A young boy holds a program from the multicultural Mass in Carmel Valley. Photo by Chris Stone
Bishop Robert McElroy celebrated the “powerful prism” of diverse Catholic cultures Saturday and stressed unity at a Mass of 2,100 parishioners from San Diego and Imperial counties.
”We are all one people,” he said at Cathedral Catholic High School in Carmel Valley. “That’s particularly important for us to witness loudly in these days because there are so many in our land who are challenging that idea.”
McElroy said Catholics as people of faith, God and “all these beautiful cultures” must say at work, as citizens and in churches: “We are all one family here in our nation.”
“That is the heritage of who we are as Americans and that we are proud of that and we will stand by that and defend it,” he told a gym audience.
Dressed in colorful wear from their cultures, area Catholics in an opening procession represented communities, including African, African American, Chamorro (Guamanian), Chinese, Filipino, Eritrean, Indian, Indonesian, Irish, Italian Korean, Lao, Native American, Samoan, Cuban, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Peruvian, Tongan, Vietnamese, Burundian, Chaldean, German, Polish and Portuguese.
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A Vietnamese choir sang during the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Statues of Jesus and Mary were at the head of a procession to a festival, which included food and entertainment. Photo by Chris Stone
The Hispanic community served free tamales, rolled tacos, guacamole and chips at the festival after the Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
The multicultural Mass was held in the gym at Cathedral Catholic High School in Carmel Valley. Photo by Chris Stone
A young boy holds a program from the multicultural Mass in Carmel Valley. Photo by Chris Stone
A woman from the African Catholic community receives Holy Communion from a priest. Photo by Chris Stone
Catholics from various ethnic groups hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer. Photo by Chris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy celebrates a multicultural Mass at Cathedral Catholic High School attended by about 2,100 people. Photo by Chris Stone
People from different cultures outstretch their hands during prayer at the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
A woman from the Indian Catholic Community receives Holy Communion at the multicultural Mass in Del Mar. Photo by Chris Stone
A priest blesses a young child, who along with her mother represent the African Catholic community. Photo by Chris Stone
A young boy representing the Italian Catholic community participates in the multicultural Mass in Del Mar. Photo by Chris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy speaks to more than 2,000 participants at a multicultural Mass in Del Mar. Photo by Chris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy puts on a leaf lei during a multicultural Mass at Cathedral Catholic High School. Photo by Chris Stone
Vietnamese girls perform with fans and scarves during a dance performance during the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
A young Vietnamese boy holds a lit candle during a performance during the offertory of the Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Vietnamese children perform with candles and scarves during the offertory of the Mass. Photo byChris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy calls upon people to value individual cultures during these times of social division. Photo by Chris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy uses incense to symbolically purify the altar at the beginning of Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Children who would later perform applauded in the stands. Photo by Chris Stone
A woman with Peruvian heritage attended the multicultural Mass with her family. Photo by Chris Stone
A sister from the African community reads the Gospel in Swahili during the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Deacon Andy Orosco, whose ancestors are from the Kumeyaay Nation, blesses the altar with incense. Photo by Chris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy speaks on the importance of individual cultures in various communities in the two-county diocese. Photo by Chris Stone
Members of the Mexican community place a cloth on the altar along with members of other communities represented in the Catholic Church. Photo by Chris Stone
The altar was cleansed in a sage burning ritual at the beginning of the Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Altar servers light the candles before the multicultural Mass at Cathedral Catholic High School. Photo by Chris Stone
Members of women religious took part in readings during the liturgy. Photo by Chris Stone
A large contingent of the Hispanic Catholic Community took part in the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
A member of the Chamorro community, indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, enters the gym at the beginning of the multicultural Mass at Cathedral Catholic High School. Photo by Chris Stone
Representatives of the Chinese Catholic community march in the opening procession at the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Young boys from the Filipino community join the opening procession in the multicultural Mass. Photo by Chris Stone
Representatives of the Korean Catholic community take part in the opening procession. Photo by Chris Stone
San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy greets members of the African Catholic Community. Photo by Chris Stone
Mariachis greeted participants at the 2nd annual Multicultural Mass at Cathedral Catholic High School. Photo by Chris Stone
The Rev. Michael Pham, director of the Mass’ organizing committees, said, “We are a family of people here on earth. We can work together. This gives us hope. This gives us life.”
Vietnamese children performed using candles, fans and scarves during the Mass.
At the Prayer of the Faithful, petitions to God were spoken in 15 languages, referring to immigrants, victims of human trafficking, farmers and world leaders.
McElroy thanked his auxiliary bishop John Dolan, who Saturday celebrated the second anniversary of his becoming a bishop. Dolan also turned 57.
The second annual multicultural Mass was tied to the celebration of Pentecost.
In Samoan, a parishioner prayed for “immigrants, refugees and those fleeing persecution, that we may be welcoming in word and deed through the counsel of the Holy Spirit.”
In his homily, McElroy said, “God speaks differently in different cultures. Not with a different message, but often with a different voice and a different emphasis and a different loving call.
And we are called first of all … to recognize that in our cultures God has spoken to us and given us a heritage.
“And we are called to preserve that heritage because it is part of us. And it is part of how faith comes to us. And is sustained in our lives.”
After Mass, McElroy told Times of San Diego that the Feast of Pentecost is a “sign of unity of all cultures, and in our Catholic faith our understanding is God speaks to us through our cultures.”
“There is a lot of vibrancy, a lot of joy in the culture,” the bishop said. “We are just such a diverse place in these two counties and so many people from different cultures are here in significant numbers in different communities and so it’s particularly important in a diocese like ours to amplify the message of the unity particularly at a time when that message is under attack.”
The largest ethic communities in the diocese are Hispanics, Filipinos and Vietnamese and their immigration numbers are stable these days, McElroy said.
However, significant growth has seen in the Catholic Korean community, he said.
Despite turbulence last year in the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of additional revelations of priest abuse in Pennsylvania, Bishop McElroy sees a persistent level of faith and participation in local parishes.
“The parishes are strong. The faith is strong,” he said, asserting that parishioner participation hasn’t diminished.
But the bishop said he doesn’t want to underestimate the toll the revelations have had on Catholics, the “woundedness that flows and sense of betrayal.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will meet in Baltimore this week to continue discussing actions in regard to the abuse.
McElroy has advocated greater vigilance and increased lay participation.
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