The Church in California

Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, has launched the second Diocesan Campaign for Mercy to support local nonprofits in the East Bay area. The fundraising drive, which began in 2025, directs donations toward organizations that perform corporal works of mercy and address the root causes of poverty.

The campaign is managed by the Diocese of Oakland's Office of Mission Advancement. Through this office, participating organizations may apply for grants to sustain their service to those in need. Chancellor Rick Medeiros stated that the campaign encourages collaboration and allows donors to support local Catholic lay and religious apostolates. Medeiros noted that the diocese saw a positive response to the first campaign held last year.

Angelus News highlights two black-and-white films by American director Robert Aldrich for the Halloween season: Kiss Me Deadly (1955) and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).

Kiss Me Deadly features Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer, a blunt private investigator based on Mickey Spillane's pulp fiction character. The film follows Hammer, a violent vigilante who operates a firm. The story includes an opening sequence where Hammer encounters a woman named Christina Bailey on a deserted road. After being forced off the road by another vehicle, the pair is taken to an abandoned house where Christina is tortured to death and Hammer is beaten unconscious. The film concludes with their car being pushed over a cliff and bursting into flames, though Hammer survives.

Catholics in the Archdiocese of San Francisco processed through city streets on Oct. 17 to pray the rosary during the annual Rosary Rally.

Pope Leo XIV has officially recognized the statue known as Broken Mary as Our Lady of the Broken. The pontiff granted this recognition and blessed the statue during a meeting with Kevin Matthews in February.

Matthews encountered the broken concrete statue of the Virgin Mary outside a flower shop in the Midwest while facing personal hardships, including a career loss and a diagnosis of a rare form of multiple sclerosis. The statue has since traveled to various locations, including Chicago, the Vatican, and the Diocese of Orange.

Matthews recently visited San Antonio de Padua Catholic Parish in Anaheim Hills on Oct. 17. He uses the statue to share a message regarding God's love for those who are broken.

St. John Neumann Catholic Church held its annual La Festa Italiana on Oct. 17 at Conlon Hall in Irvine. The festival served as a fall fundraiser for the Knights of Columbus Centennial Council 7985.

The event featured an Italian dinner prepared by the Brother Knights, including penne pasta, Italian sausage with bell peppers, meatballs, and desserts such as cannoli and tiramisu. The Knights of Columbus and the St. John Neumann Women’s Ministry sponsored live music, dancing, an auction, and raffles.

Grand Knight Adrian Marrujo said the council replaced its former Oktoberfest tradition with this Italian dinner after changing community tastes. Volunteers from the Knights and the Women’s Ministry organized the festival, which follows several weeks of ticket sales after Masses.

A new documentary series titled "Black Catholics: Footsteps to Sainthood" will begin airing Nov. 2 on the Archdiocese of Boston's CatholicTV network. The half-hour episodes feature six African American Catholics currently on the path to sainthood in the United States. The series coincides with Black Catholic History Month, which the Church in the U.S. observes every November.

The first episode focuses on Father Augustus Tolton, the first publicly recognized African American priest to serve in the United States. The program uses live acting and artificial intelligence to depict his life. Father Tolton, the son of enslaved Black Americans, escaped from Missouri to Quincy, Illinois, during the Civil War. After facing prejudice in the U.S., he attended the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome to complete his studies. He served Black Catholic parishes in Chicago until his death from heatstroke in 1897.

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago serves as the postulator for Father Tolton's cause for sainthood.

Parishioners from Saints Simon and Jude Catholic Church distributed religious items and shared information about the Catholic faith at the Huntington Beach Pier Plaza. Daniel Bukaty and other trained members of St. Paul Street Evangelization (SPSE) handed out more than 150 rosaries, crosses, and miraculous medals during the event. Bukaty reported that the group held conversations with more than 20 people from various faith backgrounds, including visitors from Canada, Brazil, and different parts of the United States.

The participants are members of SPSE, a grassroots organization that trains Catholics to share their faith in public spaces such as parks and farmers markets. The movement has expanded from a single team in Michigan to hundreds of teams across the United States and internationally.

In Orange County, SPSE groups have formed at Holy Family in Orange and Our Lady of the Pillar in Santa Ana. These efforts are led by Luis A. Chavez, director of Parish Evangelization and Faith Formation, and Fortune Guzman, the diocesan coordinator of parish evangelization.

Deacon Pete Morales is using handmade paracord rosaries to provide spiritual support to military members and veterans. During an episode of the Cathedral Square podcast, Morales explained that his service in the U.S. Army inspired his devotion to the rosary. He crafts these military-style rosaries to offer encouragement to those serving in the military and to individuals recovering in VA hospitals and care facilities.

Morales, who was ordained to the diaconate in 2023, founded Project Rosary to help people facing hardship, loneliness, or the effects of service. The project aims to connect the military community with the Catholic faith through these practical tools for prayer. An upcoming Rosary Walk is scheduled to take place at Christ Cathedral.

Holy Innocents School unveiled a restored statue of the Virgin Mary during its annual gala dinner on Oct. 25. The life-size statue had been at the Long Beach school since it opened in 1958 but was desecrated during a break-in last February.

Guy Hazelzet, a former student who attended the school in 1963, unveiled the statue after donating $20,000 for its restoration. Hazelzet stated the donation was intended to honor his parents, who were longtime parishioners and benefactors of the school.

The gala, titled "Songs for Scholars," was held in the school hall, which underwent renovations following the February incident. The school reported that approximately $500,000 in donations funded the repairs, which included new paint, an air conditioning unit, and a new sound system. Tony Tripp, the director of advancement, noted that the renovations were made possible by donations received after the break-in. The school also acknowledged support from the Shea Foundation and the Duda Family Foundation.

The documentary "The Dating Project" is now streaming on the EWTN+ digital platform. Produced by Family Theater Productions, the film examines modern dating challenges through the experiences of four different groups: college students navigating hookup culture, a woman in her mid-20s, a career woman in her 30s, and a single man pushing 40 using online dating services.

The film features Kerry Cronin, Ph.D., a scholar from Boston College, to provide context on current dating trends. It addresses a demographic shift where more people are single than married. The documentary is intended for single Catholics and parents of single adult children.

Archbishop José H. Gómez led a Mass at St. Matthias Church in Huntington Park on Oct. 18 to mark the 40th anniversary of Fuerza Inc. The nonprofit organization supports Spanish-speaking parents of children with developmental disabilities.

Rosario Marín founded the organization after finding a lack of developmental resources available in Spanish for parents of children with Down syndrome. While the group initially focused on Down syndrome, it expanded its services through conferences and symposiums to include families of children with autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy.

During the celebration, Marín spoke to the assembly about the value of life and the hope that sustains families of children with special needs. Hundreds of families attended the anniversary Mass.

Pope Leo XIV issued a video message on Oct. 18 for the 100th World Mission Sunday, stating that all baptized Catholics share in the mission of evangelization. The pontiff said that through baptism, every person becomes a member of the body of Christ and holds a specific role in the saving work of Jesus.

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, several parishes observed World Mission Month by focusing on local ministry. On Oct. 10, Santa Rosa de Lima Church in San Fernando hosted the first Family Mission Mass in collaboration with the Pontifical Mission Societies of Los Angeles. St. Didacus Church in Sylmar also participated in the event.

Deacon Douglas Zuniga, the regional coordinator for the San Fernando Pastoral Region, said mission work can begin within families, neighborhoods, and countries rather than only through travel to places like Africa or Asia. Zuniga serves at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Sun Valley.