Archbishop Gomez Dedicates FSSP L.A.’s New Church

On the evening of Monday, June 25th, the Most Reverend José Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, dedicated the church of St. Vitus, the new home of the Fraternity’s apostolate in L.A. The apostolate has been flourishing since its founding in 2014, but up until Monday was without a permanent home. Mass had been celebrated at several different churches in the area, primarily at St. Victor’s in West Hollywood.

Assisting the Bishop at the dedication were St. Vitus’ pastor and assistant pastor, Fr. James Fryar and Fr. Federico Masutti. Also attending was North American District Superior Fr. Gerard Saguto, who, following the dedication, celebrated the first Mass in the new church. He was assisted by Fr. Masutti and Fr. Anthony Dorsa, assistant pastor of FSSP San Diego, with His Excellency preaching the sermon. The church was full to overflowing with faithful who had come to participate in the event, and a joyful reception finished the day’s activities. The next evening, the parish was privileged to pray Pontifical Vespers with His Excellency Bishop Joseph Brennan. Due to the size of the Archdiocese, L.A. has several auxiliary bishops assigned to different regions, with Bishop Brennan caring for the San Fernando region where St. Vitus is located.

The priests and community of St. Vitus put many hours of renovation work into the church to prepare it for the ceremony, and in the coming months they will continue their labors in order to bring it to its completed form. We are very much looking forward to seeing St. Vitus in its full splendor soon!

Our thanks to Jim Sheehan for his photographs of the event and to another parishioner for contributing to this article.