For Carlos Farfan, spending 24 hours with the Lord began at 3:30 a.m. on March 28 with morning prayer at his home. By 8 a.m., he arrived at St. Rose of Lima Church in Maywood, where he attended daily Mass and was first in line to receive the sacrament of reconciliation.
After confession, Farfan stayed to pray for his family and planned to return with his wife later in the afternoon.
“I feel so thankful to God for these moments,” he said. “Being in front of the Lord brings me so much inner peace that I cannot describe.”
Farfan was one of the many local Catholics who turned out for the March 28-29 “24 Hours For the Lord,” a prayer initiative organized as part of the 2025 “Jubilee of Hope” Holy Year declared by Pope Francis.
More than 20 churches, roughly one in each of the LA Archdiocese’s deaneries, stayed open for 24 consecutive hours of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and reconciliation, only occasionally interrupted by Mass or group prayer.
The idea of opening churches for “24 Hours for the Lord” was first introduced by Francis in 2014.
Parishioners like Farfan said they were eager to make the most of the prayer marathon. Gabriela Rosas of St. Rose of Lima in Maywood came to the parish Friday night with her son, Adrian de Jesus Martinez, 28, who has Down syndrome. Rosas said the pair had been to adoration the day before, but when they saw the announcement for the 24-hour event, they decided to come again.
“My son enjoys coming to Mass and praying,” she said. As a family, they sat quietly together, praying in peace.
After speaking to Angelus, as they gathered their belongings, they walked to the altar together. Kneeling in front of the Eucharist, Rosas’ son made the sign of the cross and shouted, “Jesus,” his voice echoing across the church.
Theresa Anderson, a parishioner at St. John of God Church in Norwalk, attended the “24 Hours” event at Holy Family Church in Artesia, which partnered with St. Peter Chanel Church in Hawaiian Gardens to split the 24 hours. Anderson, who attended with her husband, said a pamphlet promoting the event was “a sign to finally go to confession.”
“My last confession was when I moved to America in 2012, so I finally told my husband, ‘Let’s do it,’ ” she said.
Anderson grew up Catholic, but said she lost her way “because I got too busy with life and the kids.”
“Life is difficult,” she said. “I see a lot of people dying and being prepared, so I said to myself, if I die, I might as well go to confession. If God decides to take me, I want to be ready and prepared.”
Reaching those who’ve been away from the Church was a key aspect of the “24 Hours for the Lord” event, said lead organizer Father Parker Sandoval, vice chancellor and senior director of ministerial services for the archdiocese.
“There really is something about the church being open 24 hours for you that grabs people who otherwise would not show up,” said Sandoval, who helped hear confessions from 9 p.m. to midnight at Incarnation Church in Glendale. “A church literally being open for 24 hours signifies that, yes, the Church is here for you because Jesus is waiting for you so he can show you his mercy. And that really is the bottom line.”
Father Fredy Rosales, the pastor at Presentation of Mary Church in South LA, was surprised by the big turnout at his deanery’s corresponding parish, St. John Chrysostom Church in Inglewood, especially the long lines for reconciliation.
After hearing normally scheduled confessions at Presentation Friday afternoon, he headed to St. John Chrysostom. More than 100 people were inside, including some Presentation parishioners who’d walked the nearly seven miles from the parish in a spirit of pilgrimage. Rosales heard confessions for more than four hours into the early hours of the morning.
Part of the “spiritual hunger” Rosales says he’s seen has to do with “people wanting to be heard.” So that Friday night, he encouraged penitents to take their time in recounting their sins, and not to feel in a hurry.
“It was a moment of spiritual renewal at a time when people seem to have a greater hunger for God,” Rosales said. “People I didn’t know would stop me outside the church. They were very grateful, saying they’d never seen anything like this.”
Holy Family Church in Artesia hosted the “24 Hours for the Lord” for the first time and Father John Cordero, the pastor, said a handful of priests from across the deanery helped and expressed his gratitude for how the event turned out.
“It’s a beautiful experience to see people going to confession,” especially those who haven’t gone in years — “some even in decades,” he said. “If the pope calls for another one, we would be more than happy to host it again.”
Showing up to church at midnight meant a lot to 15-year-old Gerardo Reyes. He and his family were among those at St. Emydius Church in Lynwood, which partnered with St. Rose of Lima to split the 24 hours.
“We came to confess, and it’s a great time to reflect, to fully commit to the Lord, and to grow in faith,” Reyes said.
Sandoval believes the rousing success should prompt the archdiocese to consider making the event an annual one.
“I believe that parishes could reimagine penance services in this format,” Sandoval said. “Could we foster this spirit of collaboration and cooperation among parishes for “24 hours for the Lord” such that everybody shows up, including the nonregulars? I think that is something the Holy Spirit might be prompting us to consider.
“The fact that we were able to assemble a team of confessors for 24 hours at each location was really incredible. So the priests deserve a shout out on this one.”
Editor-in-Chief Pablo Kay and Associate Editor Mike Cisneros contributed to this story.
Source: Angelus News