Skip to content

Guadalupe Missioners

Serving the Spiritual Needs of Los Angeles Since 1974

Masses, sacraments, and ministries for a diverse Catholic Community.

virgin mary

Who We Are

In 1974, we were invited to collaborate with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, in California, USA, where we have attended to the spiritual needs of parishes distinguished by the ethnic diversity of their congregations, composed of Anglo-Americans, Koreans, and Latinos, among others.

guadalupe missioners who we are
guadalupe missioners los angeles mexico china

Welcome Message from the Director of the Mission in the United States

Welcome Message from the Director of the Mission in the United States (1)Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

We are delighted to welcome you to the website of the Guadalupe Missioners in the United States.

The Guadalupe Missioners have been present in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since January 1974, but it was in 2021 that it was decided to elevate our presence and pastoral work in this country to the rank of “Mission of the United States of America.”

In the more than fifty years we have been in this country, we have learned that the United States is a land of mission, since in recent years this country has promoted and favored a secular culture that has spread throughout the world. In this culture, the existence of God is denied, and Christian culture is openly attacked. Throughout the country, more and more laws are being passed that promote the culture of death or go against the concept of the traditional family. The Good News of Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and as such we proclaim it and bring it to life in our daily journey, because this is the Mission of the Church, that is, the Mission of each one of us who is baptized in Christ.

The Church’s mission faces many challenges in the multicultural, multiracial, and multi-ideological context of American society. Apart from the initial proclamation of the Gospel, we must also pay attention to the re-evangelization of those who have already been baptized. Furthermore, the formation of agents of evangelization is very important.

The reality is that the vast majority of the residents of this country are migrants or, in some cases, first, second, or third generation migrants. Failure to accept this reality leads to persecution based on skin color, language, or social status, which are clearly anti-Christian attitudes.

These are some of the most challenging characteristics of American society and guide our apostolate.

Here in the United States—particularly in California—we serve in close communion with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, working together to bring Christ’s love, hope, and mercy to the People of God. Encouraged by the grace of the Holy Spirit, our priests accompany three parish communities where faith is celebrated and lived in a vibrant way. These parrishes are: Sta. Martha Catholic Parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church & Our Lady of Solitude Parish

Globally, faithful to our call to go “where we are most needed,” we are present in:

ASIA: – Japan – South Korea – Hong Kong – Indonesia.

AFRICA: – Kenya – Angola – Mozambique – Tunisia.

AMERICA: – Mexico – Cuba – Guatemala – The Amazon.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about our mission and ministry. May this website be the means by which we form and strengthen the bonds of our missionary family in the joy of the Gospel.

I pray that Our Lady of Guadalupe will intercede for you and your loved ones, and that her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless you abundantly.

With gratitude and prayer,

Fr. Salvador Rojas Vega, MG
Director of the Mission in the United States
Guadalupe Missioners

Ministries & Services

Browse moments from our parishes, missions, and community events. See how faith is lived, celebrated, and shared through the work of the Guadalupe Missioners.

Discover where we serve across the globe and how our missionaries bring the Gospel, pastoral care, and formation to communities most in need.

Read featured updates, reflections, and mission news from ALMAS. Stay connected with our spiritual work, outreach efforts, and upcoming initiatives.

Events

Annual “Dia Del Padrino” Event

December 13, 2025
3:00 PM
- 8:00 PM

3:00pm Mass
4:30pm Reception

Sta. Maria Magdalena Catholic Church, 1241 S. Corning St. Los Angeles, CA 90035

Our Lady of Guadalupe Procession at East Los Angeles College

December 7, 2025
8:00 AM
- 3:00 PM

Visit our Guadalupe Missioners booth!

“Promotional Sunday” Event

July 26, 2026

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
4245 Acacia Avenue
Pico Rivera, CA 90660

For more information, please call: (323) 937-2780

Join Our Network of Padrinos/Madrinas (Sponsors)

"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;" (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

A beautiful act of faith, love, and generosity

As a Padrino or Madrina, you walk alongside our missionaries in spirit, helping bring the Gospel to those who long for Christ in places where hope is most needed. Through your prayers and support, you become part of a living mission that reaches hearts around the world.

We are deeply grateful for your generous support, which sustains the formation of our missionaries and strengthens our priests in their work of proclaiming the Gospel.

Thank you for opening your heart to this mission. May our Lord bless you abundantly, and may Our Lady of Guadalupe lovingly protect you and your family always.

VO - English

Churches Staffed by the Guadalupe Missioners Priests

Pastor – Fr. Alejandro Mendez, MG
Associate Pastor – Fr. Enrique Hernandez, MG
Associate Pastor – Fr. Jerry A. Gutierrez
Office Administrator – Nelly Laura Calderon

Pastor – Fr. Carlos May Correa, MG
Associate Pastor – Fr. Jorge Cruz, MG
Associate Pastor – Fr. Ruben Jesus Reyes Hernandez
Office Administrator – Elena Hernandez

Administrator – Fr. Victor Zavala, MG
Associate Pastor – Fr. Gunther Alejandro Weigend Hernandez, MG
Associate Administrator – Rev. Deacon Sergio Perez
Office Manager – Fabiola Garcia

Contact Us

×

Photo Gallery

×

Missions Around The World

EASTERN COUNTRIES

JAPAN: Japan is the country where we carried out our first missionary service (1956); it gave us the challenge of becoming one with our Japanese brothers and sisters, adapting to their culture and traditions, learning the language, in order to communicate the Gospel of the Lord. Today, Japan is an economically developed, cultured, and educated country, but the vast majority of its inhabitants still do not know the “true God, for whom we live.”

SOUTH KOREA: Korea was our second mission (1962). We arrived just after the war that devastated that country had ended. From the beginning, the Korean people showed openness to receiving the word of God and gratitude for receiving it; this situation helped the people to be spiritually ready to encounter God. Today, thank God, Korea is experiencing a good number of priestly and religious vocations.

HONG KONG: (1975) Since arriving in this beautiful land, our dream has been to evangelize mainland China, the most populous country in the world, of which Hong Kong is a part. We rejoice in these 50 years and more of missionary work in this “fragrant harbor.”

INDONESIA: On October 7, 2023, the Guadalupe Missioners, responding to the call to be a Church that reaches out, ventured into the Muslim world for the first time, founding the Mission of Indonesia, where we bring our faith and witness hand in hand with Saint Mary of Guadalupe.

AFRICAN COUNTRIES

KENYA: In 1965, the first Guadalupe Missionaries arrived in this African country. Currently, our priests are present in this nation, accompanied by lay missionaries who, in addition to sharing their faith, also share their profession in favor of Kenyan communities.

ANGOLA: We began this mission in January 1981, in the midst of a war that bled the country dry: insecurity, hunger, suffering of the people and the Church, with many priests, religious, and catechists murdered, but with a great thirst for God. Today the war is over. The seed has borne fruit: the Guadalupe Missioners trained more than 100 priests in the seminary, some of whom are now bishops. Let us pray to the Lord for all of them. May they in turn be The Father’s Missioners.

MOZAMBIQUE: (2000). Like Angola, Mozambique suffered the pain of war. Today, it has great needs in terms of economics, health, education, and spiritual care. This has been an enormous challenge. Since our inception, the Guadalupe Missioners have worked with joy and hope so that socio-political stability will soon be achieved and a Church willing to present the Face of Christ to all its children will increasingly reemerge.

TUNISIA: On December 12, 2023, Guadalupe Missioners took on the challenge of bringing and sharing the Gospel of Life in the Muslim world, founding the Mission of Tunisia, always guided by our star of evangelization, Saint Mary of Guadalupe.

AMERICA

PERU: Our first mission in Latin America, born out of an urgent request from its bishops in the face of a serious shortage of priests. We continue to collaborate with this sister Church, birthplace of Saint Martin de Porres and Saint Rose of Lima.

BRAZIL: Country of Our Lady of Aparecida. A country suffering from stark economic and social differences, needing the presence of Christ the Redeemer even in the most remote areas of the Amazon rainforest. There we are, the Guadalupe Missioners, serving our Brazilian brothers and sisters and proclaiming Jesus the Savior.

GUATEMALA: Our Mission in Guatemala has been a special face of the Guadalupe Missioners in America. We are present only through the Lay Missionary Associates. We support the local Church, particularly in rural areas.

CUBA: (1995) Known as “the Pearl of the Caribbean.” We accompany, proclaim, and serve with dedication our Cuban brothers and sisters, who for many years have been living with great faith and in need of priestly care, amid difficult socio-political circumstances. Let us pray to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre for our Cuban brothers and sisters and for our Guadalupe Missioners on that beautiful island.

UNITED STATES: In this country, our missionary service consists of helping people to know and live their faith in Christ, particularly our Hispanic brothers and sisters. United States of America: “Land of opportunity,” but very poor spiritually.

THE VATICAN: Pope Pius XII suggested to Bishop Alonso Escalante, the first Superior General, that our Missionary Institute be given the name Guadalupe Missioners, in honor of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, Patroness of Mexico and all of America.

MEXICO: In 1949, as a result of a missionary congress in Mexico, the bishops of that country decided to found a missionary institute to proclaim the Gospel to those who do not know it. The official name of our institute is: Institute of Saint Mary of Guadalupe for Foreign Missions. The generosity of you, our sponsors, is the foundation for the formation of our seminarians and for the service of our priests in the missions.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

We entrust ourselves to Her and ask Her to protect our Peoples from violence and the destruction of our values.

May she protect all of you, our Sponsors and their families, with her mantle; strengthen our faith, and help us realize that she is always with us, for she said:

“Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not in my womb? Why are you afraid?”

×

ALMAS Newsletter Highlights

pope_message_june

The Values of Sport

Excerpt from the homily of Pope Leo XIV at the Jubilee of Sport, Rome, June 15, 2025.

The pairing of Trinity and sport is not exactly common; yet the association is not absurd. In fact, every good human activity carries within it a reflection of the beauty of God — and sport is certainly one of them. After all, God is not static, not closed in on himself. He is communion, a living relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, open to humanity and to the world. Theology calls this reality perichoresis — that is, “dance”: a dance of mutual love.

That is why sport can help us encounter the Trinitarian God: because it requires a movement of the self toward the other — certainly exterior, but above all interior. Without this, it is reduced to a sterile competition of egos.

It is no coincidence that, in the lives of many saints of our time, sport played a significant role, both as a personal practice and as a way of evangelization. Let us think of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, patron of athletes… His simple and luminous life reminds us that, just as no one is born a champion, no one is born a saint either. It is the daily training of love that brings us closer to the ultimate victory (cf. Rom 5:3-5) and makes us capable of working toward the building of a new world.

— Leo PP. XIV

For the Values of Sport

Fr. Rodolfo Rafael Sánchez Díaz, MG

The Pope underscores the fundamental role of sport in promoting human development and social cohesion. Beyond being a recreational activity, sport has a transformative power in fostering equality, mutual respect, and teamwork.

In a world where inequalities are evident, sport can be a tool for overcoming barriers and building a culture of peace and cooperation.

The Pope calls us to value sport not merely as a spectacle, but as a means for personal and collective growth, where the principles of justice, respect, and solidarity play an essential role in shaping more humane and equitable societies.

Sport also teaches us to respect others and to play fair. Through effort and perseverance, we learn that falling is not failing, but an opportunity to get back up. As a team, we discover that no one wins alone and that unity makes us stronger.

Let us pray that sport may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue between cultures and nations, and that it may promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.

 

 

Sport Is Giving the Best of Yourself

Fr. José Guadalupe Camarillo Martínez, MG

In 2018, Pope Francis published the document Giving the Best of Yourself: On the Christian Perspective of Sport and the Human Person, from the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. In that document, the Pope affirmed that sport is a place of encounter where people of every level and social condition come together to achieve a common goal.

Especially in a culture dominated by individualism and the discarding of younger and older generations, sport is a privileged space where people meet without distinction of race, gender, religion, or ideology — where we can experience the joy of competing to reach a goal together, as part of a team in which success and defeat are shared and overcome. This helps us move away from the idea of pursuing an objective focused only on ourselves. The need for the other encompasses not only teammates, but also the coach, fans, and family — in short, all those whose dedication and commitment make it possible to truly “give the best of yourself.”

All of this makes sport a catalyst for experiences of community and human family. When a father plays with his child, when young people play together in the park or at school, when an athlete celebrates a victory with the fans — in all these settings we can see the value of sport as a place of union and encounter among people.

Sport is a vehicle for formation, said Pope Francis. Perhaps today more than ever we must fix our gaze on young people, since the earlier the formation process begins, the easier it will be for the person to develop integrally through sport. The participation of everyone — of every age and level — is essential, so that they may be an example in virtues such as generosity, humility, sacrifice, perseverance, and joy.

Sport can open the path to Christ in those places or environments where, for various reasons, it is not possible to proclaim him directly. And people, through their witness of joy and communal sporting practice, can become messengers of the Good News.

“Sport can open the path to Christ in those places or environments where, for various reasons, it is not possible to proclaim him directly.”

Giving the best of yourself in sport is a call to aspire to holiness. Every human being was created with the desire and the hope of giving the best of themselves. Practicing sport therefore leads us to God — giving our best to others, and fostering values such as respect, healthy competition, fellowship, and fraternity.

tarahumara_article

 

Sport: A School of Life

Janeth Madero Cuadras, MLA in the Tarahumara

In his homily to athletes on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity (June 15, 2025), Pope Leo XIV highlighted aspects that make sport a valuable means of human and Christian formation.

He emphasizes that sport teaches the value of collaboration, of walking together, of that sharing which lies at the very heart of God’s life — and it helps us maintain a healthy contact with nature and with concrete life, the place where love is exercised. It also teaches us to lose, bringing us face to face with some of the deepest truths of our human condition: fragility, limitation, imperfection.

In practicing any sport, we develop our talents and strengthen values such as discipline, perseverance, teamwork, and above all mutual respect — values that help us grow by achieving good mental, physical, and spiritual health, and by developing life skills and habits.

Some athletes from the Tarahumara region are well known, especially marathon and ultramarathon runners like Lorena Ramírez, who runs, like all of them, wearing huaraches and her traditional dress. The Rarámuri community — “the light-footed ones” — are strong and resilient, both in running and in walking great distances, due in part to traditional games such as rarajípari (ball race) practiced by men, and ariweta (hoop race) practiced by women (both recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity).

Sport helps us understand that we were created to live in community and that we need to relate to others, avoiding what harms us in order to live in peace through a culture of encounter.

Dear Godfathers and Godmothers, I invite you to find an activity you enjoy. Let’s make it part of our daily lives, as Pope Francis urged us: “Be champions in sport, but above all in life — always exalt what is truly good and beautiful, through a clear witness to the values that should characterize sport,” respecting others, their interests and needs, and the environment, so that we may live in a more humane world.

May Saint Mary of Guadalupe, our Mother, always guide our steps to her Son, along the path of peace.

Happy Father’s Day!

Dear Godfathers and Godmothers:

We celebrate the wonderful gift of fatherhood entrusted by God to each of our fathers, giving thanks for their love and asking Saint Mary of Guadalupe to grant them the reward of eternal happiness.

Visit our website! www.guadalupemissionersla.org