L.A. Archbishop Jose Gomez celebrates Christmas Mass with jail inmates

Spending Christmas in jail is nothing new for Matthew Abplanalp.

Still, he said, it was heartbreaking to be apart from his teenage daughter and elderly father this holiday season.

And he is determined it will never happen again. He will enter a drug rehabilitation program when he is released in February.

“I’m not going to fail,” said Abplanalp, 46, who has been in and out of jail since he was 12.

Serving time for methamphetamine possession and driving with a suspended license, Abplanalp was among the 200 or so inmates who attended a Mass celebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez at Men’s Central Jail on Friday morning.

The setting was humble compared with the lofty downtown cathedral where Gomez typically presides. The jail chapel was adorned with a simple cross, colored panels stood in for real stained glass and uniformed deputies stood guard.

But Gomez’s message carried special resonance in a room full of men who have led troubled lives and were spending the holiday away from their families.

God cares for you and never tires of forgiving you, he told the men in light green and dark blue jail uniforms who filled the pews.

“Nothing can separate us from the love of God — not our sins, not our weaknesses,” Gomez said.

L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell, who sat in the front row, was the first to take Communion.

The last was a stocky inmate with a dark ponytail who crossed himself after Gomez blessed him by placing a hand on his forehead.

In between, some inmates had to be reminded to eat the wafer, while others knelt and crossed themselves in practiced motions as a choir of volunteers sang “Silent Night.”

“Feliz Navidad,” Gomez said in parting.

“Feliz Navidad,” the inmates responded, clapping and cheering.

The archbishop has celebrated Christmas Mass in the jail every year since 2011. His predecessor, Roger Mahony, did the same.

McDonnell said he hoped that religion would help the inmates lead more productive lives.

“It’s an opportunity for people to stay in touch with their faith, to guide them not only during their time here, but getting back into society hopefully more positive than they left,” McDonnell said.

Ernesto Romero, 24, has had more Christmases in jail than on the outside. Like Abplanalp, he has spent many stretches behind bars since he was 12.

This Christmas Day, he said, was especially frustrating to be locked up because his wife told him on Thursday that she was pregnant.

“But what more can a man ask for as a Christmas present?” said Romero, who will be released in a few weeks after completing his sentence for evading a police officer.

Leopoldo Martinez, 31, has 10 months left on a sentence for selling meth. He won’t let his two daughters, ages 6 and 8, visit him — he doesn’t want them to see him in jail.

“I’m going to take care of my family and be a responsible man like I’m supposed to be,” Martinez said. “My family depends on me, and I disappointed them.”

After the Mass, Gomez walked through the floor where some of the most dangerous inmates are housed, grasping each man’s hands through the bars and speaking briefly to them.

A cacophony of shouts and curses rained down from inmates on the floor above as the choir sang carols at the end of the hall.

“The police attacked me and put me in here,” a beefy man said to anyone who would listen.

One man’s eyes brimmed with tears when the archbishop expressed his holiday wishes. The inmate choked out a “Merry Christmas” as Gomez moved on to the next cell.

“It’s about bringing the love of God to the people who are here,” Gomez told reporters. “That’s what Pope Francis says, to reach out — especially to people in need.”

cindy.chang@latimes.com

@cindychangLA

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