The Archdiocese of Los Angeles will celebrate the annual White Mass Sunday to honor doctors, nurses and other health care professionals for their dedicated service in the archdiocese and many mission nations.
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez will celebrate the 3:30 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The homilist will be Auxiliary Bishop Marc Trudeau for the San Pedro Pastoral Region.
Toward the end of the Mass, Gomez, Trudeau and clergy will bless the hands of the health care professionals for the many times their hands bring healing or a consoling touch to a patient.
Honorees will include the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, who will receive the Excellence Award for their services in the archdiocese since 1930, with a special emphasis on the care of the elderly.
Tom Catena will be honored as the Catholic Doctor of the Year by the Los Angeles-based Mission Doctors Association.
Catena has served in the war-torn Nuba Mountains in Sudan since 2009 and been the only permanent physician at the Mother of Mercy Hospital since 2017.
The White Mass has been a tradition in the United States since the late 1800s. It is held near the Feast of St. Luke (Oct. 18), the patron saint of healers. It is named for the white coats worn by many healthcare professionals.
The Mass will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/olacathedral, and on the archdiocese’s website, archla.org/live.