CNA Staff, Jul 12, 2020 / 12:01 pm
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez has called for Catholics to find hope and a renewed sense of mission amid a "season of sickness and death." Gomez preached a Sunday morning homily at the Chapel of the Annunciation, on the grounds of the historic San Gabriel Mission Church which was severely damaged by a fire early Saturday morning.
"Yesterday's fire was heartbreaking. Let's thank God that nobody got hurt. I thank God this morning, too, for this opportunity to pray with you and to mourn with you," Gomez said in his July 12 homily.
"In this long season of sickness and death since the coming of the coronavirus, this is one more trial, one more test. We ask the Lord to grant us comfort and consolation. We ask him to strengthen and increase our faith."
The fire at St. Gabriel is being investigated by local and federal authorities, who have yet to determine the cause of a July 11 fire that destroyed the 249-year-old church's roof and much of the historic church building. Because the mission church was under renovation, many of its historic and devotional objects had been removed, and were not inside when the building burned.