SAN DIEGO — “Breathtaking.”
That’s how Alejandra Casas describes the opening procession of the diocese’s Pentecost Mass for All Peoples. Representatives of cultural Catholic communities enter one by one, dressed in their brightly colored traditional attire.
“There is such beauty in our Church,” she says.
She and her husband, John Casas, lay leaders in the diocese’s Hispanic Commission, are spearheading this year’s event. It’s being held Saturday, June 7, and returns to Cathedral Catholic High School. Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano will celebrate the Mass, accompanied by Bishop Michael Pham and Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido, priests and deacons.
Pentecost, celebrated on the 50th day after Easter, marks the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church and its mission to evangelize all nations.
No other diocesan event highlights the universality of the Catholic Church more than this Pentecost celebration.
The Mass will be held once more in the high school gym, which is transformed to house a liturgical celebration for as many as 2,000 faithful from across the region.
It all begins around 10:45 a.m., with the procession of more than 20 Catholic cultures, starting with the Native Americans. They are followed by representatives from cultures from North, Central and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The Mass at 11 a.m. features music, prayers and readings in many languages. This year, the choir from St. Rose of Lima Parish will provide multicultural musical accompaniment, led by Joseph Advento.
A festival follows around noon on the school grounds, complete with food tastings, cultural exhibits and live entertainment.
When the diocese first organized this Mass in 2018, the cultural leaders didn’t know each other and had not worked together. That first year, they found a way to bridge language differences and came together to host a beautiful celebration of faith.
Today, they greet each other as friends in the planning sessions. At the event itself, it’s common to see them embracing each other and taking photos together, standing shoulder to shoulder as the family members that they are in the Church.
As was the case at the inaugural event, several cultural communities are responsible for one logistical aspect of it. The Indian Catholic community, for instance, is again organizing the procession of cultures. Its president, Prince Paul, said the Mass is a great way to meet other communities and experience what brings them together.
“We are all part of the same God; we celebrate the Eucharist,” he said at a planning meeting on May 15 at the diocesan Pastoral Center.
In 2025, the Church is celebrating a Jubilee Year, which has a theme of hope. The Pentecost Mass will serve as the Jubilee celebration of the ethnic and multicultural diversity in the diocese and the greater Church.
Regardless of the year, Bishop Bejarano spoke of what brings the faithful together.
“The main reason we’re doing this is to give glory to God, and thanks for the faith each one of us has,” he told the cultural leaders at the planning meeting. “And to give thanks to the Holy Spirit that continues to guide us and bring us together as the Body of Christ.”
Pentecost Mass for All Peoples
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Cathedral Catholic High School, 5555 Del Mar Heights Road, San Diego 92130
Everyone is invited to this family-friendly event, which has ample parking.
10 a.m.: Praise and worship
10:45 a.m.: Procession of cultures
11 a.m.: Mass celebrated by Bishop Ramón Bejarano, accompanied by Bishops Michael Pham and Felipe Pulido
Noon- 2 p.m: Festival featuring food tastings, exhibits and live music
