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

LOCAL
■ Relics of Vietnam
martyrs hosted at Santa Fe
Springs parish
More than 20 bone relics from the
Holy Martyrs of Vietnam were on display
at St. Pius X Church in Santa Fe
Springs during Masses the weekend of
June 22-23.
St. Pius X’s pastor, Father Artur
Gruszka, spoke about the significance
of the martyrs during each of the
Masses, while the local Knights of
Columbus guarded the relics.
The 117 Martyrs of Vietnam
represent the estimated hundreds of
thousands of people killed during
intense religious persecution in that
country in the early to mid-1800s.
The 117 were mostly Vietnamese, but
also included French and Spanish
missionaries. St. Pope John Paul II
canonized all 117 in 1988.
■ Volunteers spend Father’s Day
at Mexicali migrant shelter
Members of the SoCal Immigration Task Force — which includes the
Archdiocese of Los Angeles — traveled to Border Compassion’s migrant
shelter in Mexicali, Mexico, for its annual Father’s Day event on June
22.
Volunteers brought donations for the men, including clothes, shoes,
and toiletries, while each father was gifted a new wallet and cash. The
day was spent praying with the fathers and playing interactive activities
with the families.
Border Compassion is a nonprofit, faith-based organization that addresses
the needs of
asylum seekers
who have
migrated to
Mexicali. The
shelter houses
up to 300 people.
This is the
third year the
task force has
partnered with
Border Compassion
for this
mission trip.
To learn
more about
A parish’s Juneteenth connection — Catholics from around the archdiocese celebrated a special Juneteenth
Mass at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington on June 19. During the Mass, pastor Father Claude Williams,
O.Praem., pointed out that the parish was first built in 1865 by Union soldiers just months after the original
Juneteenth. Later this year, Sts. Peter and Paul will host a regional Black Catholic Congress Nov. 22-23. | DIEGO
ORTIZ
Ortencia Ramirez, Carlos May, Border Compassion founder Sister Suzanne
Jabro, CSJ, and the Archdiocese of LA’s Director of Immigration and Public Affairs
Isaac Cuevas, smile at the Father’s Day event in Mexicali. | ISAAC CUEVAS
the shelter, visit
border-compassion.org.
■ 103-yearold
sister
honored for
85 years of
service
Sister Arlene
Welding
A 103-year-old
religious sister
who previously
served in the
Archdiocese of
Los Angeles is
celebrating 85
years of service.
School Sister
of St. Francis
Arlene Welding served in the LA Archdiocese as
a campus minister at the Newman Center in Los
Angeles from 1979 to 1982, and then as director
of operations at Caring Hands from 1982 to
1985. She is now retired and lives in Greenfield,
Wisconsin.
Welding was born in Oakdale, Nebraska, and
received a bachelor’s degree from Alverno College
in Wisconsin, and a master’s degree from
the University of San Francisco.
Cards and donations can be mailed to the
sister’s attention, c/o Jubilee Committee, School
Sisters of St. Francis, 1545 S. Layton Blvd., Milwaukee,
WI 53215.
Y
6 • ANGELUS • July 12, 2024