50,000 Worshipers Gather to Mark the Start of Mahony’s Latino Plan

Billed as the largest gathering of Latino Catholics in the history of the United States, about 50,000 worshipers filled Dodger Stadium on Sunday evening to celebrate the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese’s unprecedented recognition of its Latino roots and to kick off a far-reaching pastoral plan for the Latino Catholic community.

The religious fiesta--part religious revival, part music concert--drew Catholics from throughout the three-county archdiocese and included the video-taped blessing of Pope John Paul II, and ranchera music soulfully belted out by Lola Beltran, one of Mexican “country” music’s biggest stars.

Latino folk dancers, mariachi music and charro horsemen provided the opening act for Archbishop Roger M. Mahony’s proclamation in Spanish of a five-year plan, an unprecedented program of social activism aimed at addressing problems in the Latino community, while strengthening Latinos’ involvement in the church. The proposal establishes church-funded programs ranging from stepped-up evangelization in the Latino community to services for Spanish-speaking immigrants and gang youths.

Identified by Banners

The stadium stands were peppered with Mexican flags and colorful banners identifying church parishes. One from Santa Filomena’s parish in Carson read in Spanish: “We love you Rogelio,” a reference to Mahony.

“We’re here because the archbishop is offering the Latino community spiritual and moral support,” said Anita Duarte, one of 450 Santa Filomena parishioners who made the trip by bus.

“He’s a beautiful person,” said Rebeca Cuevas of Culver City. “This is the first time that we hear of the Catholic Church giving the community this kind of attention.”

Carlos Garcia, who came to the event with his family and a group from his parish in Highland Park, talked about “a new awakening” among Latinos.

“It’s good to see our hierarchy now paying attention to the social as well as spiritual needs of Latinos,” he said.

Mahony, who earned a reputation as a champion of the poor and of Latino causes as bishop of Stockton, has wasted no time making himself known to the Latino Catholic community in Los Angeles, which comprises about 2.5 million out of a total of 3 million Catholics.

As Mahony entered the field, which was crowded with religious leaders from throughout the archdiocese seated around a flower-ladened altar, the crowd chanted, “Rogelio! Rogelio!”

And, as he outlined the five-year plan, the crowd burst into spontaneous applause when he spoke of “the need to place emphasis on education” and of offering “alternatives to gang participation.”

Later, after a procession honoring the day’s religious Feast of Corpus Christi, Mahony drew a parallel between the parable of the loaves and fishes and the archdiocese’s attempts to bring Latinos closer to the church to feed their “spiritual hunger.”

Emphasizes Pastoral Role

“Many of you have left your homes to be here. Many of you have even left your countries,” he said in Spanish. “Now Los Angeles is your home, the Catholic church is your home, and I am your pastor.”

“Celebracion 86,” as the event was called, marked the biggest gathering of Catholics in the archdiocese since 1954, when a comparable number gathered for a celebration honoring the Virgin Mary, church officials said.

The pastoral plan is an unprecedented recognition of the overwhelmingly Latino makeup of the archdiocese, which includes Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The archdiocese is the largest in the United States and has the largest concentration of Latino Catholics in the country, according to church officials.

“Our program to increase the Hispanic’s role within the entire archdiocese must pay special attention to the poor, as well as those who have come to our society to escape repression and find a better way of life,” Mahony said earlier in the week, when he first announced details of the five-year plan.

Home Visitations

The evangelization portion of the plan, which will include visits to every Latino home in each of the archdiocese’s five pastoral regions, was launched at Sunday’s ceremony by Mahony, who commissioned 400 volunteers to begin the home visitations this summer.

The plan also calls for the establishment of emergency centers for the homeless and immigrants and taking “all steps necessary” to stop the federal government’s recently announced program to evict illegal aliens from federally subsidized housing.

Noting that the pressures of poverty place an added strain on Latino families, the plan also calls for establishment of day-care centers for low-income families; increased financial assistance to make parochial school more affordable to Latino families; the use of seminaries and parochial schools to teach English to the Spanish-speaking and provide classes on how to attain citizenship, and establishment of a task force to develop alternatives to gang participation.

Finally, the plan calls for greater emphasis on bilingual and multicultural training for Catholic priests and nuns, as well as several measures for attracting more Latinos to the priesthood.

Three-Year Process

In its first year, the plan will cost about $2 million, Mahony said. The plan is the culmination of a three-year process that included personal consultations with Latino Catholics and a mass survey of their concerns. Similar consultations have been taking place in archdioceses throughout the United States, but a national plan for Latino ministry is not expected until 1988, Mahony said.

The Latino plan is part of a larger reassessment of goals within the entire Los Angeles Archdiocese. Non-Latino Catholics will also be surveyed and a final plan synthesizing Latino and non-Latino findings will be announced in November.

Times editorial writer Frank Del Olmo contributed to this article.