{"id":458095,"date":"2026-09-09T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T09:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/458095\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T09:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T09:00:10","slug":"la-archdioceses-ribbons-of-prayer-exhibit-focuses-on-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/458095\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Archdiocese\u2019s \u2018Ribbons of Prayer\u2019 exhibit focuses on immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Archdiocese of Los Angeles\u2019 annual \u201cMass in Recognition of Immigrants\u201d ceremony fast approaching, the archdiocese\u2019s Office of Immigration Affairs wanted to create a way for the community to come together and remember those affected.<\/p>\n

The answer? A \u201cRibbons of Prayer<\/a>\u2019 exhibit inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where visitors can write the name of a person affected by recent immigration enforcement on a ribbon and tie it to a stand near the chapel. Each person on the ribbon will be prayed for during the Immigrants Mass celebrated by Archbishop Jos\u00e9 H. Gomez on Sept. 20.<\/p>\n

The ribbon exhibit will be on display inside the cathedral through mid-October.<\/p>\n

Also featured in the \u201cRibbons of Prayer\u201d display are three paintings by local artist Lalo Garcia, an immigrant from Mexico, whose works have long explored the ways Our Lady of Guadalupe protects immigrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe inspiration behind the ribbons was trying to find something that would help unify everybody and give everyone a tangible thing that they could participate in to help lift the names of the people who the immigration laws in our country have impacted,\u201d said Isaac Cuevas, the archdiocese\u2019s director of immigration and public affairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to create something visual. And together with Lalo Garcia, the artist, we were able to find an available chapel that the cathedral allowed us to use and put everything together.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those who can\u2019t tie a ribbon in person, they can submit a name and prayer intention online at lacatholics.org\/ribbons-of-prayer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Esmeralda Sosa, who works in the archdiocese\u2019s Office of Life, Justice, and Peace, was one of those helping to tie ribbons on the exhibit. For her, the meaning of the ribbons became especially personal after writing the names of people who are detained or have died in immigration detention centers.<\/p>\n

As of July, more than 65,000 people were being held in immigration detention nationwide, according to records, while at least 26 people had reportedly died while in ICE custody this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could only say a prayer silently for them because you don\u2019t know their situation, their family, but it\u2019s a lot,\u201d Sosa said.<\/p>\n

For her, the chapel provides a space for people to bring their grief, concerns, and prayers before Our Lady of Guadalupe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot for us to be able to have the space for people to pray and to bring those prayers to our Blessed Mother and really just have her intercede for all of them and for us,\u201d Sosa said.<\/p>\n

Garcia chose three paintings to display in the \u201cRibbons of Prayer\u201d exhibit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first, titled \u201cThe Monarch Virgin, Protector of Migrants,\u201d was created as a reflection of the current immigration climate, including the uncertainty facing migrant families.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concept came about to show solidarity with everything that is happening nowadays,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIt\u2019s my way of reminding [immigrants] that they are not alone, that they are protected by Our Lady of Guadalupe, and God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Artist Lalo Garcia looks at his painting, \u201cThe Monarch Virgin, Protector of Migrants,\u201d one of three works he chose to display among the ribbons. (Kimmy Chacon)<\/p>\n

In the painting, Garcia depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe protecting monarch butterflies, which he describes as a universal symbol of migration and resurrection.<\/p>\n

Seven monarch butterflies appear beneath the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe \u2014 a number Garcia connected to its significance to the Faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt actually has a magical number \u2014 the Holy Spirit and the seven cardinal sins \u2014 so it is a magical number that we also find within religion,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s second painting, \u201cDivine Migrants,\u201d draws a connection between the Holy Family and the experience of today\u2019s immigrants.<\/p>\n

The painting depicts the Holy Family during their flight to Egypt, after King Herod ordered the killing of all young infant males. Garcia said the story is a reminder that the Holy Family were also migrants who left their homeland to escape violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often forget that they, too, had to flee their own home and go somewhere else to survive,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cFrom then until now, we [immigrants] continue fleeing violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia said his final painting, \u201cThe Migrant\u2019s Journey,\u201d reflects the stories and sacrifices of migrants who leave their homes behind in search of a better life. The painting depicts immigrants in all walks of life, with Our Lady of Guadalupe at the center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear stories about what life is like here, specifically in Los Angeles,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cBut we leave behind empty towns, we migrate, and we entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary as we make the journey to get here to Los Angeles \u2014 to what we\u2019ve heard about the American Dream,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As Garcia explained the symbolism behind his paintings, he also left room for viewers to interpret the artwork through their own experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the most important thing to me, that you make it your own, that you can read something for yourself in the painting, because it gives you that opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"author<\/p>\n

\t\t\tKimmy Chac\u00f3n is a freelance journalist and graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She lives in Los Angeles and works in education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Archdiocese of Los Angeles\u2019 annual \u201cMass in Recognition of Immigrants\u201d ceremony fast approaching, the archdiocese\u2019s Office…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458096,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-458095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}