Festival Planned for Black Catholics

A first-ever African American Catholic Festival of Evangelization, which Roman Catholic Church officials are calling a “new beginning” for revitalizing the faith of black Roman Catholics in Los Angeles, will take place in Los Angeles next week.

The festival is an attempt to cope with changing demographics in the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese, said Father John Harfmann, director of the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization.

Parishes that were predominantly African American are changing as Latinos and Asian Americans move into the neighborhoods, Harfmann said. In other cases, African American Catholics have moved to the suburbs and find themselves in new parishes where the cultural aspects of worship are different.

“Demographic changes have made it necessary to have some kind of visible sign of the African American Catholic community being able to come together and to rejuvenate itself,” Harfmann said.

“We expect African Americans who have moved to Altadena, Pasadena and the San Fernando Valley will want to come back and celebrate their faith in the parishes where their parents and even themselves attended.”

The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Verbum Dei High School, 11100 S. Central Ave., in Los Angeles.