An outdoor blessing of palms and a procession was held in the plaza area on Palm Sunday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
Palm Sunday recalls Jesus’ welcome into Jerusalem by a crowd waving palm branches. The palm has symbolic meanings that include eternal life, peace, triumph and victory. Holding and waving a palm branch at a Palm Sunday service is said to make a connection with the triumphant crowd scene that is recounted in the first four books of the New Testament gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles held three Palm Sunday Masses on Sunday, April 2, at 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., the last one in Spanish, to mark the start of Holy Week for many Christians. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass.
Holy Week at the cathedral will include:
- The Chrism Mass, at which the archbishop consecrates oils used in the sacraments, at 7 p.m. on April 3.
- Holy Thursday, a bilingual Mass of the Lord’s Supper, at 7 p.m. on April 6.
- Good Friday services, noon (live-streamed), 3 and 7 p.m. (in Spanish) on April 7.
- Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil Mass, bilingual, 8 p.m. on April 8.
- Easter Mass services at the cathedral, 7:30 and 10 a.m. (live-steamed) and 12:30 p.m. (in Spanish) on April 9.
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles, 555 W. Temple St., L.A., olacathedral.org/. The public can watch the live-streamed Masses on the cathedral’s Facebook, www.facebook.com/olacathedral, or on the archdiocese’s website, lacatholics.org
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