Annual OneLife LA will go on despite the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles

 

Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 17, 2025 / 10:40 am (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ annual OneLife LA event will go on this weekend despite the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles, albeit with a modified program and focus.

While previously the event was a walk through the streets of downtown Los Angeles concluding at L.A. Historic Park, the combination of unhealthy air and the demand such an event has for local law enforcement meant a new plan was needed this year. So earlier this week archdiocesan officials announced the event would be held entirely in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

“The 2025 OneLife LA is not only an opportunity to focus on ‘womb to tomb’ life issues but is our chance to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have suffered so much from the fires that have devastated Los Angeles,” said Michael Donaldson, senior director of the Office of Life, Justice, and Peace for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and organizer of OneLife LA.  “It is our chance to show not only that human life is sacred but to honor fire victims and let them know we care.”

Organizers are uncertain of how the fires will affect attendance; the 2024 OneLife LA drew 6,000.  (The cathedral seats over 4,000.)

Participants are invited to gather beginning at 1 p.m. local time. Partner groups such as 40 Days for Life and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will man tables outside the cathedral to greet and share information with visitors.

A speaker and performance program will commence at 2 p.m. A focus will be testimonials from victims of the fires and reflections on the most vulnerable negatively impacted by the fires.

The event culminates at 5 p.m. with an annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn celebrated by Archbishop José Gómez at 5 p.m. The theme of the day will be “Let Us Stand Up Together in Hope.”

Among the featured speakers are Jennifer and George Magallon of Altadena whose home was destroyed in the Eaton fire. George is a contractor and apartment owner; the pair lived in a home on a large lot in a community backing up to the Angeles National Forest. It was their “dream home,” George said, and a place where they regularly welcomed family and friends.

On the evening of Jan. 7, Santa Ana winds were blowing up to 100 mph and local authorities turned off the power to reduce the possibility of sparking fire. The Eaton fire began nonetheless, and the Magallons gathered up what possessions they could and fled.

George and his neighbors did what they could to douse their homes with water beforehand, but by the early morning hours the water pressure had slowed to a trickle.

Meanwhile, an “orange rain” of burning embers fell on the neighborhood. Everything burned in the early morning hours of Jan. 8. When the Magallons were able to return, they discovered their once prosperous neighborhood now “looked like the surface of the moon.”

While devastated by the loss, the couple has pledged to rebuild and plans to stress to the OneLife LA attendees how their Catholic faith has been key to their emotional and psychological well-being during the ordeal. Jennifer pointed to one sign of hope: When they returned to the ruin of their home one object stood unscathed amid the rubble — an outdoor statue of the Blessed Mother.

“It gave us the inspiration we needed and the will to go on,” Jennifer said.

Visit www.onelifela.org to register as an individual or group or to sign up as a volunteer.

Walk for Life West Coast

Nearly 400 miles to the north, the Walk for Life West Coast will begin at Civic Center Plaza in downtown San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 12:30 p.m. local time. The San Francisco event has an exclusive focus of ending abortion and stressing the harm it has had on women.

The day begins at 10:45 a.m. with a Silent No More Awareness Campaign led by Georgette Forney and Frank Pavone from Priests for Life, which includes testimonies from those directly harmed by abortion. From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. there will be an information fair with material offered by a variety of pro-life organizations.

The main event is a rally beginning at 12:30 p.m. followed by the walk at 1:30 p.m. Participants will walk 1.8 miles from the civic center to the Embarcadero.

The event is organized by Catholics and many who attend are parishioners and clergy from local parishes as well as students from Catholic schools.

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone celebrates a Walk for Life Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral at 9:30 a.m. before the event; he is also a regular participant in the walk.

Rally speakers at the Walk for Life West Coast include Ryan Bomberger, Sister Deirdre “Dede” Byrne, Kelly Lester, and Rev. Clenard Childress.

For additional information and to register visit www.walkforlifewc.com.