A Renewed Focus for La Placita

Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles (Our Lady Queen of the Angels) church -- better known as La Placita, the Catholic church near Olvera Street (the site where Los Angeles was founded) -- has rediscovered activism.

Maria and I got married at La Placita, although most of the church's parish is made up of Mexican and Central American immigrants. We appreciated the church's history (built 1818-1822) and legacy, and wanted to share it with others.

According to the Los Angeles Times, newer priests Steve Niskanen -- who married us in Oct. 2002 -- and Father Arnold N. Abelardo have brought a refocused mission to the church:

"We are trying to transform it into a church that is more prophetic, liberating and attentive to the poorest of the poor, especially immigrants," said Father Roland Lozano, provincial superior of the Claretian Missionaries of the Western United States, which staffs the church.

Every Sunday, the old church, affectionately known as La Placita or Little Plaza, draws 10,000 people from around the region to its 11 Masses. Its icons of Latino popular religiosity include the black Christ of Guatemala, the Christ of Miracles of Peru and the infant Jesus known as Santo Niño de Atocha, whose shrine is festooned with baby pictures, locks of hair and written pleas for miracles.

Other days, busloads of tourists alight in front of the church to view the spot at Main Street and New High Avenue where, by the order of King Carlos III of Spain, the pueblo that eventually became Los Angeles was established in 1781.

On weekends, the area draws large crowds for concerts in the plaza, shopping and dining — or, some merchants say, it used to. Olvera Street shop owners complain that the new activism is drawing hordes of homeless to the area, threatening the tourism they rely on...

With the arrival of Abelardo and Pastor Steve Niskanen in 2002, the Olvera Street parish returned to activism with a roar. The church re-declared itself as a sanctuary and denounced government raids around Southern California to root out undocumented immigrants.