Amid ongoing violence in communities across Mexico, Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa Catholic Church in Los Angeles is hosting a week of prayer for peace featuring the public veneration of relics of six Mexican martyrs.
According to a Feb. 24 press release from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles invites the community to reflect on the witness of those who gave their lives for the faith and to unite in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament for families affected by the unrest.
Canonized in 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II, the saints whose relics are on display were Mexican priests killed during anti-Catholic persecution in the 1920s Cristero War.The relics belong to Saints Miguel de la Mora, José María Robles Hurtado, Mateo Correa Magallanes, Luis Batis Sáinz, Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán, and Pedro de Jesús Maldonado Lucero.
Daily Eucharistic adoration and Masses for peace are being held during the week of prayer, which will conclude Feb. 28 with an 8 a.m. Mass and a final veneration of the relics.
The devotional week follows recent unrest in parts of Mexico after the killing of a cartel leader set off violence in multiple regions.