.
The report, produced by the National
Review Board for the Protection
of Children and Young People
in collaboration with accounting
firm StoneBridge Business Partners,
covered allegations made between
July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.
It counted 1,308 total allegations
that came to light over that period,
a sharp downturn from the 2,704
reported the prior year, and 4,434 in
2019.
Two-hundred twenty-nine of the
allegations from the latest period
were deemed credible. Of those,
70% were concerning alleged events
that happened in the 1960s, ’70s, and
’80s.
In a May 27 letter announcing the
results, U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops President Archbishop
Timothy Broglio thanked “victim
survivors for reporting the abuse they
suffered” and “for holding all of us
accountable.”
“No other institution can readily
provide and publish the body of
knowledge and statistics as the Catholic
Church does,” added Broglio,
who oversees the Archdiocese of U.S.
Military Services. “The abuse crisis
in the Catholic Church is a part of a
larger societal problem of abuse.”
Glorifying God in Gotham — Pilgrims journeying through the Archdiocese of New York on the National Eucharistic
Pilgrimage’s Seton (East) Route participate in Eucharistic adoration at Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell in
New York City May 25. | OSV NEWS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ
■ Kentucky hermit comes out as trans
An interview with a hermit living in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, has stoked
concerns over how the Church responds to cases involving gender identity.
“On Pentecost Sunday, Brother Christian Matson, a professed hermit in the Diocese
of Lexington, has made it public that he is a transgender person,” read a May 21
statement from the diocese.
The news appeared in a May 19 Religion News Service article that quoted both
Matson and Bishop John Stowe of Lexington.
Matson was born female and identifies as a man, leading some to criticize the statement’s
use of male pronouns.
“To call someone ‘brother’ who is biologically female or ‘sister’ who is biologically
male deepens that confusion,” John Grabowski, moral theology professor at Catholic
University of America, told Catholic News Agency.
In a statement, the diocese said that Stowe is “grateful to Brother Christian for his
witness of discipleship, integrity, and contemplative prayer for the Church.”
Former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly
in 2015. | CNS/BARBARA
JOHNSTON, UNIVERSITY OF
NOTRE DAME
■ US ambassador to Vatican to step down
Catholic lawyer and former U.S. Senator from Indiana Joe Donnelly
announced he will step down as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.
Donnelly, 68, was appointed by President Joe Biden and has served as
ambassador since April 2022. He reportedly plans to return to his home
near South Bend, Indiana.
As ambassador, Donnelly has worked with the Holy See on American
foreign policy priorities, including peace efforts for the wars in Ukraine
and Gaza and for increased religious freedom in China.
“It’s been an amazing privilege to serve the country and the president,”
Donnelly said in a text message, according to Politico.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 5

LOCAL
■ La Placita parish ranks
nationally in infant baptisms
Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, or La Placita, near
Olvera Street in Los Angeles alone recorded 14,000 infant
baptisms in 2023 — more than almost any entire diocese
in the U.S.
According to statistics in the 2024 edition of the Official
Catholic Directory, La Placita would rank No. 3 nationally
in infant baptisms if it were its own diocese — trailing
only the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (33,139 excluding La
Placita) and the Archdiocese of Chicago (19,770). It would
be just ahead of the Diocese of Fresno (13,277) and the
Archdiocese of New York (13,069).
In the archdiocese, the parishes with the most baptisms
last year after La Placita were Our Lady of Guadalupe
Church in El Monte (3,300) and St. Emydius Church in
Lynwood (994), according to parish records.
■ Damien High band tapped to
play Thanksgiving parade
The Damien High School marching band was selected
from a nationwide group of applicants to participate in
the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The band was
notified during a special event at the school on May 20.
Damien, an all-boys Catholic school in La Verne, was one
of nine high schools chosen and the only one from California,
said Damien Band Director Jaime Magallón.
At the school announcement, a representative from the
Macy’s Parade Band Committee presented a $10,000
check to help kick off the marching band’s fundraising.
The band will spend the next 18 months rehearsing,
preparing, and fundraising for the trip to New York, where
about 60 students are expected to travel.
Donations can be sent to the school designating that the
funds should be used for the band’s Macy’s Thanksgiving
Day Parade trip. The school’s address is: Damien High,
2280 Damien Ave., La Verne, CA 91750.
The Damien High Spartan Regiment performed at
Disneyland earlier in 2024, and now will prepare to
travel to New York for the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving
Day Parade. | DAMIEN HIGH SCHOOL
Glow in the dark — About 1,500 pieces of art from students in preschool
through eighth grade were shown as part of a “The Greatest Show Down Under”
art exhibit at St. Mel School in Woodland Hills. The show featured a “black light
room” display of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. | SHANNON MARKS
■ Diocese of Fresno to file for
bankruptcy this summer
The Diocese of Fresno will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
after plaintiffs lodged 154 sex abuse complaints against the
diocese.
Those filings were made under a California law that
temporarily relaxed the statute of limitations on sex abuse
claims, allowing alleged victims a three-year window from
2019 to 2022 to file the complaints.
Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno said the extended
window “gives us the opportunity to redouble our efforts
in creating a safe environment for everyone in and out of
the Church and address real issues in atoning for the sin of
clergy abuse against children.”
“I imagine many of you are dismayed by the news of our
serious financial situation, but I ask you to let go of your
distress and turn your hearts towards the victims of abuse,”
he said.
Fresno would be the sixth California diocese to file for
bankruptcy over sex abuse claims in recent years, following
Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Oakland, Stockton, and San
Francisco.
Y
6 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

V
IN OTHER WORDS...
Letters to the Editor
Butker spoke the unspeakable
Bravo to Harrison Butker for his electrifying commencement address
speaking Catholic truth — faithfully and unapologetically.
Our Catholic faith is tolerated only when it is contained and “safe” for the secular
culture. But when anyone has the guts to escape their secular-controlled containment,
then they are met with a hostility intended to demean and neutralize. It shows how
“dangerous” the authentic Christian truth is to the wayward “status quo” of our society.
If people despise Butker’s message, perhaps even within the Church, then it is a sure
sign the message has resonated. As Jesus said, “If the world hates you, remember it
hated me first.”
Pope Francis told the youth to go to the streets, spread the faith, and “go make a
mess.” Butker made a true mess of the status quo and is a role model of bravery for us.
— Fritz Baumgartner, M.D., Los Angeles
A nuanced kick down the middle
Thank you for running Amy Welborn’s perspective on Harrison Butker’s speech
in the May 31 issue. It captured many of my own thoughts about a speech that
meant well but also was flawed. It’s good to read her nuanced approach in Angelus,
especially when there’s so much pressure for everyone to line up on our tribal sides
and shout at each other.
— John J. Miller is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College
in Michigan
Correction
New LA priest Eduardo Pruneda did his internship at St. Anthony of Padua in San
Gabriel. The parish was incorrectly listed on Page 15 of the May 31 issue of Angelus.
Y
Continue the conversation! To submit a letter to the editor, visit AngelusNews.com/Letters-To-The-Editor
and use our online form or send an email to editorial@angelusnews.com. Please limit to 300 words. Letters
may be edited for style, brevity, and clarity.
Behind the scenes
“Jesus really is thirsty for this
whole country.”
~ Shayla Elm, a perpetual pilgrim on the Juan
Diego Route, in a May 31 OSV News article on the
Eucharistic pilgrimage.
“Before and after every
drink I’d silently chant,
‘Bless this swallow and all
the ones that follow.’ ”
~ Joshua Gray, in a May 16 America magazine
commentary on how St. Ignatius’ examen helped
him understand his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“How do you buy drugs to
the glory of God?”
~ Dale Sutherland, a cop turned pastor, in a May
28 Religion News Service article on his life of going
from undercover narcotics officer to pastor.
“If it is deacons with holy
orders, no.”
~ Pope Francis, when asked by Norah O’Donnell of
CBS News whether he was open to allowing women
to be ordained deacons.
Get to know the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ 11 new priests
with special interviews, highlights, and fun, interactive
features. Watch all the videos at lacatholics.org/ordination. |
ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES
“Which of your kids
would you trade for more
vacations?”
~ Malcolm Collins, a member of the controversial
“pronatalist” movement, in a May 25 The Guardian
article on the movement to have more kids to save
the world.
To view this video
and others, visit
AngelusNews.com/photos-videos
Do you have photos or a story from your parish that you’d
like to share? Please send to editorial @angelusnews.com.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 7

IN EXILE
FATHER RONALD ROLHEISER, OMI
Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father
Ronald Rolheiser is a spiritual
writer; ronrolheiser.com
Losing a loved one to suicide
I
have been writing on suicide for
nearly 40 years. I do so because
suicide is generally misunderstood,
badly misunderstood. Moreover,
perhaps more than any other
form of death, suicide leaves those
who are left behind with a heavy
burden of sadness, hurt, and guilt.
Four things need always to be said
upfront about suicide:
First, suicide is a disease, perhaps
the most misunderstood of all diseases.
In most cases, the death is not
freely chosen. When people die from
heart attacks, strokes, cancer, AIDS,
or accidents, they die against their
will. The same is true for suicide,
except that in the case of suicide, the
breakdown is emotional rather than
physical — an emotional stroke, an
emotional cancer, a breakdown of
the emotional immune system, an
emotional fatality.
And this is not an analogy. Suicide
is a disease. Most people who die by
suicide die against their will. They
only want to end a pain which can
no longer be endured, akin to someone
jumping to his death out of a
burning building because his clothes
are on fire.
Second, we should not worry unduly
about the eternal salvation of a
suicide victim, believing (as we used
to) that suicide is the ultimate act of
despair and something God will not
forgive. God is infinitely understanding,
loving, and gentle. We need not
worry about the fate of anyone, no
matter the cause of death, who exits
in this world broken, oversensitive,
gentle, overwrought, and emotionally
crushed. God has a special love for
the broken and the crushed.
However, knowing all of this doesn’t
necessarily take away our pain (and
anger) at losing someone to suicide
because faith and understanding
aren’t always meant to take away
our pain but rather to give us hope,
vision, and support as we walk within
our pain.
Third, we should not torture ourselves
with guilt and second-guessing
when we lose a loved one to suicide.
“Where did I let this person down? If
only I had been there. What if?” It is
natural to be haunted by the thought,
“If only I’d been there at the right
time.”
Rarely would this have made a difference.
Indeed, most of the time, we
weren’t there for the exact reason that
the person who fell victim to this disease
did not want us to be there. He
or she picked the moment, the spot,
and the means so that we wouldn’t
be there. Suicide is a disease that
seems to pick its victim precisely in
such a way so as to exclude others
and their attentiveness. This is not an
excuse for insensitivity, but a healthy
check against false guilt and painful
second-guessing.
We’re human beings, not God.
People die of illness and accidents all
the time and sometimes all the love
and attentiveness in the world cannot
prevent a loved one from dying. As
a mother who lost a child to suicide
writes: “The will to save a life does
not constitute the power to prevent a
death.”
And so, we must forgive ourselves
for our human inadequacy vis-à-vis
having lived with someone in suicidal
depression. But that is not easy, as
this man who lost his wife to suicide
attests: “My wife had been unhappy
and depressed for so long that I pray
that she is now finally at peace. At
least once a week for the past four or
five years, she would remark that she
wanted to die. … It’s been hard for
me to disentangle the role I played in
her unhappiness. … At a minimum,
I will take to my grave the realization
that I could have done more to keep
her afloat. Over the past several years,
instead of giving a pep talk to try to
encourage her to see things in a more
positive light, my default option had
become avoidance and withdrawal. I
had assumed that trying to dispel the
fog of her depression only tended to
make matters worse, at least for me,
since I would often become the easier
target for her anger/unhappiness.”
That is a common guilt feeling
shared by many who have lost someone
to suicide, particularly a spouse.
What needs to be understood is that
the depressed person’s anger is most
often focused precisely on someone
whom they trust and are very close
to because that is the only safe place
where they can unload their anger
(without the other reciprocating).
Consequently, the person who is the
target of that anger will often escape
by avoidance and withdrawal — with
the resulting guilt feelings afterward.
Fourth, when we lose loved ones to
suicide, one of our tasks is to work at
redeeming their memory by putting
their lives back into a perspective so
that the manner of their death doesn’t
forever taint their memory. Don’t take
down their photographs, don’t speak
in hushed tones about their life and
death, don’t put a permanent asterisk
beside their names. Their lives are
not to be judged through the unfortunate
prism of their deaths. Redeem
their memory.
8 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Women embrace at the sign of
peace during Mass Jan. 15, 2017,
at the New York Encounter in
New York City. | CNS/GREGORY
A. SHEMITZ
Overcoming the
‘Unhappiness Syndrome’
Christianity has long taught true happiness can only
come from God. Science seems to agree.
BY FATHER ROBERT J. SPITZER, SJ
According to a recent longitudinal Gallup poll, unhappiness
has increased significantly and continuously on
a global level. The 2022 study reported that “people
feel more anger, sadness, pain, worry, and stress than ever before”
and a doubling in the rates of major depressive disorder
in young people over a 10-year period (from 8.1% in 2009 to
15.8% in 2019). What can explain this disturbing shift?
I would submit that the answer to this question lies in philosophical
analysis going back to Aristotle, theological analysis
going back to St. Augustine, and psychological analysis
initiated by Abraham Maslow. On the question of happiness,
I propose building on two key insights from Aristotle:
1. That happiness is the one thing you can choose for itself;
everything else is chosen for the sake of happiness. Therefore,
the way we define happiness will affect just about every decision
we make in life. Nothing could be more important.
2. That there are levels of happiness in which the higher
levels are pervasive, enduring, and deep, while the lower
levels are ego-centered, short-lived, and superficial. The
higher levels of happiness bring about greater and more
enduring happiness than the lower ones. And if we live solely
for the lower ones, we will likely find ourselves feeling empty,
alienated, unfulfilled, depressed, anxious, and sometimes
despairing.
So, what are these four levels of happiness? The lowest one
(Level 1) is the fulfillment of material-pleasure desires, such
as a good wine, a nice home, material abundance, and sensual
fulfillment. Though it is immediately gratifying, superficially
appealing, and pleasure-producing, it does not go far
beyond the self, last long, or make a quality contribution.
The second level — ego-comparative happiness — seeks
self-gratification and comparative advantage. It engenders the
questions: Who’s achieving more, and who, less? Who’s more
intelligent or less intelligent? Who’s got more power, and
who, less? Who’s more popular, and who, less? Who’s more
beautiful?
The more one enjoys comparative advantage in these areas,
the greater one’s ego-satisfaction (Level 2 happiness). Though
10 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

ego-satisfaction can be quite
intense, when it becomes
an end in itself — the only
thing that will satisfy us — it
leads to a host of negative
emotional and relational
states, bringing with it high
levels of depression and
anxiety.
Though Level 1 and Level
2 can produce intense satisfaction,
an exaggerated emphasis
on them can produce
profound unhappiness. This
exaggerated emphasis lies at
the heart of the significant
increase in global unhappiness
described above —
particularly that of young
people.
Since the publication
in 1991 of Lasch’s “The
Culture of Narcissism” (W.
W. Norton & Company,
$25.20), many studies show
conclusively that narcissistic
individuals cause misery for
others and themselves.
The choice to live for
ego-comparative advantage,
admiration, dominion over
others, and feelings of superiority, lead to marked increases in
jealousy, inferiority, fear of loss of esteem, fear of failure, selfpity,
ego-rage, ego-blame, contempt, loneliness, emptiness,
and the depression and anxiety coming from these negative
emotional states.
Nevertheless, today’s culture (especially through mass
media) focuses almost exclusively on this view of happiness
and purpose in life. Today, 70% of our culture — particularly
A woman prays during Eucharistic adoration at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College in
Yonkers, New York, May 23. | OSV NEWS/GREGORY A. SHEMITZ
the young — embrace this
view (both implicitly and
explicitly). No wonder the
rates of depression, anxiety,
homicides, and suicides
among the young are more
than doubling.
The good news is this
profound unhappiness can
be overcome, and I believe
the key lies in emphasis on
Level 3 (contributive) and
Level 4 (transcendent/religious)
happiness.
Let’s start with Level 3. We
not only have a desire to
enhance our own ego-world
(Level 2), but also to make
a positive difference to the
world around us. Most people
have a desire and need to
make a positive difference to
family, friends, community,
workplace, church, culture,
society, and even the kingdom
of God.
When we follow through
on these desires, we not
only draw closer to those to
whom we contribute, but
also receive a boost in our
self-worth and purpose in life. If we have faith, we also draw
closer to God. This may explain why studies show that contributive,
service-oriented people are happier, more fulfilled,
and secure in their identity and lives (NIH 2013).
Is Level 3 enough? Since the time of Plato and Aristotle,
much of the philosophical, theological, and psychological
community has answered no. A recent study published by
the American Psychiatric Association and many other studies,
show that nonreligiously affiliated people,
when compared to religiously affiliated
people, experience much higher
rates of depression, anxiety, substance
abuse, familial tensions, anti-social
aggressivity, suicidal contemplation,
and suicides.
Why would this be? St. Augustine
gives us a clue when he says, “For
Thou hast made us for Thy self, and
our hearts are restless until they rest in
Thee” (Confessions Bk. 1, Ch. 1).
But has God really made us? The
great philosopher and theologian
of religious experience Rudolf Otto
argued that every human being has an
A religious sister shares a laugh with a girl at
the Sorrowful Mother Retirement Home in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Nov. 22, 2011. | CNS/
JEANNETTE MERTEN, THE COMPASS
irreducible interior experience of a sacred-spiritual-transcendent
reality that is
part of our pre-reflective consciousness,
or most innate awareness of ourselves.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 11

He calls it “the numinous experience” — a sense of a
mysterious, fascinating, overwhelming yet inviting, spiritually
energizing “wholly Other.” This seemingly universal
experience would help explain why 84% of the world today
practices some form of religion (Pew Global Religious Landscape
2012).
If Otto’s studies of the numinous experience are correct,
then we are not the origin of our faith and sense of the
sacred. God is.
If so, then it should not surprise us that ignoring the call of
the sacred would leave us radically incomplete and unfulfilled
in dignity, identity, purpose, and destiny, which in
turn, would lead to increased depression, anxiety, substance
abuse, familial tensions, suicidal contemplation, and suicides.
Without God, we cannot be ourselves — without faith, we
are a mere shadow of what we were intended to be. Faith
significantly enhances our happiness.
Many of us can’t leap to faith simply because it will make
us happier. We want some evidence that a sacred-transcendent
reality (i.e., God) really exists and is interested in us and
our choices. There is considerable scientific and rational
evidence for God (a Creator/higher transcendent power) and
life after death from things like peer-reviewed medical studies
of near-death experiences, terminal lucidity, and intelligence
in hydrocephalic patients.
There’s also evidence from contemporary science (particularly
cosmology) for a beginning (an implied creation) of
physical reality.
Interestingly, most scientists are in agreement with the existence
of God and life after death. According to the last Pew
survey, 51% of scientists overall and 66% of young scientists
believe in God or a higher transcendent power. Additionally,
according to the last survey of the Journal of Religion
and Health, 76% of physicians believe in God or a higher
transcendent power — and according to HCD Research and
the Finkelstein Institute, 73% of physicians believe in the
reality of miracles (naturalistically and scientifically inexplicable
phenomena).
Will simple belief in God bring happiness, fulfillment, and
high purpose in life? Though it does get us on our way, it is
not enough.
The above studies indicate that religious affiliation and practice
are what really bring our happiness to its highest, most
fulfilling level. Believers who participate in religious community
and prayer and try to grow closer to God spiritually and
morally, not only find themselves happy and fulfilled, but
also caught up in the loving power of Providence drawing
them upward toward their true eternal purpose and dignity.
As Jesus himself asserted: “I tell you all these things that
my joy may be yours, and your joy may be complete” (John
15:11).
Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, is the president of the Magis Center
of Reason and Faith. This essay is adapted from the author’s
new book “The Four Levels of Happiness: Your Path to Personal
Flourishing” Sophia Institute Press, $21.95.
12 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 13

LETTERS FROM
LOURDES
Those who went to serve — and heal — during a pilgrimage to
the French shrine share special moments from the trip.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ORDER OF MALTA
WESTERN (USA) ASSOCIATION, INC.
The annual Order of Malta pilgrimage
in May to the Lourdes
shrine in France is always an
emotional encounter, with the organization
sponsoring dozens of malades
(sick or disabled people) to travel to the
place where the Virgin Mary appeared
to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858.
The trip typically consists of washing
of the feet, collecting and bathing in
water from the Grotto of Massabielle,
and a candlelight procession. This
year, Archbishop José H. Gomez
joined the pilgrimage and celebrated a
special closing Mass for pilgrims in the
Lourdes grotto.
The malades make the trek to experience
some kind of healing — not
necessarily a miracle cure to what ails
them, but for peace and joy in the face
of suffering.
These are just a few of the narratives
from some in the Western U.S. who
went, served, witnessed, and experienced
the pilgrimage, from April 30 to
May 8.
Michelle Carter, malade
The washing of the feet ceremony was
an emotional, exhilarating, blessed moment.
The sense of humility and care
of others was tangible in the church.
I serve as a doctor of psychology and
I usually contain my emotions. As a
knight washed my feet and my husband
had his arm around my shoulders, tears
streamed down my face. The only way
of describing the feeling is to say, “I felt
like I was in heaven.”
One of the knights said the trip to
Lourdes is like Disneyland for Catholics.
I responded, “I think I will name
this pilgrimage ‘a Spiritual Boot Camp.’ ”
He laughed. The combination of humor,
laughter, tears, reflection, prayers,
14 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Archbishop José H. Gomez presides over a May 4
Mass with other bishops and priests at the Grotto
of Massabielle in Lourdes.
camaraderie — there are no words to
describe. Both my husband and I have
felt this is a journey of a lifetime and
will forever be grateful to the members
of the Order of Malta.
Ben Lochtenberg, Order of Malta
provisional knight
I have witnessed feet washing in our
own parish when our pastor washes the
feet of 12 members of our community
every Holy Thursday. I understood the
symbolism of the act, although I was
never an active participant.
Today was a special experience. At
the designated time, I moved into
position and helped Michelle take
her seat while I adjusted the jug and
bowl for optimal efficiency. I removed
her left shoe and sock and firmly held
her perfect and beautiful foot in my
hands. I was immediately overcome by
the Holy Spirit and realized that it was
no longer a mechanical task ahead of
me. I was now an instrument of God’s
healing power.
I poured some cold water, perhaps
only one tablespoon, and immediately
enveloped Michelle’s foot firmly with
my two hands. I paused and said a
prayer of healing. I did not want to let
it go. The feeling was of pure joy and
peace. The power to give, to serve, and
to heal came all of a sudden over and
through me. I have never felt such a
purpose to serve and the ecstasy of that
moment. I did not want it to end.
Father Patrick Mulcahy, Order of
Malta provisional chaplain
One of the beautiful ironies of
ministry is that so often the givers
become the receivers. That became the
reality for me as a first-time chaplain to
accompany this journey to Lourdes. I
began by thinking about all that I could
do for our beautiful malades. That was
my plan.
I was immediately disarmed by an
early encounter with one, a woman
who is facing great challenges in her
life. She began by reminding me of a
previous encounter at a retreat and that
she has prayed for me every day since
that retreat experience.
“Wait a minute, I am here for you,” I
thought. And at that moment, I realized
we were here for each other. That is
the essence of the Christian life and it
set the tone for the rest of my beautiful
time here. I was as broken and in need
as those whom we called malades, and
we ministered to each other in the
person of Christ.
Dennis Diekmann, Order of Malta
knight
Lourdes has called to me ever since I
was a child.
In the winter of 1956 my parents,
Albert and Otillia, boarded a plane in
Long Beach, California, on a pilgrimage
to meet with our mother in
Lourdes.
In 1948 my mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer at the age of 37. She
had a mastectomy followed by radiation
and chemo as it was available at that
time. I was born in 1951 and my mother
received the news that her cancer
had returned in 1954. This time it was
in her spine, and it would later metastasize
to her lungs. Neither the doctors
nor her priest thought she would be
able to make the trip, but my mother’s
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 15

will was such that my parents boarded
that flight in January 1956.
Once they were checked in to the
Bethanie Hotel in Lourdes they met
an American couple, Mr. and Mrs.
Emmet Culligan from San Bernardino.
After talking with my parents and realizing
what condition my mother was in,
Mr. Culligan quickly organized a small
private pilgrimage group with a couple
from Indiana and another couple from
Australia.
The six of them stayed with my parents
the whole time, going to the baths,
the stations of the cross, the Masses,
and the benedictions for the sick, and
accompanying them to and from their
hotel.
My mother, who could only walk a
block or two back home, walked the
half-mile from their hotel to the grotto
each day. That itself was a miracle.
My mother passed on to her heavenly
reward in January 1957 and my father
was left to raise three boys by himself.
My mother had hoped that I would
become a priest but that was not to be.
Instead, through a long and circuitous
route, I had found myself back
in Lourdes. I say I was back because I
have always felt that a part of me was
there with my mother in 1956.
During his homily, Archbishop Gomez
said, “Mary has come to bring us hope and
healing, just as she did here at Lourdes.”
And so now the circle was complete.
My mother and father were helped on
their pilgrimage by strangers that became
friends. Now I have the privilege
to be the stranger who is able to help
other pilgrims on their journey. I know
the pain, the uncertainty, the doubts
that so many of them experience.
Whether you are a malade now or in
1956, those feelings are the same.
Gala M. Riveros, malade, 10 years
old
One event that was moving was the
baths. My Mom, Dad, and I went
into a small private room where a
lady guided us on what to do. She
gave us water to put on our faces and
our hands, then she gave me a cup to
drink out of and told us to pray to the
statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. Here
at Lourdes, it
feels like Mary
is with us, and I
love that feeling.
Words just
cannot describe
how beautiful it
is at Lourdes. If
you are blessed
to come here like
I was, you are in
for a treat!
Sister Anne
Marie, Carmelite
sister and
volunteer
What made
the deepest
impression in
my heart was
Archbishop Gomez
hands an Order of Malta
commemorative medal to
Gala Riveros, a 10-yearold
malade.
16 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

the unexpected grace of seeing our
petitions being brought into the plaza
and reverently placed at the feet of
Our Lady.
We had placed these written prayers
in the grotto that morning, prayers
that reached out in supplication to
Our Lord at the hands of Our Lady.
I know that a few of them were from
people whom I know and love, others
from people I may never get to meet
on this side of the veil. Tears fell from
my face in an overflow of joy and gratitude
to an awesome God who loved
us so much that he gave us his own
mother to be ours.
I pray that in some way all will be
able to feel this consolation and come
to know that Our Lady is here to be
with us through it all.
Denise Morris, companion to a
malade
This journey was the fulfillment of
a promise I had made to the Blessed
Mother nearly 39 years ago. After my
husband and I married, I struggled for
years to conceive a child. I desperately
wanted to become a mother. I prayed
fervently to our Blessed Mother.
A dear friend and co-worker named
Kathleen was planning a trip to
Lourdes. Kathleen had been battling
cancer for years. After a long remission,
her cancer had returned. There
was nothing more the doctors could
do for her, so Kathleen decided to
travel to Lourdes, not necessarily for
a miracle cure, but for peace and
strength. She knew all about my
fertility struggles and promised to ask
our Blessed Mother for help. Kathleen
returned from Lourdes filled with
peace. Sadly, she passed away a few
months later.
Shortly after Kathleen’s passing, I
learned that I was pregnant. I truly
believe that the Blessed Mother had
heard Kathleen’s prayers. I made a
promise to Our Lady that one day I
would travel to Lourdes to thank her
in person and to pray for dear Kathleen.
The beautiful Mass at the grotto
was especially meaningful to me, as
it was celebrated on May 4 — my
daughter Danielle’s 38th birthday, the
daughter I was blessed with thanks to
the intercession of our Blessed Mother,
and a little nudge from Kathleen!
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 17

‘CO-WORKERS’ OF LOVE
The 11 new LA priests share a
light moment together after their
Ordination Mass at the Cathedral of
Our Lady of the Angels June 1.
Emotions were high
as 11 men were
ordained as new LA
priests as the biggest
class in 16 years.
Archbishop Gomez imposes
hands on Jaime Arriaga during
the Rite of Ordination.
STORY BY MIKE CISNEROS /
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
VICTOR ALEMÁN
When Father Jaime Arriaga
left Mexico at age 17 and returned
to California where he
had lived briefly, he didn’t realize that
was the last time he’d see his parents for
decades.
18 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

The 11 men lay prostrate
around the altar as a
gesture of surrendering
themselves to God’s will.
But 23 years later, his parents arrived
from Mexico in the early morning
of June 1 to see their son in a new
country, a new life, and with a new
title: priest.
Arriaga was one of 11 men — along
with Miguel Cabrera, Joseph Cho,
Thomas Green, Anthony Huynh, Eric
Mejia, Eduardo Pruneda, Alejandro
Reynaga, Marko Rudela, Lucio Trinidad,
and Stephen Watson — ordained
as new priests for the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles in a special event at the
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
More than 3,500 invited guests and
260 priests attended the ceremony
featuring the biggest priest ordination
class in the archdiocese since 2008.
After seeing his parents and experiencing
the Rite of Ordination, Arriaga was
full of emotions.
“There was a time when I cried and
I just couldn’t stop,” he said. “There
was a beautiful moment when we were
receiving blessings from the priests. I
don’t know who it was but he told me
‘Jaime, God loves you.’ And that just
gave me so much peace.”
Emotions were on display both during
and after the ordination. Tears, laughter,
hugs, excitement, and more.
However, in Archbishop José H.
Gomez’s homily, the most important
one was love.
Gomez addressed the 11 ordinandi by
pointing out Jesus’ words in the Gospel
of John — “love one another as I have
loved you” — to his 12 apostles that he
chose to be the first priests.
“He is making you co-workers in his
plan of love,” Archbishop Gomez said.
“And that’s why the Son is now sending
you into the world — to continue his
mission of love.
“Remember
what Jesus tells
you today: ‘It
was not you who
The 11 soon-to-bepriests
stand before Archbishop
José H. Gomez
to recite the Promise of
the Elect.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 19

The 11 men kneel while all
the priests in attendance
lined up to bless them.
chose me, but I who chose you and
appointed you to go and bear fruit that
will remain.’ My brothers, your priesthood
will always be fruitful if you stay
rooted in his love.”
Later in his homily, Archbishop
Gomez noted the challenges happening
in the world today, but also said
people are looking for love and Jesus,
offering priests unique opportunities
to evangelize, including the ongoing
National Eucharistic Revival.
“Through your priesthood, Jesus
will come to seek and save the lost, to
gather into one all his children from
the ends of the earth,” he said. “What
an exciting time to be a priest!”
To begin the Rite of Ordination,
each candidate’s name was read aloud,
and they stood and announced their
presence. After Archbishop Gomez
recited his proclamation and found
them worthy, the cathedral broke out
into applause and they received their
first standing ovation of the day.
After reciting the Promise of the
Elect, the 11 prostrated themselves at
the altar while the Litany of the Saints
was sung.
The rite continued with the Laying
on of Hands, Investiture with Stole and
Chasuble, and Anointing of Hands, all
traditional rituals used in priest ordinations
for centuries.
For Father Watson, having each priest
line up to lay their hands on him and
give a blessing was especially profound.
“You don’t see who’s doing it,” he said.
“So to have hundreds of priests coming
and just having that fraternity and the
power of the Holy Spirit, it was overwhelming.
I was crying like a baby.”
Following the Kiss of Peace procession
from the archbishop, bishops, and
priests, the final symbol welcoming
The bishops in attendance
receive a blessing and kiss the
newly anointed hands of the
ordained priests.
them into the priesthood, the newly
ordained priests — like graduates who
shift the tassel on their mortarboards to
signify graduation — were led to finally
sit with the college of priests who were
there to welcome and celebrate them.
There, they received more applause
and another standing ovation.
As crowds packed into the cathedral’s
outdoor plaza to stand in line for first
20 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

lessings from the newly ordained, the
relief of the moment finally came for
many of the priests.
“I remember when I was little playing
that I was a priest,” Father Pruneda
said. “I can’t believe that now I’ll be
able to celebrate Mass, becoming what
I always wanted to be.
“I’m excited, I’m happy, my heart is
full. It’s been so long waiting for this
moment.”
“The Lord has been good to me,”
Father Trinidad said. “How can I repay
the goodness?”
For family members of the new
priests, the day was a culmination of
years of hope, dreams, and prayer.
For Father Reynaga’s sister, Lorena,
she felt proud that her brother was
fulfilling a wish that their maternal
grandmother — also his baptismal godmother
— had hoped for years before
she died 12 years ago: to have a priest
in the family.
“She’s seeing it now,” she said. “She
got the best seat in the house.”
Guillermina Cabrera described her
son, Father Miguel Cabrera, as a good
student who wanted to join the FBI,
but she noticed a change in her son
once he began attending Catholic
Mass and joining activities while at San
Diego State’s Newman Center.
“Our Lord only lends us our kids;
they’re not ours, they’re his,” she said.
“So I surrendered Miguel to him.
“He was meant to be because his
name is Miguel Angel. He has a strong
name and he has the protection of a lot
of people praying for him. I’m proud
of him.”
As Father Arriaga’s parents stood
nearby, tears welling up in their eyes as
they saw the line of people waiting for
blessings, they could only give thanks
to God.
“Since he was a child he told me that
when he grew up he was going to be
a priest but I didn’t think that it would
happen,” his mother, Lidia, said in
Spanish. “I feel very proud and very
grateful to God because it is a great
blessing.”
“I thanked God for giving us the gift
of life so that we could give it to him,”
said his father, Simon.
Mike Cisneros is the associate editor of
Angelus.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 21

THE HOLY CHILD’S PROMISE
For two weeks every year, a pilgrim image
of the Santo Niño de Atocha from Mexico
draws thousands to Santa Paula.
Archbishop José H. Gomez and Father José de
Jesús López Acosta of Zacatecas, Mexico, carry
the pilgrim Santo Niño image in procession
before Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Santa
Paula May 25. | VICTOR ALEMÁN
BY PABLO KAY
For as long as he’s been alive, Pedro
Salceda has needed miracles. Lots
of them.
While still in his mother’s womb, doctors
discovered he had gastroschisis, a
condition where a hole in his abdomen
caused his intestines to develop outside
his body. As soon as he was born, surgeons
worked to put his intestines back
into his abdomen — only to find them
riddled with small holes in some places
and blocked in others.
They managed to save Salceda’s life,
but doctors told his parents he wouldn’t
live past his fourth birthday.
But early on a recent Saturday morning,
25 years and 10 surgeries later,
Salceda put on his LA Football Club
jersey and got in a car with his mother
and father, Gerardo and Claudia, for
the three-hour drive from San Diego to
Santa Paula, California.
They came to pay tribute to Santo
Niño de Atocha (“Holy Child of Atocha”),
a centuries-old statue of the child
Jesus whose devotion in Mexico is almost
comparable to that of Our Lady of
Guadalupe. Santo Niño, they believe, is
the reason Pedro is alive.
“We come here out of gratitude,” said
Gerardo. “He suffered from this for 20
years, and there was no solution.”
Stories like the Salcedas’ were not hard
to find among the more than 2,000
people who descended on Santa Paula
on May 25, when Archbishop José H.
Gomez kicked off the annual two-week
pilgrimage of this replica statue of the
child Jesus brought from the Santo
Niño shrine in Zacatecas, Mexico.
Devotion to the Holy Child image
began in medieval Spain and became
popular among Spanish speakers in the
New World, especially in Mexico and
the Philippines.
For nearly 20 years now, the statue’s
visit has drawn faithful from around the
U.S. to this town in the scenic Santa
Clara River Valley, transforming the
little parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe
into a scene resembling small-town
22 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Pedro Salceda, center, came to Santa Paula from San Diego
May 25 with his parents Gerardo and Claudia. Behind
them is a statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha in the patio
of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. | PABLO KAY
Mexico, complete with a makeshift
food court serving tamales and sugary
buñuelos, pop-up shops selling religious
items from Mexico, and Mariachi
bands singing during Mass.
Before the Saturday vigil liturgy, a
pickup truck brought the Holy Child,
sitting in a golden throne and canopy,
in procession from a local park to
the parish. In front and behind him
followed a full marching band, folk
dance troops from neighboring parishes
in Ventura County, and children with
feathered headdresses bearing the
image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Whether performing during the procession,
trying out the different foods, or
standing in line to get their Santo Niño
statues blessed, everyone seemed to
have something to do.
Farm workers make up the biggest
contingent of worshippers at Our
Lady of Guadalupe on Sundays: some
Santa Paula longtime residents, others
itinerant workers who spend a few
months each year in the nearby fields
before moving on to jobs in other parts
of California.
One constant over the years is that
many of these migrants to Santa
Paula have hailed from Zacatecas, the
North-Central Mexican state where the
Santo Niño devotion started.
As the parish grew, so did a grassroots
campaign to bring the Holy Child to
faithful who, often due to their complicated
legal status in the U.S., couldn’t
return to the town of Plateros in Zacatecas,
where the Santo Niño’s shrine
is located. The pilgrim image made its
first visit in 2007.
“The event was born from the parish
itself,” explained Claudio Frias, a
Zacatecas native and Guadalupe
parishioner who’s lived in Santa Paula
since 1970. “First they started coming
from the counties nearby, then up from
Fresno, Merced, Sacramento. Then
Utah, Colorado, Texas.”
Apart from the Zacatecas connection,
the statue also speaks to migrant workers
for historical reasons.
Devotion to the Santo Niño dates to
the 13th century, when parts of Spain
were under Islamic rule. In the town of
Atocha (located in present-day Madrid),
Christian prisoners were refused food by
their Muslim captors, but were allowed
to be brought food by their children —
a rule that meant starvation for childless
prisoners.
Turning to a statue of the Virgin Mary
holding her infant
Son at the town’s
church, the
women of Atocha
pleaded to the
child on those
prisoners’ behalf.
Soon after, the
A mother and child
venerate the pilgrim
image of the Santo
Niño de Atocha outside
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Church after Mass. |
VICTOR ALEMÁN
story goes, witnesses reported seeing a
small child with a basket quietly slip
past the prison guards to bring the hungry
inmates food and water. Meanwhile,
visitors to the Marian statue noticed the
child’s sandals were showing signs of
wear — generating the belief that it was
the Niño himself who was making the
nighttime visits.
When the Spaniards brought the
devotion to Mexico centuries later, the
child had a reputation as an intercessor
who liked to stay on the move.
“Those little sandals tell us of a
walking child, an itinerant child,” said
Father José de Jesús López Acosta,
rector of the sanctuary in Plateros that’s
home to the original Mexican Santo
Niño statue. “For that reason, many
of our migrant brothers who’ve had to
walk through the desert identify with
him a lot.”
López brought the pilgrim statue to
Santa Paula, and will accompany it until
June 9, when the bishop of Zacatecas
will come to celebrate a closing Mass
expected to draw at least 5,000 people.
Back home, López has seen a surge
in devotion to the Holy Child amid an
increase in cartel-related kidnappings
across Mexico.
“Mothers bring many images of their
sons to the sanctuary to pray that if the
Santo Niño allows it, their children
may return home,” said the priest. “Or
at least that they may be able to recover
their remains for burial.”
In Santa Paula, visitors asked for
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 23

health, protection, and strength to endure
difficulties — but brought prayers
of thanksgiving, too.
Jessica Sanchez came from Bakersfield
with her husband and 11-month-old
daughter, Eloise, who was born with
what doctors worried was cancer in
her lymph nodes. Sanchez’s mother,
a Zacatecas native who attributes her
multiple recoveries from cancer to the
Santo Niño’s intercession, encouraged
them to ask for his help. Three months
later, X-rays showed “there was nothing
there.”
“It’s my first time coming, actually,”
said Sanchez. “I would hear about [the
Santo Niño’s visit], but after the whole
thing with my baby, I said, ‘We should
make the drive.’ ”
Years ago, Carmela Arellano of Palmdale
asked the Santo Niño to intercede
for her own infant, who could only
swallow water and rice due to a problem
with his esophagus. Arellano made
a manda, or promise, to the Santo Niño:
If he healed her son, she would visit his
shrine in Plateros and fill his altar with
flowers. Soon, the boy’s ailment went
away.
Until they can return to Mexico to
fulfill the manda, Carmela and her
husband, Antonio, come each year to
Santa Paula.
“Sometimes we come when he arrives,
other times when he leaves. But we
have to be here by law,” said Antonio
with a laugh.
After the Saturday evening Mass, celebrated
outdoors by Archbishop Gomez,
Salceda embraced his mother, Claudia,
near a white Santo Niño statue in the
parish patio.
“I know that if I went through this,
it was to make me a stronger person,”
said Salceda, whose intestinal problems
have stopped since a successful operation
at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio
three years ago. “Although I suffered a
lot, everything had a reason.”
Incidentally, the elder Salceda’s belief
in the Holy Child came from his mother’s
prayers for an intestinal problem
(unrelated to his son’s) he had as a
young boy. Asking for miracles, Gerardo
said, takes patience.
“Everything has its time, and God
knows when to act.”
Pablo Kay is the editor-in-chief of
Angelus.
24 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Francis’ ‘Third Age’
In the ‘adult phase’ of his pontificate, the pope is taking a more
cautious approach to hot-button issues than some expected.
BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Pope Francis listens to a question
during a meeting with young priests
ministering in the Diocese of Rome
May 29. The pope is seated between
Rome Auxiliary Bishops Baldo Reina,
left, and Michele Di Tolve, right. |
CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
ROME — In the abstract,
suppose you learned a Roman
Catholic pontiff had done the
following things in just the past couple
of weeks:
• Told a major American news outlet
that he has no intention of ordaining
women as clergy, certainly not as
priests and not even as deacons.
• Used an off-color bit of slang in a
session with Italian bishops to imply
that there’s too much of a gay culture
in Catholic seminaries, hinting at
caution about calls to relax standards
for the admission of gay candidates to
the priesthood.
• Forced a bishop from his home
country to resign who had a reputation
as a progressive, supporting both
Communion for divorced and civilly
remarried Catholics and also outreach
to the LGBT community while
playing down public opposition to
abortion. (There’s no suggestion that
those positions are why the bishop was
removed, but his record is nonetheless
clear.)
• Dispatched his top doctrinal adviser
to Egypt to tell the Coptic Orthodox
Church that the Vatican endorses
“everything” in a March 7 Coptic
analysis of Fiducia Supplicans, a Vatican
document on blessing persons in
same-sex unions. That Coptic reaction
included an assertion that practicing
gays are worse than adulterers and
should be cut off from Communion.
If that’s all you knew about this particular
pontiff, you’d likely conclude
that we’re dealing with a conservative
defender of tradition. The fact that it’s
actually Pope Francis, whose typical
profile is instead as a progressive,
means there’s some explaining in
order.
Oswald Spengler famously theorized
that civilizations are analogous
to living organisms, in that they’re
26 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

orn, experience rapid growth and
change, then stabilize in adulthood,
and finally go into decline. One could
probably apply the same analysis to
papacies, which tend to begin with a
creative period in which everything
seems new and fresh, then enter a
long span of stability and repetition
before things eventually start shutting
down.
To be clear, no one’s suggesting that
the end of the Francis papacy is necessarily
near. On the contrary, the pope
we’ve seen in public recently, whether
it was during a demanding day trip
to Verona on May 18 or presiding
over the Vatican’s May 25-26 first
World Day of Children (which, in
typical Vatican fashion, was actually
a two-day event), seemed energized,
resilient, and basically good to go.
The fact that Francis appears to have
bounced back from recent health
struggles, however, does not, in itself,
tell us much about which phase of his
papacy we’re actually in.
For the last few years, it has seemed
clear that we were in the repetitive
period of adulthood, in which the
main lines of the papacy were well-established
and becoming a matter of
muscle memory.
When Francis would turn to a familiar
theme in one of his public addresses
— the issue of war and peace, for
instance, or the question of inclusion
of people who identify as LGBT in
the Church — Vatican-watchers
jokingly competed with one another
to see who could predict the most
closely what the pope would say, and,
in many cases, those projections were
almost word-for-word accurate, because
frankly we’d heard it all before,
and way more than once.
Now, however, it’s possible that we’re
entering the papacy’s “Third Age,”
which is a polite term these days for
getting old.
It’s not simply that Francis is now
87, although that does make him the
oldest reigning pontiff in 121 years,
but rather that the experimental
character of his papacy, the sense that
anything might be possible, appears
to be giving way to a more cautious
and restrained phase, in which one
principal concern may be not to leave
behind too many unanswered questions
or overheated expectations for a
successor to have to confront.
Francis’ recent comments both
on women deacons and on gays in
seminaries would appear to cut in that
direction. Both reflect questions that
have been much in the air vis-à-vis
his ongoing Synod of Bishops on
Synodality, and the fact that Francis
has decided to intervene personally
rather than allowing the discussions in
the synod to take their course, could
be read as his effort to make sure the
process doesn’t run off the rails.
In the background, of course, is also
the über-controversial synodal path of
the German church, with the fear that
it may yet spin off in directions that
Rome not only cannot approve, but
can’t even control.
None of this necessarily implies that
in his “Third Age” as pope, Francis
will metamorphosize into a conservative.
All indications are that he fully
intends to continue his quasi-pacifist
stand on armed conflict: For instance,
he’ll continue seeking détente with
China, he’ll continue pressing for a
more pastorally inclusive Church, and
he’s not suddenly going to embrace
the Latin Mass.
Such positions are unlikely to warm
the hearts of traditionalists and hawks
in the Catholic fold.
On the other hand, this new phase
does suggest that on certain neuralgic
issues, where Francis believes
his more pastoral tone may have
aroused expectations of change he’s
unprepared or unwilling to meet,
he’s becoming more inclined to give
answers rather than simply to leave
things hanging.
In part, that’s the natural lifespan of
any papacy; in part, too, it’s likely out
of a sense of trying to smooth things
out, as much as possible, for whomever
may come next.
How Francis navigates the tension
between continuing to sail ahead,
without setting so far out into the deep
that he can’t get back to shore in time,
may well frame the drama of this
new stage … and, as with everything
involving this maverick pontiff, it will
undoubtedly be fascinating to watch.
John L. Allen Jr. is the editor of Crux.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 27

A MILLENNIAL
MIRACLE WORKER
According to his mother, the ‘simple spirituality’ of
future saint Carlo Acutis has something to teach us all.
BY CAROL GLATZ AND JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES
Pope Francis formally recognized a
miracle attributed to the intercession
of Blessed Carlo Acutis,
a 15-year-old Italian teenager whose
birth in 1991 will make him the first
“millennial” to become a saint.
The Vatican announced May
23 that the pope had signed the
decrees and that he would convene
a consistory to set a date for
the canonization of Acutis and
other future saints: Blesseds Giuseppe
Allamano; Marie-Léonie
Paradis of Québec, Canada;
Elena Guerra; and eight Franciscan
friars and three Maronite
laymen who were martyred in
Damascus, Syria, in 1860.
Acutis was born and baptized
in London to Italian parents
in 1991, but the family moved
back to Milan, Italy, while he
was still an infant. After he
started high school, he began
to curate, create, or design
websites, including an online
database of Eucharistic miracles
around the world.
He volunteered at a churchrun
soup kitchen, helped
children struggling with their
homework, played saxophone,
soccer, and videogames, and
loved making videos with his
dogs and cats.
“The Eucharist is the highway
to heaven,” he famously wrote.
“When people sit in the sun,
they become tan, but when they
sit before Eucharistic Jesus, they
become saints.”
When he was only 15, he was
diagnosed with an aggressive
form of leukemia and died Oct.
12, 2006. He had said, “I’m happy to
die because I’ve lived my life without
wasting even a minute of it doing things
that wouldn’t have pleased God.”
Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano,
vividly remembers her son’s devotion
to Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and his
care for the poor, including using his
own money to purchase sleeping bags
for the homeless. But she also remembers
him as an average teenager who
enjoyed life.
This stained-glass window of Blessed Carlo
Acutis was installed Dec. 13, 2023, in St.
Anne’s Chapel, a 24-hour adoration chapel
at St. Louis Church in Foreston, Minnesota.
| OSV NEWS/DIANNE TOWALSKI, CENTRAL
MINNESOTA CATHOLIC
“He loved [soccer], he loved
basketball, he liked animals,
he liked to play. A lot of friends
loved him very much because
he was always joking, making
films,” she recalled.
“But at the center of his life
was Jesus; he had a daily meeting
[with Jesus] through the
holy Mass, Eucharistic adoration,
and the holy rosary. This
was characteristic [of Carlo].
And when you open the door of
your heart to God, your ordinary
life becomes extraordinary.”
“This is Carlo’s secret,” she
added. “And this is possible
for everybody because Carlo
had a simple spirituality. He
didn’t have the stigmata, or
apparitions, or [experienced]
levitation. He had a simple
childhood. Everything Carlo
did was in Jesus, through Jesus,
and for Jesus.”
The two miracles attributed
to his intercession involved
alleged miraculous recoveries
for a young boy in Brazil in
2013 and a young woman in
28 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Florence in 2022.
The miracle Pope Francis recognized
on May 23 that paves the way for the
blessed’s canonization involved a
young woman who was born in Costa
Rica in 2001 and moved to Florence in
2018 to study.
The first miracle attributed to Carlo’s
intercession was approved by Pope
Francis in February 2020. It involved a
young Brazilian boy who was completely
healed from a rare congenital
disease of the pancreas. In October of
that year, the teen was beatified during
a Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis in
Assisi.
The second miracle involved the
miraculous healing of Valeria Valverde,
a young Costa Rican woman living in
Florence who suffered a severe head
injury.
The same day her mother visited
Carlo’s tomb, Valverde “regained the
ability to breathe on her own, and the
following day, doctors recorded the
recovery of upper limb mobility and
partial speech,” the dicastery said.
But for Acutis’ mother, countless
other miracles have been attributed to
her son since his death.
“Consider that when he died, people
started to pray to him spontaneously
and the first miracle occurred the
day of his funeral,” Salzano told OSV
News. “A woman diagnosed with
breast cancer and was about to start
chemotherapy prayed to Carlo to heal
her. And she was healed completely
without any chemotherapy instantly.
It was incredible; two days [after the
funeral], she did all the examinations
and there was nothing. [The cancer]
had disappeared.”
Salzano recalled one of her son’s now
most well-known quotes, “All are born
originals, but many die as photocopies”
and said that everyone is unique and
shares “a special call to holiness.”
With all the trials Christians, especially
young people, face today, Salzano
said her son’s life serves as a reminder
that every person has “beautiful things”
inside them and to “not be scared” but
“be confident.”
Carol Glatz is Catholic News Service’s
Rome correspondent. Junno Arocho Esteves
writes for OSV News from Malmö,
Sweden.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 29

INTERSECTIONS
GREG ERLANDSON
Our hunger to be heard
We live in a world absolutely
choking with methods for
communication: social
media, print media, television and
streaming services, advertising in every
conceivable space, and the ubiquitous
cellphone virtually glued to nearly
every human hand. Whether all this
“communication” is positive is another
question.
In a typical Jon Stewart rant on a
recent “Daily Show” about cancel
culture and fears of being silenced by
one’s ideological opponents, he said,
“We are not censored or silenced. We
are surrounded by and inundated with
more speech than has ever existed in
SHUTTERSTOCK
the history of communication. And it is
all weaponized by professional outrage
hunters of all stripes.”
What we don’t have, with apologies
to the captain in “Cool Hand Luke,”
is a failure to communicate. What we
do have is a failure to listen. And this
failure to listen is what fuels not only
our political polarization, but also our
alienation from one another, from our
physical world, from ourselves.
In his 2022 message for the World
Day of Communications, Pope Francis
called on us to “listen with the ear of
the heart.”
“We are losing the ability to listen to
those in front of us, both in the normal
course of everyday relationships and
when debating the most important
issues of civil life,” the pope warned.
“Listening is therefore the first indispensable
ingredient of dialogue and
good communication,” the pope told
communicators, but it is a message that
applies to all of us. In the current political
season, but in fact for years now,
opponents on our national ideological
divides both bemoan that they are not
being heard while at the same time not
listening to one another, certainly not
listening with the “ear of the heart.”
Father Robert Aaron Wessman in
his book “The Church’s Mission in
a Polarized World” (New City Press,
$19.47) urges Christians to take on “the
discipleship of crossing over” to “the
other” as a means of healing polarization.
“When one chooses to encounter
the other, the likelihood of seeing the
person who espouses the idea, and not
just the idea that one disagrees with,
becomes more likely.”
Such crossing over demands one listen
with the ear of the heart. Otherwise,
it’s just two people yelling at each other.
This is hard work, and risky, Wessman
notes, yet indispensable.
Learning to listen extends far beyond
our political divides, however. Christian
McEwen has written a poetic
and profound book titled “In Praise
of Listening” (Bauhan Publishing,
$22). McEwen weaves together a
vast amount of literary and spiritual
sources, science, and personal stories to
challenge us to listen to our world, one
another, and ourselves with more depth
and precision.
Listening, she argues, is a way of being
present. It is what we long for, yet what
we so often lack, distracted by all the
media around us, all that noise that
pretends to be communication. “All too
30 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Greg Erlandson is the former president and
editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service.
soon, not listening to other people becomes
not listening to the larger world,
and ultimately not even to ourselves,”
she warns.
In a beautiful chapter titled “The Beloved
Voice,” McEwen says, “Hearing is
the first sense to develop in the human
fetus, as it is the last to depart the dying
body.” It is the mother’s voice that is
first heard by the unborn child, and
this voice becomes a lodestone for the
infant. “The vocal nourishment that the
mother provides … is just as important
to the child’s development as her milk,”
she quotes one expert as saying.
For all of us, McEwen argues, being
heard is what we hunger for. It is so
obvious, yet today we seem constantly
to need to learn this anew. It is striking
that when many survivors of abuse are
asked what they want of the Church,
so often it is to be heard. To hear is to
recognize, to acknowledge.
McEwen’s book is an aural and soulful
exploration of our world, contemplating
the importance of listening to the
world around us — plants and animals,
even trees and moss! — as well as to
our fellows and ourselves. While McEwen’s
style would be best described
as “spiritual but not religious,” one
senses she is tapping into the wisdom
of monks and sages, but also the wise
women and men today who know the
art of listening.
In a chapter titled “The little sounds
of every day,” she quotes a cook, Alice
Cozzolino, who talks about listening
and focus as a part of her craft. We
moderns suffer from “the addiction
to the instantaneous,” but Cozzolino
says, “that’s the antithesis of listening.
Listening requires us to take a breath. It
requires us to pause.”
McEwen ends her book with a simple
quote by Brenda Ueland: “Listening
is love.” It is what every spouse knows,
what every child knows, what Pope
Francis knows. It is what our world
needs to learn once again.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 31

The novelization
of Xavier Rynne
A novel written by a confidant
of the Second Vatican Council’s
most well-known leaker? Don’t
get too excited.
Much of what we “know” today
about the inner workings of
the Second Vatican Council
is thanks to a mischievous priest.
Father Francis Xavier Murphy,
C.Ss.R, was a “peritus,” or theological
adviser, to an American bishop at the
council. He was also a talented journalist
and wrote about the council for
The New Yorker under the pseudonym
Xavier Rynne (his middle name plus
his mother’s maiden name).
Rynne’s “Letters from the Vatican”
gave “a gossipy but engrossing account
of what was going on” at the council, in
the words of one Church historian. His
inside scoops were unique and controversial,
stirring the anger of Vatican
officials who had imposed a vow of
secrecy about council proceedings on
participants. (Similar restrictions were
also in place at the most recent synod
gathering in Rome, but with apparently
more success.)
Murphy did not come clean about
being Rynne until late in life, and that
was because he did not want his heteronym
to be claimed by the “damned Jesuits.”
I think there was more to it than
that, and I understand his nostalgia for
an exciting time in his life and that of
the whole Church.
His nostalgia prompted him to
confide in a layman, Richard Zmuda,
who helped him write an introduction
to an edition of his New Yorker pieces
published in 1999. This year, he published
“The Mole of Vatican Council
II” (ACTA Publications, $29.95), a
work Zmuda says “should be considered
historical fiction” that draws from
Murphy’s extensive personal correspondence,
travels to Rome, perusal of
various secret files kept on the priest,
and his own close personal relationship
with his novel’s protagonist.
Why Zmuda decided on writing a
novel about Murphy subtitled “The
BY MSGR. RICHARD ANTALL
Redemptorist Father
Francis Xavier Murphy in
1996. | CNS /CATHOLIC
UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
True Story of ‘Xavier Rynne’ ” is puzzling
to me. Much of the book reads
like a history, albeit simplified and not
immune from the label “tendentious.”
He sees the Second Vatican Council
as a kind of ecclesiastical version of
the movie “High Noon,” with his hero
fighting alone against the evil cardinals
of the Roman Curia.
The chief villain is the arch-conservative
Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani.
Then the head of the Holy Office (now
known as the Dicastery of the Doctrine
of the Faith), he is depicted with so
much antipathy that this reader began
to sympathize with the supposed ogre.
An outspoken critic of some of the
ideas that surfaced during the council,
Ottaviani’s episcopal motto was Semper
Idem (“Always the Same”). Zmuda
32 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

eports this as a kind of “Aha!” detail
without mentioning that the phrase is
scriptural, referring to “Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday, and today and forever”
(Hebrews 13:8).
In a speech at the council’s first
session, St. Pope John XXIII said that
“the great problem addressed to the
world, for almost two thousand years,
remains unchanged. Christ, radiating at
the center of history and life; and men,
either with Him and the Church … or
… without Him or against Him.” That
seems like pretty binary and old-school
thinking to me.
Zmuda is no theologian, which is
no crime, but that should have made
him hold back on some sweeping
statements about history. He seems
to believe that the Council of Trent
“resulted in the cataclysmic split of
the Protestants away from the Roman
Catholic Church, including the
eventual formation of the Lutheran,
Reformed, Presbyterian, Anglican, and
other Christian denominations.” You
cannot cause something ex post facto.
Several times he implies that John
XXIII was against the ecclesiastical use
of Latin. He forgets that, after the call
for the council had already been made,
the pope wrote an apostolic constitution,
Veterum Sapientia (“The Wisdom
of the Ancients”), which stated, “the
Latin language, by its nature, is perfectly
adapted to all forms of culture en
all peoples: it does not inspire envy, is
impartial with all, is no one’s particular
privilege and is well accepted by all. We
cannot forget the Latin language has a
noble and characteristic structure, and
a concise, diverse, and harmonious style
that is majestic and dignified, especially
suited for clarity and solemnity.” According
to a former seminary professor,
theological instruction was mandated
in Latin by Veterum Sapientia.
When Zmuda lets the liberal
(good)-conservative (bad) trope rest, he
ventures into some strange territory.
The fictional Father Murphy has his
own bank accounts, likes to eat and
drink at fancy Roman restaurants, and
keeps his fat checks from The New
Yorker for himself (in defiance of his
vow of poverty).
He is enamored of a wealthy Italian
aristocrat (with whom he is pretty up
close and personal) and contemplates
violating his vow of chastity with a
waitress that he flirts with in front of a
bishop. To complete the trifecta, he lies
to his superiors and hierarchical figures
(which would be against the vow of
obedience, according to some people I
know in the Midwest).
The two women, Cristina and Luciana,
are “composite characters,” he says,
“invented by me but are considered essential
to the authenticity of the overall
storyline.” That is a curious statement
to make, but I confess that, for me, the
book’s only element of suspense comes
from the priest’s relationships with the
two femmes vitales.
I held my breath reading how the
priest and the waitress dine on the
rooftop of a ritzy hotel, before the cleric
stops the elevator on a floor where he
has rented a room. (Spoiler alert: the
canny working lady quickly punches
the button for the lobby and the priest
stares as the doors close on her descent.)
The book jacket describes the “novel”
as a “timeless and timely thriller.”
Needless to say, I was happy to finish
reading the thing, but far from thrilled.
Msgr. Richard Antall is pastor of Holy
Name Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and
the author of several books. His latest
novel is “The X-mas Files” (Atmosphere
Press, $17.99).
ACTA
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 33

DESIRE LINES
HEATHER KING
Finding rest for LA’s forgotten
LA County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn
with Auxiliary Bishop Brian Nunes at an interfaith burial
service last December at Evergreen Cemetery for nearly
2,000 unclaimed dead in LA County. | SUBMITTED
PHOTO
A
few years ago, starting to contemplate
my death and burial,
I happened upon a cemetery in
a small Central Coast town where I
have friends. I called one day to inquire
about the cost of a plot and the guy
who answered could not get his mind
around the fact that I didn’t live in the
town, nor had I grown up in the town,
nor did I have any particular ties with
the town other than having visited it
over the years. Finally he could no
longer hold himself in. “Ain’tcha got no
FAMILY?” he blurted.
Well, like many of us, yes and no.
Let’s just say I read “The Unclaimed:
Abandonment and Hope in the City
of Angels” (Crown, $30), by Pamela
Prickett and Stefan Timmermans, with
special attention.
Prickett is associate professor of sociology
at the University of Amsterdam.
Timmermans, whose interest lies in
forensic death investigations, is a professor
of sociology at UCLA.
Both became fascinated by the fact
that approximately 1,600 people die in
the greater Los Angeles area each year
without a single person to claim their
bodies or remains.
Who are these people? And why do
they end up where they do?
In an effort to unravel the mystery, the
authors decided to follow four individuals
who died in LA between 2012
and 2019 — some destitute, some not;
some with relatives, some without.
They cold-called, knocked on doors,
followed county employees in their
workplaces, conducted interviews, and
exhaustively fact-checked.
Civilizations across the ages, they
point out, have mourned the dead and
gone to great lengths to obtain control
of the body and arrange a decent burial.
This very human impulse is even embedded
in our legal code: the common
law “right of sepulcher.”
It used to be that those who ended up
in a potter’s field were almost invariably
indigent. Nowadays it’s way more common
for people “of means” to die alone
and unmourned; thus, the newer term
is “the unclaimed.”
If you die like this in LA, the county
cremates your body and stores the ashes
for three years in a brown plastic box
(or an envelope if you’re a fetus or tiny
infant) in case someone comes along
who’s willing to pay the approximately
$400 claim fee.
If no one does — and they usually
don’t — once a year the ashes are
dumped in a mass grave in the fouracre
“potter’s field” located in an
unattractive corner of Boyle Heights’
Evergreen Cemetery. In 2017, there
34 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

Heather King is an award-winning
author, speaker, and workshop leader.
were 1,461 boxes and envelopes.
How did we come to the point where
almost a quarter of those over 65 are
considered “socially isolated”? How has
it come to pass that in the first decade
of the 21st century, 114,000 Americans
died unclaimed?
If LA County is any indicator, it’s not
for lack of trying. Three distinct, though
often overlapping county agencies
handle the bodies and the estates of the
dead.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner
investigates suspicious
or indeterminate deaths, signs the death
certificate if (as is often the case), the
decedent was outside the health care
system, and notifies the next of kin.
The Office of Decedent Affairs handles
run-of-the-mill deaths that occur,
for example, in nursing homes and hospitals,
and oversees the Boyle Heights
county crematorium and cemetery.
The public administrator specializes
in finding next of kin and assets.
The labyrinthine rules, waiting periods,
claim fees, and loopholes within
and among the three agencies made
my head spin.
What came through was that in any
system: 1) There are always one or two
people who are conscientious, take
their jobs seriously and personally,
and know they are contributing to the
greater good, whether or not anyone
ever notices. 2) One or two people —
outliers who often have few resources
themselves — will emerge from the
woodwork, wade through the red tape,
and find a way to establish a labor-oflove
way to honor and serve humankind.
Elissa Davey, for example, a woman
from San Diego County, started a project
called The Garden of Innocence
where unclaimed babies — whether
abused, murdered, abandoned, or
found in a trash can — can receive a
loving and decent burial.
Doyle Tolbert, a Vietnam vet, started
an organization called Veterans Without
Family that goes to great lengths to
identify indigent deceased as veterans
and to provide them with a decent
casket and military honors burial.
Father Chris Ponnet, director of spiritual
care at Los Angeles County-USC
Medical Center, faithfully presides
each year over an open-to-the-public
ecumenical service for LA’s unclaimed
dead.
Near the end of the book, Prickett
describes her sorrowful estrangement
from her own father, then wonders: “At
the heart of my dilemma — and those
of other estranged families: Where do
our obligations to family begin and
end?”
Excellent question: In fact, the breakdown
of the family — with its shared
belief system, rituals, and responsibilities;
its capacity, ideally, to care for its
weak, sick, and elderly; its support of
ongoing life — is clearly responsible,
in large part, for the skyrocketing levels
of “lonely deaths,” as the Japanese call
them, around the globe.
Which brings me back to that cemetery
on the Central Coast.
I’ve made other plans — and I
comfort myself with this: Not a sparrow
falls but what the Father knows. And
contrary to the wisdom of the world, at
the end of the age what will matter is
not how much others loved, served, and
mourned us.
What will matter is how much, in our
poverty, we loved and served others.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 35

LETTER AND SPIRIT
SCOTT HAHN
Scott Hahn is founder of the
St. Paul Center for Biblical
Theology; stpaulcenter.com.
St. Paul the mountain
Early Church historians tell
us that St. Paul was short,
perhaps little more than
five feet. But he stands before
us as a giant. The achievements
of Alexander the Great, Caesar
Augustus, Shakespeare, Einstein
seem small when compared to
those of Paul. C.S. Lewis imagined
that an encounter with
him, even in heaven, would be
“rather an overwhelming experience.”
He recalled that “when
Dante saw the great apostles in
heaven they affected him like
mountains.”
Some scholars argue that, if he
had gone into philosophy, he
would have surpassed Plato and
Aristotle. But he was not just a
thinker. He was a pastor as well,
and a missionary. He traveled far
and wide to win souls. He negotiated
for the peace of the Church.
He corrected and encouraged
people. He preached and he
wrote with passion and wit. He
suffered much and, ultimately, he
died for the cause. He aimed to
extend the reach of Christianity
through all the western lands of
the Roman Empire. And he succeeded
to an astonishing degree.
By the end of his life Christianity
enjoyed a worldwide presence.
Within a century — largely
due to the momentum of Paul’s
preaching — the Church had
grown so large that it was perceived
as a threat to the Roman
social order.
That was his first revolution, but not his last. He has
emerged repeatedly down the millennia as a fresh voice,
compelling preachers, rulers, and ordinary Christians to
see a new way of living. In the fifth century, St. Augustine
“St. Paul,” by Bartolomeo Montagna, 1450-1523, Italian. | WIKIME-
DIA COMMONS
rethought the world along lines
that he discerned in Paul. In the
16th century, Paul’s letters were
at the center of the controversies
of the Protestant Reformation
and the Catholic Counter-Reformation
— controversies that
reshaped the world.
It’s hard to exaggerate Paul’s
importance, though some people
do. He was not the “founder of
Christianity” or its “inventor,”
as some contend. Christ himself
founded the Church, and he
founded it on another apostle: St.
Peter. But Christ did call Saul of
Tarsus and commissioned him
to receive the Gospel and take
it to the world. Paul gratefully
acknowledged his debt not only
to Jesus, but to the apostles Peter,
James, and John (see Galatians
1:18 and 2:9). So, though Paul
did not found the Church of Jesus
Christ, he founded many churches
in Jesus’ name.
But, uniquely inspired by God,
he developed a theology of the
Church that was authoritative.
The Church’s self-understanding
is dependent upon the words of
Paul. We cannot understand ourselves
as Christians unless we see
ourselves in the light of his letters.
I’ve read and taught all of Paul’s
letters many, many times. And he
has taught me how to think and
what to believe more than any
other human. I’ve stood where he
was beheaded; I’ve knelt next to
his mortal remains. I have spoken
to him in prayer and asked him for favors hundreds of
times.
Paul is not my Savior, but he may be the most thoroughly
saved sinner, and that makes me want to be more like him.
36 • ANGELUS • June 14, 2024

■ SATURDAY, JUNE 8
Knights of Columbus Rummage Sale. St. Barnabas Church,
3955 Orange Ave., Long Beach, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Call James T.
at 562-221-3296 to donate or for more information.
Permanent Diaconate Ordination. Cathedral of Our
Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 9 a.m.
Archbishop José H. Gomez will ordain the men from the diaconate
class of 2024 to the permanent diaconate. Tickets
required. Livestream available at lacatholics.org/ordination.
43rd Anniversary Memorial Mass of Servant of God
Father Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF. San Gabriel Mission, 427
S. Junipero Serra Dr., San Gabriel, 10 a.m. Blessing of Father
Ellacuria’s grave after Mass, followed by light refreshments.
For more information, email edith@catholicbooks.net.
■ SUNDAY, JUNE 9
Eucharistic Miracle Presentation. St. Augustine Church,
3850 Jasmine Ave., Culver City, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Exhibition
features posters on the research and work of Blessed Carlo
Acutis documenting Eucharistic miracles throughout the
world. Free admission. Light refreshments available. For
more information, visit https://st-augustine-church.org/.
■ TUESDAY, JUNE 11
Memorial Mass. San Fernando Mission, 15151 San Fernando
Mission Blvd., Mission Hills, 11 a.m. Mass is open to
the public. Limited seating. RSVP to outreach@catholiccm.
org or call 213-637-7810. Livestream available at Catholic-
CM.org or Facebook.com/lacatholics.
■ THURSDAY, JUNE 13
St. Padre Pio Mass. St. Anne Church, 340 10th St., Seal
Beach, 1 p.m. Celebrant: Father Al Baca. For more information,
call 562-537-4526.
Rosary Crusade. Morgan Baldwin Park, 4100 Baldwin Park
Blvd., Baldwin Park, 6:30 p.m. Monthly meeting to pray the
rosary.
■ SATURDAY, JUNE 15
Trauma: Walking in Solidarity. St. Christopher Church,
629 Glendora Ave., West Covina, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. St.
Christopher’s Mental Health Ministry event. Register by
June 8 to 626-917-0040 or email FKMministry@gmail.com.
32nd Annual Grand Coronation of Our Blessed Mother.
Church of the Good Shepherd, 504 Roxbury Dr., Beverly
Hills, 12 p.m. Procession, rosary, novena, coronation, and
flower offering. Celebrant: Father Ed Benioff.
60th Priesthood Ordination Anniversary of Msgr. Clement
Connolly. Celebrating the “Diamond Jubilee” of longtime
pastor Msgr. Clement Connolly. Holy Family Church,
1501 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, 5:30 p.m. Mass and
celebration. Email mrodriguez@holyfamily.org.
■ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19
Juneteenth Mass. Sts. Peter and Paul Church, 1036 N.
Ravenna Ave., Wilmington, 3 p.m. Celebrant: Father Claude
Williams, O.Praem. Visit WilmingtonCatholic.org.
■ THURSDAY, JUNE 20
LACBA Unlawful Detainer Answer Clinic. LA Law Library,
301 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, 12-3 p.m. Provides limited
assistance with reviewing unlawful detainer complaints.
Open to the disabled veteran community in LA County.
Spanish assistance available. RSVP to 213-896-6536 or
email inquiries-veterans@lacba.org.
■ SATURDAY, JUNE 22
St. Josemaría Escrivá Mass. Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels, 555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 11 a.m. Archbishop
José H. Gomez will celebrate Mass for the feast day.
Mexicali Border Mission Trip. El Centro/Mexicali Border.
A group of 15-20 people will travel to Mexicali and
visit with some 200 migrants living in a shelter, bringing
donations for the men in honor of Father’s Day. Valid U.S.
passport, Global Entry card, or valid permanent resident
card required. Limited spots available. Email immigration@
la-archdiocese.org to register or for more information.
■ SUNDAY, JUNE 23
Juneteenth Texas Style Barbecue. St. Agatha Church,
2646 S. Mansfield Ave., Los Angeles, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dine in
or takeout. Wear red. Call 323-251-2888.
■ MONDAY, JUNE 24
Summer Bible Sessions. Holy Family Church, 209 E. Lomita
Ave., Glendale, 7-8:30 p.m. Immersion into the Gospels
runs June 24-27. For more information, visit lacatholics.org/
events.
■ SATURDAY, JUNE 29
Let’s Pray Like Jesus: Catechist Workshop. Our Lady
of the Assumption Church, 3175 Telegraph Rd., Ventura,
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Workshop will teach catechists different
hands-on activities to explore prayer traditions. Bring scissors,
crayons, and markers. English and Spanish workshops
available. Registration required by June 27. Cost: $10/early
bird by June 16, $15 after June 17. On-site registration is
not available. For more information, visit lacatholics.org/
elementary-catechesis.
Summer Bible Retreat. Holy Family Church, 209 E. Lomita
Ave., Glendale, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Free event, registration
required. For more information, visit lacatholics.org/events.
SCRC Catholic Renewal Convention: “Refreshed in
Spirit.” Anaheim Marriott Ballrooms, 700 W. Convention
Way, Anaheim, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. More than a dozen popular
Catholic speakers, including Father Robert Spitzer, Father
Ismael Robles, and more. Presentations, reconciliation,
liturgy, and live praise and worship. Register at events.scrc.
org. Call or text 818-771-1361.
■ FRIDAY, JULY 5
Mass for Pilgrims. Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de
México, Mexico City, Mexico, 10:30 a.m. Archbishop José
H. Gomez will celebrate a special Mass for LA pilgrims.
■ SATURDAY, JULY 6
Mass for Pilgrims. Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Mexico City, Mexico, 12 p.m. Archbishop José H. Gomez
will celebrate a special Mass for LA pilgrims.
■ SUNDAY, JULY 7
Virtual Diaconate Information Day. Zoom, 2-4 p.m. Do
you feel Jesus is calling you to be a deacon? Come and see.
To register, email Deacon Melecio Zamora at dmz2011@
la-archdiocese.org.
■ TUESDAY, JULY 9
Memorial Mass. San Fernando Mission, 15151 San Fernando
Mission Blvd., Mission Hills, 11 a.m. Mass is open to
the public. Limited seating. RSVP to outreach@catholiccm.
org or call 213-637-7810. Livestream available at Catholic-
CM.org or Facebook.com/lacatholics.
Items for the calendar of events are due four weeks prior to the date of the event. They may be emailed to calendar@angelusnews.com.
All calendar items must include the name, date, time, address of the event, and a phone number for additional information.
June 14, 2024 • ANGELUS • 37