Lessons from the Peripheries
Lessons from the Peripheries: The Joy of the Gospel and our Continental Mission
Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
Convocation of Catholic Leaders:
The Joy of the Gospel in America
Orlando, Florida
July 3, 2017
Dear friends,
Thank you for your warm welcome. It is so good that we are here!
This really is a historic occasion. Here we are! The bishops of the United States gathering with the Church’s pastoral leaders to reflect on our shared mission to evangelize. And we do this at this moment in American history when our society and culture are changing in many ways, and changing fast.
We gather in the presence of the saints of the Americas, the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us! Saints are the true founders of America.
It is no coincidence that this convocation began on the feast day of St. Junípero Serra — the great Franciscan, the spiritual father of America’s first evangelization.