Mourners pray for healing, forgiveness
Mourners pray for healing, forgiveness amid shock of Bishop O’Connell’s murder
The crowd of people praying in the parking lot of St. John Vianney Church in Hacienda Heights Monday night — parents with their children, parishioners getting off of work, and even some stray teenagers — seemed to expand with each Joyful Mystery of the rosary.
Archbishop José H. Gomez was one of them. After appearing that afternoon alongside Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna at a press conference, he made an unannounced visit to the suburban parish to pray with a community still in shock over the murder of their neighbor, Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell.
Some at the vigil held candles while they prayed. Others held each other.