One prayer during Saturday’s mass at Good Shepard Catholic Church in Mira Mesa was divided into 10 parts with different people reciting a few lines each, all in different languages.

“I’ve never heard my name pronounced in Laotian before,” Bishop Robert McElroy told the gathering of more than 1,400. “I think it sounds better that way.”

What was billed as an unprecedented gathering of San Diego’s ethnic Catholic communities took place at the church Saturday morning. The theme of the multicultural celebration was “Gathering Us as One.”

Many came outfitted in colorful cultural garb and the procession into the church resembled an Olympic opening ceremony with groups walking in behind signs such as “Chinese,” “Hispanic,” and “Samoan” — 17 cultures in all.


A Mariachi band entertained before the service, as did an African drum group.

The 90-minute mass was presided over by the Rev. McElroy, the bishop of San Diego, and featured a choir representing a number of different parishes.

“Usually at a mass celebrating Pentecost my first prayer is to invoke the Holy Spirit to come,” he said. “But I’m not doing that today because it’s so clear the Holy Spirit is already here.”

Huge applause and shouts followed.


The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse in the country and represents 1.3 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties. The ethnic breakdown, based on 2014 figures: 63 percent Hispanic, 25 percent non-Hispanic white, 8 percent Asian and Pacific Islander, 3 percent African American and African, and 0.5 percent Native American. Cultures represented Saturday included Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Native American and Vietnamese.

The mass, and a lively multicultural festival held in the back parking lot afterward, was organized by Fr. Michael Pham, who leads the diocese’s Office of Cultural Diversity.

“It was beautiful,” Pham said following the mass. “It was a lively church. The music was great and everything connected even though we were speaking different languages. Everybody understood. And that’s what the Holy Spirit does, help us to understand each other in Christ.”

Bibiana Jones, representing the African community, said she was overwhelmed by the celebration. “All of this cultural aspect, I wasn’t expecting it,” she said. “It’s really beautiful to see so many people from different backgrounds. This is amazing.”


McElroy sounded a bit political as he spoke to the throng of faithful.

“In a very powerful way all of us are called in this moment in our culture, in which there is so much antagonism to particular ethnic and cultural groups, to resist it and to say proudly and in faith, we are one because we are all part of the family of the God who is father of us all.”

The bishop reflected following the mass.

“I thought it was a wonderful moment in which all of the ethnic, cultural and racial groups of our diocese were able to come together and celebrate not only our faith and the presence of God among us, but also their unity as one community and a nation of immigrants,” he said.


“What we were celebrating today was that the gifts of every community and culture make us stronger rather than weaker.”


jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones