Serving the Spiritual Needs of Los Angeles Since 1974

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

As we continue our missionary journey, I invite you to reflect together on the gift and dignity of all human life.

During this month of July, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, reminds us that “life is an inestimable gift that unfolds within a committed relationship based on mutual self-giving and service.” He also teaches us that a society can only truly progress when it safeguards the sanctity of human life and works actively to promote it.

These words hold a very special meaning for us, the Guadalupe Missioners.

Each day, in our parish communities and in the various apostolates we carry out in Southern California, we encounter people who are searching for hope, comfort, and the love of Christ. We accompany families struggling to move forward, young people seeking to discover God’s plan for their lives, elderly persons longing for closeness, migrants seeking a welcoming home, and men and women carrying burdens that are often invisible. Each one of them is a beloved child of God, created in his image and likeness, with an infinite dignity that must be respected and protected from conception to natural death.

Our missionary vocation calls us not only to proclaim the Gospel with our words, but also to defend the dignity of every person through our actions. We are called to build communities where compassion overcomes indifference, dialogue replaces division, and service reflects the merciful love of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Father also reminds us that today we witness great challenges to the fundamental rights that protect human dignity — among them freedom of conscience, religious freedom, freedom of expression, and even the right to life. As disciples of Christ, we are called to respond not with fear or confrontation, but with firm faith, authentic charity, and the joyful witness of the Gospel.

In a special way, Pope Leo XIV encourages young people to become promoters of the culture of life, by actively participating in the building of a more just society through respectful dialogue, commitment to the common good, and generous service to others. The future of the Church depends on disciples who know how to defend the truth while never ceasing to love and respect every person.

As Guadalupe Missioners, we renew our commitment to bring Christ to all the places where he sends us. Whether through our parishes, the formation of future missionaries, our evangelizing work, or service to those most in need, we continue to respond with joy to the Lord’s call to proclaim the Gospel to the ends where the Church needs us most.

I am deeply grateful for your prayers, your closeness, and your generous support of our mission. Thanks to you, we can continue to sow hope, proclaim the love of Christ, and always promote respect for the dignity and life of every human person.

May Saint Mary of Guadalupe, Mother of Life and Patroness of the Americas, intercede for you and your families. May she always lead us to her Son, Jesus Christ, so that, illumined by his love, we may be faithful witnesses of the Gospel of life.

With gratitude and my constant prayer,

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